387. Door Ke Darshan; movie review

DOOR KE DARSHAN

Cert 12A

119 mins

BBFC advice: Contains moderate sex references, implied strong language

That's an interesting idea - a granny who awakes from a 30-year coma at the centre of a hamfisted attempt to break her into the new world.

Unfortunately, Door Ke Darshan fails to convert the opportunity for a giggle-fest.

Gagan Puri's movie had its problems from the outset, its title having to be changed from Doordarshan after a suit by the owners of the public TV network of the same name.

The title is a play on words because television is a factor in the rehabilitation of Darshan (Dolly Ahluwalia), the aforementioned granny.

She is awoken from her long long sleep when her grandson (Shardul Rana) starts reading from a dirty magazine with his pal.

Their mucky words both rouse and arouse Darshan and her family are faced with explaining to her that three decades have elapsed since she was last conscious.

Thus, her son (Manu Rishi Chaddha) comes up with the plan to avoiding upsetting her by making out as if only six months have passed.

However, this requires him and his estranged wife (Mahie Gill) to be schoolboy and girlfriend and their son and daughter (Archita Sharma) to play servants as they weren't born when granny drifted into her coma.

The problem with Door Ke Darshan, in common with many time-lapse movies, is continuity.

Often there is a deliberate misstep as part of its comedy but the initial premise that a 40-something can convince his own parent that he is still a teenager is almost as far-fetched as her looking at her own skin and not realising something is badly amiss.

And then there is a crazy monologue as part of the finale which implies the granny knew more about her new world than she was letting on.

Anyway, there will be laughs for those who enjoy farces - it was just a bit too obvious for me.

Reasons to watch: Easygoing time-lapse comedy

Reasons to avoid: No laugh-out-loud moments

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 6/10

Did you know? Doordarshan began colour television in India with the live telecast of the Independence Day speech by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on 15 August, 1982, followed by the colour telecast of the 1982 Asian Games in Delhi.

The final word. Mahie Gill: “I had done comedy in the Punjabi film Carry On Jatta but not like this. It’s full of situational humour. I’m not doing buffoonery or making faces. It was a perfect script for me to try something different.” Cinema Express

Share this post