Mumbai Diaries (2010)

Mumbai Diaries • Dhobi Ghat (2010)

Genre: Drama
Director: Kiran Rao
Starring: Aamir Khan, Monica Dogra, Kriti Malhotra, Prateik Babbar
Language: Hindi, English
Duration: 100 min.
Rating: 7.4  

Summary:

The story of four people from very different backgrounds, whose worlds intersect and leave them forever altered. As they find themselves drawn into compelling relationships, the city finds its way into the crevices of their lives, separating them even as it brings them closer...

Mumbai Diaries is the debut feature film from writer and director Kiran Rao.  It premiered at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival.

Sporting an unusual style for an Indian film, a trend I hope catches on, this looks and plays out much more like a hand-held indie arthouse piece from Europe than what you would expect from a Bollywood feature, especially one produced by and starring Aamir Khan. Mumbai Diaries is the story of four vastly different characters that follows how their lives intertwine and affect each other in unexpected ways, all the while wonderfully showcasing the familiar and as well the unseen places and people of India's largest city. 

The sights and sounds here are most impressive, Tushar Kanti Ray's camerawork here using both film and digital tape, in locations that span from the gritty rain soaked streets to the soaring skyscrapers under construction, to the famous Dhobi Ghat which gives the film it's original name, he captures a living and breathing Mumbai that I have not seen look so vibrant and captivating before; and award winning Argentine composer Gustavo Santaolalla's bittersweet guitar driven score perfectly complements the tone and rhythm of those striking images.

The acting however was a mixed bag, with performances and dialog that frequently crossed over the line into soap opera territory, and Khan's over-the-top way of smoking a cigarette looked like something straight out of a Marlboro man commercial. Cool, but distracting.  Also the editing was quite choppy in a few places, making the flow of some of the conversations slightly awkward and unnatural.

Still, Rao provides an altogether fascinating look at the city, especially the less commercially viable areas that aren't often seen on film, and if Diaries was intended to be a love letter to the rapidly changing Mumbai, or Bombay as all the characters still call it, then the film is nothing less than a glowing success.

— Bonjour Tristesse