ADOLi TI-IAT DODDERS

DOLLYKl DOLi

STARRING: Sonam Kapoor, Rajkummar Yadav, Pulkit Samrat,Varun Singh DIRECTOR:Abhishek Dogra ·•·1r)r,,z-r.z

It works onthe idea level -a spunky spirited girl who unapologetically cleans up unsuspecting bridegrooms onthe wedding night.

Thisfeistycon woman is outto take revenge on mankind after being dumped byaguy. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,they say. Scornfully presumptuous as it rollsthe wedding tent over and over againtofacilitate our Dolly's wicked designs (and we don't mean the luscious lehngasand the alluring cholis), DollyKiDoliisthesortof cinema where laughter at a social evil (thegirl child's lackofoptions in life) drowns the din ofimplausibility.

The plot works its waythroughthree episodes, each displaying Sonam Kapoor's vivacious charms in oodles of opulent'show-sha-giri'.

This is North India where everyone has to be loud and coarse.ArchanaPuran Singh leads the banshee bandwagon, screamingouteven the punctuations between her lines.

Sonam getsto create humourout ofeven 'woh auraton waliproblem'to get awayfrom doing the needful with Husband No.2 on her wedding night. Husband No.2 is played bythe cherubicVarunSharma who was last seen raising a laugh riotinFukrey. Here Sharmaand therestoftheverytalented castmust make do with paper-thin wit liningthe spoken lines.Theystubbornly cling tothe hope ofhumour.

What carries the slim film tothe finishing line are the actors.Theyall seemto be extra-protective ofthe flimsy material butthey keepthe humour from sagging. Specially good are Rajkummar Rao andVarun Sharma asthetwojilted grooms bonding overtheir betrayal.

Mohammed Zeeshan Ayub as the guy who secretly loves Dolly while he must pose as her brother at sham weddings is the only actor who introduced a sense ofseriousnesstothistale filled with a mocking rage over a social system that doesn't allow a certain section ofwomen to choose whomthey wantto sleep, or not sleep, with.

What works for DollyKiDotiis Sonam in the title role.

Sonam's character belongstothe cattleclass and yet refusestobe cowed down. Spirited till the end, she playsthe film'shero in every respect, owning upto the conning gamethatmen have played from days ofDev Anand in Jaa/to Ranveer Singh in RickyBehlVersusTheLadies. lfonly the character had been provided with a better place to spread her wings.

Why should the boys have all the fun?

DollyKiDotiworks in parts, those parts where the runaway bride doesn't havetojustify her waywardness even to her closest associates.

The take-it-orleave-it attitude suits Sonam's Dolly fine. It doesn'tworkfor the film, though.

Fora film filled with fun festivity and frolic,the musicand songs includingthe item song filmed onthe queen ofthe genre Malaika AroraKhan,are poorerfor their vapidity.

Incidentally, producerArbaazKhan was not quite tellingthe truth when he taskin cinema. Manyhavefailedto courtperiodicityconvincingly.This miniature masterpiece leaves us exhilaratedand exultant.

Thankyou, Shivkar Talpade. Thankyou,Vibhu Puri.. SUBHASHK.JHA claimed his superstar brother had no place inthis film. Salman Khan not only makes a surprise appearance at the end, Pulkit Samrat seems to be aping the star all through SUBHASH K.JHA