Review of Dhobi Ghat (2010) by Bev C — 23 Sep 2012

Here is a film that is art in the true sense. It is silent yet assertive, calm yet heart breaking and simple yet complicated. The movie wraps Mumbai in a myriad of emotions and for once we see the city as a genuine product of the people and their lives and not the pub-cult noisy and aimless city. The film is subtle and open to interpretations, just like art should be. Characters, for once, speak through the circumstances and like normal people without the over the top dialogues or crass humour. The film is dark, the film has light. It is a strange mixture of contradictions that makes it accurately human and a genuine masterpiece. The performances by all characters are mesmerising, the music by Gustavo Santaolalla will haunt you for a very long time and the film harkens a million insights to your life and all the other that surround you. The most disturbing question that the film so quietly etches out is: Are we all lonely?

A true motion picture literature.