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22 out of 24 people found the following comment useful :- A mirror to good cinema..., 8 October 2006 Author: Shashi Krishna from Denmark
Simple movies are the hardest to make in India. Being a traditionally colorful culture that subdues to the varying degrees of pomp and glitz, it is rare that something so simple yet powerful comes across.'Dor' comes from the able hands of my personal favorite Nagesh Kukunoor. The man who revolutionized the so called 'parallel cinema' by giving it a relatable look with the classic- 'Hyderabad Blues'. With time his understanding of the cinematic life cycle has only matured and this is quite evident in his recent works.I was on the flight from Frankfurt to Bangalore when I happened to see his brush with India's real religion – Cricket. 'Iqbal' brought to light more than just a story. It brought to me glimpses of an India we all can relate with. An ounce of style with the right amount of emotion made me appreciate this creative genius flying on an unknown land that evening. It was then I realized Nagesh was more than just a movie maker. He was indeed a 'mirror maker' who showed us visions of various parts of our own society. Parts we rarely get to see. Parts that are easily forgotten in the razzmatazz of everything else that surrounds us.At the risk of trying to avoid this write up from becoming another review, I am attempting to capture the mood of the feature rather than the semantics of it. 'Dor' goes across the nation towards the Northern part of the country. Two stories running parallel to each other but united by one tragic cause. We have a story of a couple from the foothills of a valley in Himachal Pradesh. We have another story of another couple from the dune hills of Rajasthan. People from two completely varying faiths and cultural limitations find each other in the face of a tragedy. Simple people with not so simple challenges. People like you and me.But then 'Dor' is so much more than just that. It is about the ignored woman section in India. It is about their eternal struggle in a male-dominant world. It is about the anguish a young widow faces in her close minded and medieval society. It is about a friendship that is born out of grief and put to test. A test that can easily make or break it. It is about mending broken hearts and ailing relationships. It is about hope that is so easily lost in the chaotic lives we are part of.'Dor' is about the delicate threads that bind us as human beings.Indians have always been fed on a rich diet of fiction and endless melodrama. To escape from reality is the easy way out but to own up to it and reflect takes a bigger individual. 'Dor' attempts at encouraging us starry-eyed scapegoats to pause and look into the mirror we live in.As I said, simple yet powerful representations like 'Dor' are easy to ignore. But it only adds up to the injustice such genuine pieces of work meet with. I sincerely hope this is not the case with 'Dor'. Do yourself a favor and be a part of this qualitative journey for once.As for me, I have found my mirror and I acknowledge what I see. I hope you can do the same.
17 out of 20 people found the following comment useful :- A sublime and powerful story, 1 October 2006 Author: shafi4uf from India
Nagesh Kukunoor narrates a sublime and powerful tale of two women, intertwined by destiny. It is a story of quest- quest of love and the extent to which the protagonist is prepared to go for it. It is a subtle documentary on women subjugation and emancipation- a story of sisterhood. It is a narration of humanity and human relationships. The story moves us, it stirs us. None of the earlier works of Kukunoor prepares us for this marvelous fête of aesthetics and emotions.It provides a landscape hidden to the eyes of the modern India. It paints a picture of an all together different world. The canvas is unfamiliar, but the characters are so easy to relate to- so easy to empathize with. Their pain is our pain; their jubilations are ours. We laugh for them and cry for them at the same time. They become for once us, and we become them.The depiction of fiercely independent woman, Zeenat, by Gul Panag is by far her best performance on the celluloid. She essays a very powerful character which would go to any extreme to save her love- her background, religion, and limited resources not withstanding. She inspires respect for the character in the hearts of the audience. She tells us of the revolution which is silently happening in the hinterlands of India, where women are slowly but surely coming out of their traditional roles and becoming more empowered. She conveys this is a subtle way through her convincing and yet underplayed performance.Meera is played by Ayesha Takia. And what a performance this is. Those who have seen Takia in her earlier roles would never be able to guess the sheer genius this actor is. One is forced to wonder what took her so long to express her real acting talent. Watch out especially for the scene where Meera's husband's battered suitcase is delivered in the veranda and she approaches it. Very few actors have been able to achieve the brilliance in their delivery to the extent she does in this scene.Through his characterization of funny "behrupiya" Shreyas Talpade introduces an element of spontaneous fun with out disturbing the underlying emotional depth of the movie. He goes one step further from his earlier performance in Iqbal- show-casing a previously huge untapped talent. His appearance in the movie adds an extra zing to this tale of sisterhood.Screenplay has done justice to all the characters. Secondary characters are also very well formed. Cinematography is awe-inspiring. The parched landscape of Rajasthan adds a kind of mysticism to the story. The juxtaposition of the story against this landscape adds an extra element of poignancy. Background music adds to the story without becoming overbearing. Technical departments have done a marvelous job. It shows in the movie that a lot of love and thought has gone into making of this movie.All in all this is the best movie that has come out of Bollywood in a long time. It is a definite 9 out of 10. (I hesitate to give it 10 out of 10 because of the character played by Kukunoor himself in the movie that creates disharmony in the storyline.)
16 out of 21 people found the following comment useful :- Lage Raho Nagesh Bhai, 2 October 2006 Author: vaibhav_bhandeo from Mumbai
Movie depicts the Dor of life. Its unusual from a maker like Nagesh to produce such an emotional flick but he was brilliant in it. Specially the role of Gul Panag was splendid.This role must have been made for some one like Smita Patil or Shabana Azmi and Gul did real justice with it. This story revolves around the pain and agony a young widow whose husband is accidentally (Not quite sure) killed by his roommate who happens to be husband of the liberated woman Gul. The movie circles around her journey to find the woman who can get her husband free. Shreyas played an excellent role in this movie and surely second best role wise. Ayesha also played a good role along with Nagesh and Girish Karnad. All in all this is a movie worth watching. A 9/10 from my side.-Vaibhav
16 out of 22 people found the following comment useful :- Postcard Movie!, 27 September 2006 Author: arvindbatra from India
Dor is a well crafted post card movie. The movie at many times moves as if the director is flashing postcards one by one. Set in the backdrop of himachal and Rajasthanm, the beauty of nature is captured very well. Nagesk Kukunoor once again manages manages to create the emotional drama with this film. Solid performances by all stars especially by Gul Panag. She surely had shown potential after dhoop and in this movie she is surely a treat to watch. Miss Takia has also done a good job.Dor is a story of two different woman handle their dor of life differently and how their life intersects due to one incident.The story is well written and screen play is good. Mr. TalPade manages to provide humour to this movie convincingly. One place where it lacks is in its ending which could have been a "less bollywood" ending.But with the script, direction and solid performances it is very good movie 8/10.
11 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :- Awesome movie., 17 October 2006 Author: dr_ram77 (dr_ram77@yahoo.com) from United States
One of the most poignant movies that has come out in the present day Indian Cinema. The story is very convincing & realistic yet serene, never losing its beauty. Ayesha Takia surprises us with her impeccable acting and dialog delivery. The dialog's are crisp and full of life and that make the characters come to life and make such an impact on the viewer. Kukunoor has shown some of his best directional skills. The movie never looses its pace...Gul Panag & Shreyas Talpade have done their best. On the whole this is a movie, in line with Rang de Basanti and Lage Raho Munna Bhai, which have started a new trend in movie making in India....away from the popular, sugar coated hypocritical movies. These movies have the ability to carry strong messages, yet entertain us throughout with a feel good factor. Hope we have more directors such as these...Oscar will not be far.
9 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :- The ties that bind..., 21 May 2007 Author: TaggartQuin from United States
I was finally able to get my hands on what was being hyped as possibly the best film of 2006. When there is so much hype I immediately become a skeptic - on the lookout for any flaws. So I watched this film in no complacent frame of mind - no way was I simply gonna like it because others did. Three hours later, here I am compelled to write a few lines about this film.The story is simplistic - Zeenat (Gul Panag) and Aamir (Rushad Rana) marry in remote Himachal Pradesh against his parents wishes and then he goes off to Dubai. In the meantime, far away in Rajasthan, Meera (Ayesha Takia) and Shankar (Anirudh Jayakar) are married and he is getting ready to go off to Dubai. The thread is being spun.. Meera and Zeenat go through many months of separation from their spouses, living for the monthly phone call, the letters. Then one day the unthinkable happens - Meera is told Shankar is dead, Zeenat told that her husband stands accused of the murder and must die unless the widow of the deceased signs a form saying she forgives him. Zeenat does not know who the wife is but is of indomitable will and sets off on a long journey to find her and convince her to sign the piece of paper. The thread is now being pulled together.. With the help of a Behroopiya (Shreyas Talpade) Zeenat eventually finds Meera, and slowly begins to get close to her. The thread is now being woven into a fabric of friendship.. Eventually Meera finds out that Zeenat was using the friendship to get her to sign that piece of paper and rejects the friendship. The fabric is now about to be rent apart... Meera's life is in turmoil as her husband;s family feels acute need for the money he would send home each month. Will Meera realize exactly what gift Zeenat has bestowed on her? Will Zeenat be able to save her wrongly accused husband? The movie has no clichés, no pat answers, no hackneyed situations, and in the end we are left with an overwhelming sense of the triumph of humanity.Nagesh Kukunoor wrote and directed a masterpiece in Dor. The film never drags, never leaves you incredulous, and is sometimes saddening, but in the end extremely heartwarming. It is extremely feminist in its views, but not in a shrill way - it never preaches, just points the way. The characters of Zeenat and Meera are drawn in a masterly way, you feel for both, understand both, sympathize with both, want to be like both - yet they are as different as chalk and cheese. The performances are outstanding - I am hard-pressed to pick favorites between Gul and Ayesha. Where Ayesha charms with her childlike simplicity, her quiet fortitude, and her occasional bouts of mischief, Gul sneaks into your heart with her strong but gentle nature, her quite strength of will, her single-minded belief that her husband cannot be a killer. Shreyas Talpade is charming as the thief/mime/mimic/man of many talents! He takes on every filmi hero known to us, changes costumes at the drop of a hat and is charming, cunning and vulnerable.Outstanding moments in the film include Ayesha's finding out her husband is dead, Gul's telling Ayesha who she is and why she is really there, the grandmother telling the mother that one day she too will be on this side of the door, Ayesha's dancing to You are My Sonia in widows's garb, the dance in the desert, too many others to name. The music is excellent, the songs filled my heart and pleased my mind. I am drunk on the feel of this film.This is a keeper and the film to watch when you are feeling blue. It will take away your sorrows and make you believe in the joy of being human.
7 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :- Awesome, 23 November 2006 Author: Anand Gupta from United States
One of the better movies of recent times.. you hardly get to see a more realistic reflection of the life in rural India. Kudos to cinematography to create such a holistic picture of Rajasthan... and what a breath taking view of the Opening Act.Nagesh Kukunoor has definitely done his homework before making this film. It touches so many real issues faced by India.. the fiercely independent Zeenat, the overtly coy Mira, the odd jobs a beherupiya has to do, the dependency a family has on a son who's abroad, the young girl who was dumped at birth, the state of mind of the elderly, the list is endless...Every actor of the film deserves kudos for giving justice to his / her role. Ayesha Takia needs to do some such similar role to repeat the phenomenon; a different take from what she has done so far... She is refreshingly different. Well Shreyas, you are getting better at acting.One word to summarize.. Gul Panag, awesome !! Look forward to your next film..
9 out of 13 people found the following comment useful :- A plain story which is spiced up with a good screenplay, cinematography, dialogues and Kukunoor's sensitivity as a filmmaker..., 1 November 2006 Author: runi_star from India
Film: DorCast: Gul Panag, Ayesha Takia, Shreyas Talpade, Nagesh Kukunoor, Girish KanadDirector: Nagesh Kukunoor.Zeenat and Mira are women from two different worlds. Be it geography, culture, religion attitude, lifestyle or their names. In other words, its either black or white, the difference is tremendously visible. In spite of all these differences, there is a connection "a dor" and Nagesh Kukknoor has effectively trailed on it.Mira played by Ayesha Takia, hails from Rajasthan. The mystic and forlorn beauty of the desert coupled with the orthodox ideas and views, reflects Mira's life, whereas, confidence and vigor is synonymous with Zeenat (played by Gul), the girl from lush and green Himachal.Their husbands went out to the foreign shores to make things better at their respective places. The emotions of a newly wedded woman and her pain when he leaves out for work, the once in a month phone call by her husband which would last for a few minutes only, the desires , the love and longing in case of Mira is well portrayed. And the way she would climb up a stone to get clarity or network of the call is very apt in village as in Jodhpur.While in case of Zeenat, she had to change the mind set of her in-laws about her. A very strong and determined lady. She takes everything to her stride.The story takes a turn when Mira's husband gets killed and Zeenat's husband is held responsible for it. They used to be roommates. The only way Zeenat's husband could get out of the situation is Mira's letter of consent saying she has forgiven him.So the journey begins for Zeenat. With nothing, but a photograph of her husband with Shankar ( Mira's husband), she begins the quest. The song, "ye honsla" is very fitting. On the way she meets up with a "Behrupiya", played by Shreyas Talpade. This character brings life to the entire story. He has done complete justice to the character. Very lively, the audience keeps asking for more.The way they track the Shankar family and how Zeenat becomes Mira's best friend and helps her to shed her inhibitions is very interesting. "Imaan ki Udaan", as Zeenat puts it.The best part of Kuknoor' film is his ability of not ignoring human emotions. The way the Behrupiya helped Zeenat and he eventually falling in love with her even after knowing that she is married is one example of it.All throughout their friendship, she never gets the courage to confront Mira the fact for which she takes up the journey. The final outbreak of the film is a typical Kukunoor touch which he specializes!!!!!In terms of performances, there is nothing great. Credit goes to the strength of the characters in the story itself and there is one scene where Kuknoor looks at Mira and the very look is so suggestive of his intentions. Kudus to the scene!!! A plain story which is spiced up with a good screenplay, cinematography, dialogues and Kukunoor's sensitivity as he tried to bring forth the issue of female foeticide into it.
7 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :- Dor-A refreshingly different film, 28 September 2006 Author: chet_rathod from India
*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
Before I set about describing the plot, it should be mentioned that an honest and sincere attempt at anything will always elicit applause and appreciation. By no means is this film a masterpiece; however you can easily see the attempt that it makes in being one and purely for this reason it deserves a viewing and when you do give it an audience, it will give you many more reasons to watch it again.The story is about two women who happen to be connected by a strange quirk of fate. Zeenat (Gul Panag) and Mira (Ayesha Takia) live in breathtaking geographies of their respective states. Zeenat in Himachal Pradesh has her home nestled in the lush green hills overlooking the undulating river as she cuts lovingly through the hills. Mira on the other hand lives in the barren state of Rajasthan which glows with its harsh painful beauty, "havelis" proclaiming the patriarchal society. Both these women have just begun their married life in absolute love with their spouses, however for economic reasons their better halves have to go to the gulf. In the far off land, Mira's husband is killed and Zeenat's husband (Amir) is held responsible for his death. The harsh law of the state doesn't allow him to be expedited and believes in an eye for an eye, so Amir will have to part with his life unless Mira decides to pardon him. Thus begins Zeenats journey to track down Mira armed with nothing but a photograph and her strong will power to save her loved one at any cost. She meets Shreyas Talpade on the way who is "masquerade" or a "bahurupiya". Shreyas helps shorten her search through ingenious ways and using his masquerading talent. Beyond this it is best watched on the large screen.The film has one of the best background soundtracks, haunting and apt with the look and feel of the film. The cinematography is amazing, the way the camera captures the beauty of both lands is awesome. Memorable scenes are the Himachal hills with the river and the blue houses of Bikaner among many great scenes. There is a tendency to start most scenes with a non descript object in focus and then shifting the gaze to the characters but before it becomes too noticeable, it is rectified. The acting is outstanding. Gul Panag is very convincing as the strong willed woman, however the anguish and the pain of knowing that she could loose her loved one is not depicted well. Ayesha Takia does a great job of a nubile young widow who has to confine herself to the life of a prisoner just because she has lost a husband. Her accent is not very convincing. Shreyas Talpade is the pick among all. His mimicry talent is beautifully showcased here and his accent is flawless. He leaves you with quite a few memorable scenes, especially the one in which he declares his affection for Zeenat. Nagesh brings out certain subtleties which declare his talent for serious cinema. How ever certain elements stop this film from being a great work. The character of Mira could have been made stronger if the decision making for her would have been complicated by lessening the complications in her life, this would have brought out her character in full. The pace of the film might not find favour with the majority of the audience. The climax of the film leaves a lot to be desired. In spite of all its shortcomings, Dor should not be missed. It is very rare that such serious cinema is attempted in commercial domain which seems to be obsessed with celebrating philandering on the streets of New York and forcefully pushing the media to discuss the same on prime time. The film doesn't for once become larger than life and sticks to the portrayal of human behaviour and relationships through trying times and decision making. May not be for the front bencher's but definitely for the connoisseurs.
5 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :- The loyalty of a wife to her husband triumphs over adversity., 13 February 2007 Author: nat_carni from United States
I very much enjoyed this movie and thought performances by both females leads were good. I especially liked Zeenat's (Gul Panag) courage, quiet dignity and fortitude in the face of an overwhelming and frightening situation for a young bride. I am of the opinion that she acted better than Ms. Takia, but both were very good. Mr. Talpade is also excellent as the comic foil and does a admirable job of plaing the jester. He is a con man with a heart of gold and proves this in his dedication to the cause at hand. I enjoyed his performance in Iqbal and here as well. It is really worth seeing this movie - the scenery is also breathtaking especially the scenes of Himachal Pradesh! The story line is also a different one - I have not seen such a topic in Hindi films.
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