Pleasant Surprise !! (DG Revisited)

PS : Major changes from the first posting
I was not expecting much from the movie 'Dhobi Ghat (DG)' and was expecting it to be a pretentious dab on art house cinema. But it turned out to be pleasant surprise with themes inspired from  Alejandro Innaritu's movies especially Babel. The movie is about emotional dilemma's that people face in everyday existence. It shows the different emotional layers of eclectic people in the city of Mumbai.There are some good takers from the movie. 

DG revolved around three stories working simultaneously on relations but somewhat intertwined with each other. The first interesting feature that I liked about the movie was the use of silence and music. Emotions are better portrayed without words and this technique has not been effectively used in 'Hindi' cinema much. DG was able to somewhat effectively  use it in conjunction with music. Satyajit Ray was the master of this technique in India which can be clearly seen in movies such as Pather Panchali and Charulata, whereas in World Cinema Kieslowski was the master of this supreme narrative form without words.The stories were intertwined in subtle ways and showed an eclectic array of characters. Another interesting part was the simultaneous linear flow of these stories in a slow absorbing manner. The first story or theme portrays the case of Arun who cherishes his privacy and solitude.  His sense of solace comes from a vicarious experience (which can be considered  the third or another story in the movie) than from tangible human beings . The second story is about a typical 'Mumbai' struggler who aspires to become an actor one day. He seemed to me to be the central character of the movie. He finds this NRI girl who becomes his friend by chance and kindles his heart. But the girl is fond of Arun. These inconsistencies in relations and the emotional churning across different class characters has been portrayed nicely .The third story which has an vicarious emotional link to the first story and is about a simple and naive girl. She is like a adoring sister to her brother and loyal and servile wife to her husband. But her husband's infidelity she is not able to withstand and plans to commit suicide. The movie portrays in a basic sense the illogicality of life. But the end is kept open. There are movies with certain clear statements and predictablity which makes it singular in interpretation. But certainity in art form makes  it boring. Emotions are not predictable nor life is. 

Dhobi Ghat seems to be  a metaphor for life where it acts like a drainer or cleanser of emotions to make a person humble and more humane or maybe the opposite.