Dilwale
Year: 2015
Director: Rohit Shetty
Cast: Shahrukh Khan, Kajol, Varun Dhawan, Kriti Sanon
 

“What do we call the people who do not watch ‘Dilwale’?
.......
’Dimaagwale’!”

No, I am not saying this. It is a  popular message riding on the social media, haughtily deriding Rohit Shetty’s latest movie. But looking at 100 crore plus box office figures at the end of the first week, we will have to say that such ‘Dimaagwale’ haven’t managed to do much damage to Dilwale!

India has always had lots of brainy ‘intellectuals’, the chaps who take a lot of pride in ramming their high handed opinions down other people’s throats. (Fortunately majority of people have learnt how to stay clear of such opinionated individuals!) Such brainy people had raised many objections even before the release of the film, the major ones being Rohit Shetty’s ‘brainless’ film-making style, SRK’s hamming and his so-called ‘Intolerant India’ comment! So let’s see what Dilwale has to offer.

What is the plot?

A carefree youngster (Varun Dhawan) falls love with a good-looking lass (Kriti Sanon). Their budding love-story hits a roadblock when the girl’s elder sister (Kajol) refuses to accept it. Her reasons behind this refusal go back a long way and involves a bitter family enmity and a violently ended affair with the guy’s elder brother (Shahrukh Khan). The young lovers decide that the only way to mend the situation is to bring the parted old lovers together. But with so much bad blood in between, will it be possible to rekindle that old romance?

What’s hot?

·         As always, director Rohit Shetty gives two hoots to logic and intelligence and sticks to his winning formula to keep the back-and-forth-moving narrative chirpy, bubbly and fast-paced.

·         The patented mix of bright colorful comic-book color-scheme, silly-at times plain crass comedy, car chases/crashes, lots of action sequences and romantic/family melodrama mostly keeps the masses engaged and entertained.

·         The coming together of Shahrukh and Kajol works well. The veterans show their class and their chemistry still has enough spark and sparkle.

·         SRK delivers a measured performance.

·         Johnny Lever is hilarious in his side-role.

·         Kriti Sanon plays her decorative piece well.

What’s not?

·         A hotchpotch plot.

·         The famed lead pair tries hard to hide age but doesn’t really succeed.

·         Kajol takes a while to get the acting pitch right.

·         Varun Dhawan is irritatingly over-the-top and so are many others from the supporting cast.

·         The film is at least half an hour too long and could have easily shed many needlessly long sequences.

·         The music is plain terrible. No song really makes the cut.

Verdict

Brainy people were right in saying that Dilwale is not for them. But they forget that Shetty doesn’t make films for them. His target audience is simple folk who want to leave their daily struggles outside the theatre and have a good time seeing a lavishly mounted action-emotion-comedy-filled fantasy.  He has once more succeeded in giving a 70s-styled mass entertainer, which does just enough to pass the muster. The fans of SRK and Kajol should remember that whatever box-office success that comes Dilwale’s way has more to do with Shetty’s unique command on commercial cinema’s equations, rather than their aging stars’ waning appeal!

Rating

2.5 stars