Dasvidanya !!

After watching a few Tamil and Hindi movies, and ‘Kaala’ recently on Amazon Prime, I had to detox myself!

So I went back to my archive of sensible movies and randomly picked one – Dasvidanya !

Dasvidanya = Good Bye in Russian.

Wonder how many have watched this 10 year old, low budget film starring old timers Vinay Pathak and Neha Dhupia (does anyone recollect these names at all ?? )

No great songs!  No super Hero! No startling Heroine! No torrid love scenes! No action-packed car chase and crash shots! No gory fight scenes!  No complicated plot!  No fancy location shootings!  No emotional family drama – meaning No SSB !

SSB = Super-Sentimental Bullshit!!

And yet without these extremely essential Indian masala powders, Dasvidanya still had a wonderful flavour and a refreshing taste!

First time I watched Dasvidanya – it was around midnight, all alone, in my hotel room in Gurgaon.

I put it on ‘Must Watch’  list – for all those who can appreciate good sensitive acting, sober meaningful dialogs, polished humour, and can share a certain amount of empathy and anguish!

The Hero (anti-hero actually), Amal Kaul (played by Vinay Pathak) is a typical middle-aged bachelor living with his mom in a middle-class apartment. His whole life goes totally awry as he gets pushed around like a driftwood – squeezed into taxis, bullied by his boss, nagged by his mom, while his whole life is virtually dictated by his yellow sheet “to-do’ list! And things only get worse when he is diagnosed for stomach cancer and he gets only 3 months to live.

 And then his alter ego takes over and transforms him into someone he always wanted to be.

And his drab ‘to-do‘ list takes on a new and exciting ‘bucket list’ avatar!

Some beautiful moments are captured when

-        -  He finally gathers enough courage & proclaims his love to his childhood friend (played by Neha Dhupia) in pouring rain – and by dumb charades!!

-        -  He breaks down, all alone in a foreign country trying to jump over a bridge.

-        -  His short relationship with a Russian stranger blossom in 3 days.

-        -  He sings a song for this mother along with his brother.

-        -  He buys his new car and gives a ride to the sales girl.

-        -  And of course, the way he makes his list.

-        And the final scene!!!

Amazing expressions, superb acting, brilliant direction & excellent supporting roles. Very rare to see all these coning together & well-coordinated in one Hindi movie!

Obviously, I am bowled over.

And please do not believe if anyone says Dasvidanya is a copy of ‘Bucket List’ (Morgan Freeman & Jack Nicholson). Except for the list, there is very little in common.

And this movie is far better and more beautiful to watch.

And the best way to watch?

All alone in the middle of the night!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vXPjGj6diU

Enjoy maadi.

Krish..