Story

Zeenat (Gul Panag) is from Himachal Pradesh and her husband Amir Khan leaves to Saudi Arabia to earn quick money. Meera (Ayesha Takia) is from Rajastan and her husband Sankar Singh leaves to Saudi immediately after the marriage. After a few months Meera is informed that her husband is dead. Zeenat gets an intimation from ministry of external affairs that her husband is jailed in Saudi because he is allegedly killed his roommate Sankar Singh. Amir Khan would be given death penalty soon. The only way to stop it is to get a signed letter from the wife of Shankar. All Zeenat got is a photograph of Shankar Singh. The rest of the story is all about how she traces Meera and gets her work done.

Artists Performance

Ayesha Takia: From whatever films I have seen of Ayesha Takia, I though that she would be fit only for glamour doll roles. But she proved everybody wrong with her exceptional performance in Dor. She did not wear any makeup. Her expressions are subtle and you would end up having lot of sympathy for her character in the film.

Shreyas Talpade: Shreyas Talpade who gave brilliant performance as a mute guy in Iqbal, comes up with entirely contrast portrayal in Dor. He played the role of a con-man who helps Zeenat in searching Meera. His imitation of various movie stars is splendid. Shreyas is an actor to watch out for in the future, as he can do both serious cinema and commercial cinema with equal elan.

Others: Gul Panag is extraordinary in the character of a mentally strong woman. Girish Karnad did the role of a house head. Uttara Baovkar is exceptional as the grandmother of Meera. Nagesh Kukunoor also did a role in the film.

Technical Departments:

Story - screenplay - direction: This film is a remake of Malayalam film Perumazhakkalam. But, Nagesh Kukunoor makes sure that it is as authentic as any of the original films. He banked on the emotions and made sure that each and every scene has an underlying emotion. He showed the tenderness of love very sensitively. He also beautifully presented the thread of liberation where Meera breaks the shackles. At the same time he gave terrific characterization to Shreyas Talpade so that he gives much needed entertainment in such a serious film like Dor. Nagesh Kukunoor outperforms his Iqbal with this film in terms of screenplay and direction.

Other departments: The locations are extraordinary. The forts, blue skies and sand dunes will present you the Rajasthan in a refreshing style. Photography is fabulous. Music is evocative and it encapsulates the soul. Dialogues are exceptionally good. Artwork is exemplary. Editing is smooth.

Analysis: Nagesh Kukunoor comes up with the world-class stuff in Dor. Dor is the kind of film that caters to multiplexes and international audiences. On the personal level, I love watching DVDs of world cinema to observe customs, traditions and lifestyles of various countries. But one thing that is common in all these movies is the emotion that strike the right chords universally. Dor is one such film that belongs to world cinema. Nagesh Kukunoor’s Dor proudly represents India in the world cinema circuit. Go and watch it!

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