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Dobara
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'Dobara'

By Nitika Desai
Film critic, ApunKaChoice.Com

A man’s happily married life is turned topsy turvy when he receives a call from his ex-lover, who reveals to him a shocking truth about their ‘secret’ son.

First time director Shashi Ranjan had a good story for his debut, but he falls short of making a thought-provoking film because of the uneven pace of movie, its loop-holed script and the deliberate inclusion of songs that look out-of-sync at many places.

The

film stars Raveena Tandon as a mentally disturbed woman Ria, who was once in a very intimate relationship with Ranbir (Jackie) before she started losing her mental balance and was sent to an institution.

With the passing of time, Ranbir has found a new, happy life with wife Anjali (Mahima Choudhary). Things are hunky dory between the two until one day, Ranbir receives a telephone call from Ria (who has fled from the asylum). Ria reveals to him the truth about their son, who is living in Goa.

Ria requests Ranbir to accompany her to Goa for their son’s birthday. Rattled by the Ria’s revelation about his son, Ranbir agrees to go with her. On their trip to Goa in a jeep, the two dig out their past lives and reflect upon the things that tore them apart.

On the other hand, Ranbir’s wife Anjali is suspicious of Ranbir’s trip. She takes a plane to Goa to follow them. But on the plane she meets a man who unknowingly helps her see things in a different perspective.

Dobara has an ‘out of the ordinary’ story that might have been made into an excellent film had the director not tried to incorporate some of the essential Bollywood elements like the mandatory songs between the hero and his ex-lover and then his wife, consecutively.

The film also has too many references to yesteryear hit Ek Duje Ke Liye. The inclusion of such sequences, which begin to irritate after repetition, is perhaps done deliberately by Ranjan to show his love for Ek Duje Ke Liye.

Another loophole in the story is that in the second half, the focus suddenly shifts from the couple to the child, making the fag end of the movie quite uneventful.

Raveena Tandon has given some laudable performances in the past, but she looks unconvincing in playing the mentally unbalanced character of Ria. Jackie Shroff has a compelling screen presence and a thoughtful look throughout the movie.

Mahima plays her part of jealous, suspicious wife with commitment while Pakistani actor Muammar Rana appears in a noticeable cameo.

Some people may find the pace of the movie sluggish in the first half, but its interesting story (its saving grace), keeps a viewer involved until the very end, which, sorry to say, is a bit disappointing.

Worth a watch

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