D oDooni Chaar has to be one of the most important films of our times, a landmark in Indian filmmaking, a celebration of the Great Indian Middle Class and its values in the tradition of Khosla Ka Ghosla . An honest and more significant film than I dare say, even Peepli Live , that exploited farmer suicides only to get your attention and then spent its time making fun of the media rat race!
Interestingly, the filmmaker is the same guy who wrote the frighteningly bad Jhoom Barabar Jhoom , Ta Ra Rum Pum and Salaam Namastey . From the Yash Raj Films branded candy floss world of escape and fantasy to the lived-in middle class homes of Lajpat Nagar rooted in reality, Habib Faisal has come a long way indeed. And hats off to Walt Disney Pictures for backing this little film that has its heart in the right place.
Director Habib Faisal's debut is one of those instantly likeable films that critics quickly bestow with three stars unable to find much to criticise about, apart from the fact that it takes its time and there's not much happening by way of story.
But that's the irony.
Do Dooni … seems like a rather simple story about a lower middle class family finally managing to buy a car. Yes, it is a task that seems much simpler than say, building a home fighting evil land-grabbing mafia ( Khosla Ka Ghosla ). But Faisal turns this into an adventure.
He traces the course of this journey of the family buying a car — the symbol of upward mobility for the Indian middle class — from something they don't really need (but for societal pressure) to something that seems to fulfil a long drawn dream and an ability to afford a higher standard of living within their means and without compromising their values.
The protagonist Duggal (Rishi Kapoor in a career best), a math teacher, a happier version of ‘A Serious Man' (made by the Coens) is faced with a similar moral conflict — should he take money in exchange of marks from a student who is willing to pay to pass?
The context that makes the protagonist revisit this dilemma later in the film exposes the schisms that divide our country. At one level, we are a country that runs IPL, a country where the young walk around with iPhones but strangely, under the same roof, sometimes we are a country that finds it difficult to afford a new branded T-shirt or a car rental for a weekend, let alone down payment on a small car.
The family of four in Do Dooni Chaar is an endearingly adorable one.
There's Kusum Duggal (fall in love with Neetu Kapoor all over again), the woman who runs the household with a smile in the face of adversity, the daughter Payal (Aditi Vasudev), a tomboy who won't run away from a fight and the son, a crime-crazy teen who secretly makes money off a betting racket to maintain his girlfriend and all the luxuries kids his age need.
The characters are as real as they get, be it the visiting aunt or the bitter neighbours or the bratty students who don't feel the need to attend extra classes. And Faisal crafts some truly beautiful moments as he lets these real people protect their personal pride fiercely, every time it comes under attack.
“I am not a loser,” Duggal insists halfway into the film, after announcing to his neighbours that he will buy a car too within the next two weeks.
He has no idea whatsoever on how he would do within his means that but he dares to chase the dream, only to learn that we aren't a system that takes care of its teachers.
What happens when the very people who are supposed to instil moral values in the future of the country are not able to afford a basic small car, a small luxury, even after two decades of service?
It's something that could've become outright preachy but Faisal does not make it about plight of teachers — he makes it about our values, things we rarely celebrate in our cinema.
The little nuances each character brings to the table (it helps that the cast includes veterans such as the ever-lovable real life couple Rishi and Neetu Kapoor) and character detailing makes Do Dooni Chaar a must watch for every Indian family.
Do Dooni Chaar
Genre : Comedy
Director : Habib Faisal
Cast : Rishi Kapoor, Neetu Singh, Aditi Vasudev, Archit Krishna
Storyline : A lower middle class family’s adventures with morality in making the jump from a two-wheeler to bringing home a car
Bottomline : This breezy feel good entertainer raises some seriously dark questions about how we as a nation treat the very people who give us our moral footing.
