Dum Laga Ke Haisha: A little gem from the YRF Banner

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DLHK Poster.jpeg
Dum Laga ke Haisha is a little and a surprise gem from the YRF banner. The movie has everything right going from the start. Spot on casting, superb acting, great locales and the backdrop, and of course a first time director in the form of Sharat Katariya. Special words for the supremely talented Ayushmann Khurana, Manoj Mishra, Alka Amin, Sheeba Chadha, Seema Pahwa, Shrikant Verma and other motley group of actors, who contributed immensely to the success of the movie.

From the word go, the pace of the film is easy and languid and it built itself up. The two cities, Haridwar and Rishikesh plays the perfect foil to the two leads. It is a movie about two odds and how they eventually even it out. The two mismatches and their own demons, perhaps the male protagonist in this case with the larger set of problems. The female lead Bhumi Pednekar a more sorted version and seems to have come to terms with the weight(y) issues. Bhumi has a stellar role to play and creates a niche for herself to build on.

But perhaps Dum Lage Ke's biggest strength is the power packed performance from Manoj Mishra, Alka Amin, Seema Pahwa and Sheeba Chadha who build a sort of a pivot around Ayushmann to play the role of Prem to perfection. The dialect, the body language, the eye for detailing and every single frame in the movie reeking of the 90's.

The trio of Kumar Sanu, Sameer and Sadhna Sargam who took music to a new perspective after Kishore, Rafi, Lata, Asha were gradually retiring or passing away. The 90's saw Mohammed Aziz, Shabbir Kumar, Kumar Sanu, Sadhana Sargam, Anuradha Paudwal, Gulshan Kumar and their brand of music playing havoc with the masses. Infact, simple lyrics, great music and a recongnisable voice to boot, all very trademarks 90's. Till today, travelling across the rural and suburban heartlands of UP or Bihar and these numbers from the 90's still continue to entertain the listeners.

This mood and moment of the 90's is so well captured by the Director, Sharat Katariya. The music shop that the family in question owns here and the cassette player and the cassette being played. The medley of recording and the overall ambience of the 90's. Infact, the concept of Shakha (an RSS offspring) so well entrenched in the smaller towns of India, has had a prime place in the setting of the movie. Infact, a fitting tribute to the 90's comes in the form of a small cameo by Kumar Sanu towards the end of the movie and also his presence is felt with the song Dard Karaara at the end.

The Movie may have had some dips here and there but perhaps 2015's second big surprise after Ugly has to be Dum Laga Ke... what with the mindless trash being produced all around these small gems live with you for a longest time to come.

Bravo to YRF in believing and bravo to Ayushmann for breaking the glass ceiling and looking beyond the cliché. A little more Dum Laga ke from the YRF studios and trust you me, it shall become a game changer a la Harvey Weinstien and Miramax...     

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