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Mumbai Diaries (Dhobi Ghat)
Posted by Kartik Varadpande on January 31, 2011
The movie could have been named that way too. It is primarily what the city is, and not particularly about a dhobi or a ghat. Though it does include those. And the rich and classy. The glamorous and glassy. The lonely painter. The wannabe actor. The photographer. The video recorder. The bottom of the pyramid. And the top. But most importantly all the layers in between, overlapping and cross-connected.
I personally liked the movie. For me it painted the collage in bits and pieces, as the city actually is. All those bits and pieces are not supposed to make sense together if seen independently. But they exist together, that’s the reality.
Image courtesy: http://dhobighatmovie.com/
It avoided the usual melodrama like gang-violence, sects, politics etc. I mean it’s all true, but the common man is so not bothered or affected. Maybe the underplay was crafted for my middle-class line of thought. I am a local-travelling Mumbaikar (see here). Probably that’s why I enjoyed it. Like this indexed comic.
Sometimes the city makes sense, sometimes it just sits on the fence and shrugs off. Sometimes it rhymes, sometimes it chimes and sometimes it doesn’t. Because that is how a Mumbaikar lives. Often lyrical, but almost always practical. People like to call it the ‘spirit of Mumbai’. I think it’s more a necessity. Others call it helplessness. I think it’s the ability to move on too. The movie captures these aspects in its way.
Is Dhobi Ghat worth the critical acclaim? Possibly, because some enjoy the nuances and shades of colours instead of bright hues. Is it as trash as some have made it out to be? Possibly, because it doesn’t have a traditional storyline to latch on to.
It doesn’t matter.
It inherently belongs to the artistic expression. The person who enjoys such thing the most is always the artist herself. The viewers who may or may not like the subjectivity, are (arguably) less important. The act is more enjoyable than a happy ending. And that is why it is not commercial cinema. Some call it a mix of commercial cinema and art cinema. I think that is only because it has a big name.
In all it was an enjoyable experience, especially for a person close to Mumbai. But be ready to leave unimpressed. Everyone doesn’t enjoy jazz music. That doesn’t make jazz good or bad.
In retrospect calling it Mumbai Diaries (Dhobi Ghat) would have killed the subtlety.
Gayatri said
Succint and well written! I loved the opening paragraph!
Frankly I had to watch the movie twice to appreciate the art! I hadn’t read the reviews/ watched the trailer, neither did I have any idea about the theme!Thus, The first time I went with completely different expectations – expecting some sort of a conclusion may be, not necessarily happy/sad or the real end, but a conclusion that opens up more questions. However none of this happened. After thinking over the movie a brief chat with a colleague and watching the movie again I realized that it is more of a mood-setting movie.. gradually sets a melancholic tone.. it depicts many mundane aspects of life, which are very vital!
I could thus really appreciate the movie the second time and look at it as a surreal piece of art! I guess you just need to go with the right frame of mind and expectations!
Kartik Varadpande said
Thanks Gayatri!
Agree. An art piece can be enjoyed better when viewed without expectations.
Yes, melancholic and depicts the so-called mundane aspects of life. I think these aspects are ignored far too often. Everyone wants to show something exceptional, so movies become unreal/filmy/about one in a billion etc. The normality (or so called mediocrity) should also find a voice, like it has here.