Review: Darlings
Rating - 1/ 5
Duration - 134 Mins
Director - Jasmeet K. Reen
Producer - Gauri Khan, Alia Bhatt, Gaurav Verma
Writer - Parveez Sheikh,
Jasmeet K. Reen
Dialogue -Vijay Maurya, Parveez Sheikh, Jasmeet K. Reen
Cinematography - Anil Mehta
Editor - Nitin Baid
Music - Prashant Pillai Vishal Bhardwaj
Starring - Alia Bhatt, Shefali Shah, Vijay Varma, Roshan Mathew
Language - Hindi
Certificate - U/A
The story revolves around two women who are fighting in their lives despite being in exceptional circumstances when life seems unfair.
Badru (Alia) hopes her unstable husband (Vijay Verma) will treat her good if he stops drinking. But when she realises this misconception, she seeks her mothers help to take revenge in her own way.
Plus Point
Acting - Alia Bhatt has proven that she is a versatile actress. Excellent performance! Shefali Shah who is an equally talented performer lends a good support to her character. Vijay Varma is good as Alia’s husband.
Minus points
1) Direction (Jasmeet K. Reen) is weak. Entire drama is lifeless and not exciting.
2) Parvez Shaikh and Jasmeet K. Reen (writers) try to give a message against domestic vilolence. Film doesn’t connect emotionally. It is humourless.
Not sure as to why two line social message of domestic violence has been put on the celluloid for 134 minutes? Shah Rukh Khan and Alia Bhatt could have easily made 2 minutes Instagram video to make the masses aware of this.
Screenplay is fictional and hence, it doesn't touch your heart.
It’s not digestible that Alia Bhatt suddenly turns into a revenge taking wife after being subjected to domestic violence. And that too she takes revenge in a lovingly and carrying manner? Wth!
Alia’s husband Vijay Verma comes to know the identity of a person who was behind putting him into the bar, and still doesn’t feel revengeful? Like how!
The list of defects is long in the screenplay. Vijay Maurya, Jasmeet K. Reen and Parveez Shaikh are strictly functional.
3) Technicalities - Overall production designing is ok.
4) Editing (Nitin Baid) is poor. Film drags at regular intervals.
5) Music is weak. Zero chartbuster songs. Vishal Bhardwaj is an over rated music director and failed to give one chart buster song in last 10 years.
Box Office
OTT platforms have truly become a big dumping ground of such films which would have otherwise been rejected by the masses.
Out of more than 100 films released post pandemic on OTT , out of 3 are being genuinely liked by the masses.
Darling premiered on Netflix .The harsh reality is that very few people have subscribed Netflix (many subscribers have discontinued). Hence, film will be widely go unnoticed. Only class audience will watch .Aur jinke liye banai hai woh bechare dekh nahi payenge.
Even the class on whom this film is based wouldn’t have the luxury to see Netflix. Handful Critics are likely to give a high rating because of the dark comedy (their favourite genre) but masses ke sir ke upper se nikal jayegi yeh film!
PS: Bhagwan bhala kare inn OTT platform walon ka jinhone Bollywood ko zinda rakha hua hai. Agar yeh na hote toh Bollywood ka Band Baj Gaya Hota!
OTT platform ki ghatiya creative aur nikammi marketing team mein ek se ek namune bhare hue hain jinko film ki creativity ka ABCD tak pata nahi aur 50 se 100 crore kee (definitely setting kar ke) film khareed kar Bollywood ka Bhala Karte hai aur public ki watt lagate hain.
Narendra Gupta
Kingstar
FilmCity
Moviebiz
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