Konkona Sen Sharma (Dolly)
Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare (Netflix) ; 2 hours 5 minutes ; Satire/Drama;2020; Starring : Konkona Sen Sharma, Bhumi Pednekar, Vikrant Massey, Amol Parashar, Neelima Azmi…; Director: Alankrita Shrivastava; Producers: Ekta Kapoor & Ruchikaa Kapoor; Cinematography: John Jacob & Payyapalli.
By Neeraj Nanda
MELBOURNE, 22 September 2020: A frustrated middle class wife (Dolly), Konkona Sen Sharma and her new-in-town cousin sister (Kajal), Bhumi Pednekar from Dharbanga, Bihar are entangled in greater Noida’s urban milieu where life just moves and jingles. Everyone is working and personal surprises come with every step. For Dolly, hubby Amit (Aamir Bashir) and two kids are no solace. She has had no sex for two years. Kajal’s adolescence is nurtured by her ‘Kitty’ identity working for Red Rose (cyber-love service) getting into a relationship with an already married, Pradeep. Dolly’s filtration with take away delivery boy Osmaan (Amol Parasher) goes to its logical end. A music cum vigilante group exercises moral policing. Red Rose is vandalised. Freedom beats the cultural ‘sat-savatri’ hangovers. Life choices emerge amidst the conservative urban potpourri. It’s a woman’s life and she decides and does what makes her happy.
Bhumi Pednekar (Kajal)
The movie has shades of Director Alankarita Srivastava’s previous black comedy ‘Lipstik Under My Burka’, which I saw at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2019. The common bonding being the women’s search for freedom. Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare, is realistic in its portrayal of middle-class urban women searching and finding outlets of freedom. Sanskari India takes a backseat as society battles new tensions engulfed by the technological/cyber revolution. Dialogues are frank and reflect social tensions. Stuff which people talk in What’s App groups. The Bihari accent adds to the realism.
Superb acting by Konkona,Aamir,Bhumi,Amol,Vikrant Massey speaks of their talents and Alankrita’s direction. Neelima Azmi (Dolly’s mom) was a surprise. The team makes a movie where women stand-up to do what they feel. The movie has a streaming service release because of the pandemic. If there was a theatre release, I am sure, the film would have massive cuts and audio muted. A must watch.
I give it 4 out of five stars.
