In the present age of instant attractions and repulsions, seven years is a painfully long time for the post-marital itch to set in. Husbands with roving eyes and reluctant wives often get a kick of hormones to indulge in some extra-marital sexual adventures.
Bold though it may sound, this is the theme of Dil Kabaddi , a sex comedy revolving around the tangled lives of two married couples.
Samit ( Irrfan Khan ) and Mita ( Soha Ali Khan ) are married but not made for each other. He loves to experiment in bed and wants a sexually aggressive wife, but Mita is an intellectual who cherishes delicate moments of love and wants to go slow with her sexually impatient husband.
Expectedly, Irrfan falls for his curvy aerobics instructor ( Payal Rohatgi ) who is a sex bomb with a defused intellect.
The wedge in Samit and Mita's marriage forces their friends Rishi ( Rahul Bose ) and Simi ( Konkona Sen Sharma ) to ponder over their dull married life. Deep within, Rishi, a professor, is tormented (pleasantly though) by sexual fantasies about his student Raga (Saba), while Simi, an agony aunt for a magazine, finds herself getting attracted to Veer ( Rahul Khanna ), an art director nursing a heart break. But, willy-nilly, Simi ends up playing a matchmaker between Veer and Mita (Soha).
How this tangle of adulterous flings plays out for each character is what 'Dil Kabaddi' is about.
Director Anil Senior takes inspiration from Wood Allen's 'Husbands and Wives' and gives it a desi spin by tilting the story more towards sex than relational complexities. 'Dil Kabaddi' starts off pretty well but gets repetitive in the second half when you find the same ribaldry being played out over again in different situations. The story keeps spiraling in circles till the fag end when the director probably realizes that the freaking plot is heading nowhere and tries to give it a definitive direction.
What keeps your interest from waning is the performances by Irrfan Khan, Konkona Sen and Soha. Irrfan appears as if he's just had a shot of the world's most potent aphrodisiac, while Soha is effectively restrained and uptight. Konkona is highly expressive and Rahul Bose manages to impress despite his accented dialogue delivery. Rahul Khanna seems laidback and disinterested in his role. Payal Rohatgi fits the role of a bimbo who stimulates passion in the opposite sex.
'Dil Kabaddi' does have a few funny sequences, but overall the film fails to deliver what it promised. It neither gives you ample laughs, nor does it sex you up. And that's a pity.
Movie Review : Sex and Pity (4/10) In the present age of instant attractions and repulsions, seven years is a painfully long time for the post-marital itch to set in...
Exposing in wrong films was a mistake: Payal Rohatgi
Dil Kabaddi - Movie Review
Dil Kabaddi - Movie Preview
Payal Rohatgi strikes sensuous yogic poses
