Do Patti: Kriti Sanon dazzles, but film frazzles

- ADVERTISEMENT -

In the opening scene, there is a paragliding ‘mishap’. Saumya (Kriti Sanon), however, claims that it is not an accident as her harness was set loose by her husband, Dhruv (TV star Shaheer Sheikh), in an attempt to murder her. Dhruv is arrested.

The film goes into flashback: this is quite a frequent trend nowadays to create drama and suspense, but does not always work. After all, a linear narration makes a lot of sense and true drama. Cop Vidya (Kajol) has always suspected Dhruv because Saumya’s foster mother, Maaji (Tanvi Azmi) has complained about his violent temperament and abusive behavior with his wife.

Maaji tells Vidya all the sordid details, the main ones being of Saumya’s nature that has never been the same after the death of her mother (Prachee Shah Paandya). She has been under medication. She also reveals the existence of Shailee, Saumya’s twin (Kriti again, of course) who is the complete opposite of Saumya—bold in everything including talk and dresses, and not at all the goody-goody-gumdrops kind. Since Saumya has always been given preference because of her psychological condition by Maaji, Shailee resents and hates Saumya and wanst to take anything she has, or desires.

Vidya meets Dhruv (who runs a paragliding service and is also a minister’s son), and they start liking each other after he persuades her to paraglide with him despite her nervousness. But Shailee too meets Dhruv, and she is more his type —she’s an adventurous woman. This makes Shailee want to win him, and she almost succeeds. However, when Dhruv’s father asks him to marry a “homely” girl, he decides to wed Saumya. Soon, a Dhruv and father find finances going down. Dhruv has a history of violent behavior and even a case lodged against him in the neighboring state of Haryana. He begins to ill-treat Saumya, who still feigns that everything is alright between them and makes excuses when asked about her visible injuries.

Things come to a crux when after the Holi festivities (with the worst Holi song you will ever hear in a Hindi film!!) and watching Dhruv flirt with Shailee, Saumya plans to rekindle their romance by asking Dhruv to paraglide with her again. And that’s when the “accident” happens.

After Saumya finally comes clean on Dhruv’s cruel behavior, Vidya (who is also a—hold your hats or scarves—fully-trained lawyer!!) becomes instrumental in convicting her husband. But after that, the detective within her takes over, and Vidya suspects a rat (or twins). And then, due to certain “valid” reasons, the case she has just reopened is closed again, with her apology to the judge for her wrong assessment. You see, Vidya’s father has been a cop, who believed in the letter of the law, her mother was a lawyer, believing in the far more important “spirit” of law.

For the umpteenth time here, I am reminded of peak-time Subhash Ghai’s statement, “Ideas don’t make films. Scripts do.” The idea here was undoubtedly good. Domestic violence must never be condoned. And while the good sister being modestly dressed and the other one not averse to skin show, alcohol and flirting may remind us of the outdated concepts of what heroines and vamps are like in the 1960s to 1980s Hindi cinema, it is actually not so, as the film is going on a different track.

Kriti Sanon is brilliant as Shailee, and her sardonic smiles and mocking expressions again vindicate what I always felt when I saw her enact her first song and acting in the trailer of her debut film, Heropanti, a decade back, and finally met her before that film released: she is a Star! She is becoming better by the film, and among her contemporaries (2010-2014), she tops along with Alia Bhatt. As Saumya too, she is effective.

Kajol is miscast as the detective but tries her best. Shaheer Sheikh may be a popular TV star but his debut in cinema isn’t really impressive. The rest of the cast is ho-hum, with Brijendra Kala wasted as the cop, Katoch.

It will really take a poor talent to fare badly, given the locations, as a cinematographer, so Mart Ratassepp’s work is outstanding. The background score (Anurag Saikia) reminds us of web series, though. And the songs are pathetic—even more so than the current “norm”.

So now, let us look at the other pathetic areas that lead to the undoing of the film.

First and foremost, we have a barrage of expletives, led by Vidya (a name that means education, who is both a lawyer and a cop!!!). The expletives (once even uttered by Dhruv’s father to his son, and one by him when he comes to know wich judge is trying his son’s case!) may maintain a Netflix “wannabe global” tradition but shows a deficiency in sensitivity to Indian viewers around the globe and especially in India, besides an ill-conceived over-eagerness to be “with it”.

Writer Kanika Kapoor has never been known for genuine screenwriting talent or even refinement (Phir Aayi Haseen Dillruba was a rare exception that proves this rule) and she once again shows an overwhelming incompetence at coming out with a powerful and hard-hitting script, given that she has conned powerhouse talents like Kriti and Kajol into the potential meat in her story idea. Mediocrity and lack of self-confidence usually manifest with a barrage of cusswords, but then, abuses are not the only bane of the muddled script. As for director, known to be a ‘busy-shot’ in the ad world, he seems to have docilely followed what passes for the script!

For instance, Vidya never even mentions how Dhruv goes and threatens her at her residence to anyone, and Maaji’s behavior is very erratic. What happens between Saumya and Shailee also is very inconsistent and unconvincing in the final analysis. Dhruv’s behavior in court is also wonky and undignified.

Another glitch that is very common nowadays: for a film set in Devipur, Jharkhand, there are two songs with Punjabi lyrics: Raanjhan and Akhiyaan de kol. Well, lyricist Kausar Munir is no Anand Bakshi or Sahir either, and the composers are not even Pritam or Sachin-Jigar and so these ultra-mediocre creations are forgotten instantly, or maybe when as are playing!

A reputed journalist cinema lover who is a hardcore Punjabi has demanded an explanation for the overuse of his language in this and multiple Hindi movies with non-Punjabi backdrops on his social media. I rest my old, old case of the abuse of Punjabi which is also reprehensible as a form of domestic (as in pan-Indian!) violence of the verbal kind as far as Hindi cinema goes!

In some publications, ratings stand for specific aspects of the film, and so, this time, I choose to follow that pattern: I give a star for Kriti as actress and a half-star for the DOP as the only decent things in a generally messy misadventure where I was not gripped even for a moment. And I have always been a rabid thriller / whodunit buff!

Rating: *1/2

Netflix presents Blue Butterfly Films’ & Kathha Productions’ Do Patti  Produced by: Kriti Sanon & Kanika Dhillon  Directed by: Shashank Chaturvedi  Written by: Kanika Dhillon  Music: Sachet-Parampara & Tanishk Bagchi  Starring: Kajol, Kriti Sanon, Shaheer Sheikh, Brijendra Kala, Tanvi Azmi, Vivek Mushran, Prachee Shah Paandya, Chittaranjan Tripathy, Manoj Bakshi, Mohit Chauhan, Sohaila Kapur, Vridhi, Vristhi & others