Overall Rating: 3/5
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List of Dhobi Ghaat Reviews
Ratings:3/5 Reviewer:Rajeev Masand Site:IBNLive
Ratings:4/5 Reviewer:Taran Adarsh Site:Bollywood HungamaDirector Kiran Rao makes some interesting points, but there are a few things that just don’t work. The overuse of coincidence, for one. In a city bursting at the seams, the characters in this film seem to be running into each other just about everywhere.Beautifully shot and aided by an evocative background score, 'Dhobi Ghat' is occasionally indulgent and moves at a glacial pace. Yet Rao creates some endearing characters, and embraces Mumbai despite its dichotomies. The result is a film that slowly grows on you.I’m going with three out of five for director Kiran Rao’s 'Dhobi Ghat'. If you have an open mind and an appetite for the experimental, take a bite out of this one.
What catches one's attention is the fact that DHOBI GHAT tells four different stories in those 95 minutes in the most pragmatic manner. The characters are real and so are their stories, their emotions, their relationships, their smiles, their tears, their dreams, their desires, their fears and their tragedies. It comes across as factual and authentic as your eyes would observe and witness in real life. On the whole, DHOBI GHAT is an imposing and vibrant cinematic portrait, appending itself to the new wave of independent Indian cinema which I am extremely pleased to applaud. It is art house cinema with European sensibilities, embellished with a well thought out story that's devoid of cliches.Visit Site for More
Ratings:3.5/5 Reviewer:Nikhat Kazmi Site:TimesOfIndia
Dhobi Ghat is a compelling picture of urban angst that has become the hallmark of big city life. The experiences of the four diverse characters may be varied, but they all have a similar theme. It's a somewhat dysfunctional foursome, desperately seeking an anchor in the shifting sands of a maddening city. Kiran Rao makes a sensitive debut with Dhobi Ghat, a film that is heavily imbued with mood and soul. She uses her characters smartly to dissect the much talked about spirit of Mumbai without getting maudlin. In fact, the high point of the film is its understated elegance as the lead players slip in and out of the frame, chasing dreams and aspirations.A lyrical ode to the modern malady -- metro-eccentricity -- Dhobi Ghat is intelligent and artistic cinema.Visit Site for More
Ratings:3/5 Reviewer:Sonal Dedhia Site:Rediff
Dhobi Ghat is an unusual 95-minute film without an interval, unlike regular Hindi films. You don't know what turn the story will take. Even the characters are unpredictable.And if you're expecting an Aamir Khan film, let me tell you, it's not.Mumbai has been an inspiration for many filmmakers and has been highlighted in many films. But it is Dhobi Ghat that gets you into the small by-lanes that we haven't really seen before.Dhobi Ghat is sure to find a niche audience and will be a hit in festival circuits. Being a Mumbai-centric film, it may connect with the audience in the city. But it needs to be seen whether it will find takers in other parts of the country.Visit Site for More
Ratings:3/5 Reviewer:Anupama Chopra Site:NDTV
Dhobi Ghat is an acquired taste. Either the film will sink into your skin like a slow ache or it will be bewildering and downright boring. Kiran Rao’s first film is an atmospheric mood piece. There is no overt plot – four lives randomly connect in Mumbai.Still, if you are willing to have patience, Dhobi Ghat comes together nicely. It has a poetry and melancholy that stays with you. I recommend that you give it a shot.Visit Site for More
Ratings:2.5/5 Reviewer:Khalid Mohammed Site:Passion4cinema
Now, it’s no state secret that writer-director Kiran Rao’s debut is unconventional. It’s a moodily lensed 95-minute miniature limned with some sensitive and observant moments.Wonderful! Dhobi Ghat has its strengths. Sorry to spoil the party though.Its fatal flaw is its screenplay whis is pocked by contrived conincidences.While tracking the aspirations and anxieties of four lives, Rao takes far too many short-cuts throughout, you’re irritated by implausibilities which don’t quite gel with the intended realistic pitch of this Mumbai bagatelle.Bottomwhine: Kiran Rao’s first feature film is uneven, particularly in the writing. It’s neither totally impressive nor totally dismissable. Should you see Dhobi Ghat, then? Yes, if only to get away from the washing machine.Visit Site for More
Ratings:2.5/5 Reviewer:Pankaj Sabnani Site:Glamsham
There's nothing wrong in making an unconventional film, but it has to be entertaining. Sadly, Kiran's script is a let down. Devoid of engaging moments, it feels like watching a documentary. Although not downright boring, the narrative is agonisingly slow, leaving you disgruntled. The film is all of 95 minutes, but it seems much longer. Also, all the characters except Yasmin's seem superficial and don't strike a chord. It's not that it's completely unwatchable. Yasmin's track draws you in and is indeed very captivating. Some shocking scenes in the climax are poignant. But they are certainly not enough. DHOBI GHAT is surely a different and brave step in Indian cinema; but not exactly a pleasing one.Visit Site for More
Ratings:2.5/5 Reviewer:Shubhra Gupta Site:IndianExpress
Dhobi Ghat`Dhobi Ghat’ is a strangely uneven film. Its beginning feels amateurishly put together ; as it heads onwards, though, it finds an easy, flowing rhythm with just the occasional stutter. Dhobi Ghat’s characters intersect with each other, rubbing off some of their skins on the other, giving and taking, pulling and pushing. Some of it works, some of it doesn’t.‘Dhobi Ghat’is arresting in parts. I wanted to be beguiled some more.Visit Site for More
