IBTimes India Rating: 2
Remember landing a good-looking 'man' for a boyfriend at school, only to find out what a contemptible person he is? Zoya Akhtar's "Dil Dhadakne Do" is glossy, but the aura of it dwindles to a mere trickle.
Pluto Mehra (Voiceover: Aamir Khan), a bull mastiff, who is well versed with the Mehras – Kamal (Anil Kapoor), Neelam (Shefali Shah), Ayesha (Priyanka Chopra), Kabir (Ranveer Singh) – and their capability of messing life up in seconds, lets the audience into their world.
Unfortunately, it had nothing special to offer except for a bunch of emotionally confused people who set off on a cruise and have no idea what to do with the flimsy roles offered to them by the supremely talented Zoya Akhtar.
A cranky dad, who refuses to look beyond lineage, a least-interested mother who chooses to look over problems rather than addressing them, a directionless son who wants to fly the plane, and an independent woman who gets beaten up in her head trying to put up with a creep of a husband called Manav Sanga (Rahul Bose).
Meanwhile, Sunny Gill (Farhan Akhtar) and Anushka Sharma (Farah Ali) are free from such worries and possibly the only souls on board who, if left mid-ocean without a floating device, will swim to the shores.
Thinly crafted and low on insight, the narrative quite literally goes with the flow in the process giving the viewer visually stunning frames and impeccably dressed people to gawk at.
The heart of the plot could have been exploited more in order to bring out the complexities of human dynamics in a better manner, but Zoya hit an iceberg mid-way. She is no Captain Jack Sparrow, but the glitch-friendly voyage could have been salvaged a little had she not thrown in unnecessary characters making the plot busier than what it already has the potential to be.
Ranveer and Anushka lent honesty to their performances and are never out of the line. Priyanka, on the other hand, tries hard and somewhere doesn't get it right. Anil Kapoor and Shefali Shah make for a good bickering couple and Farhan is poised, rugged and sensible. Rahul Bose is outright annoying in his portrayal of Sanga.
In a nutshell, had I let my "Dil Dhadakne Do" for a little longer and faster, it would have given up.
