Do Aur Do Pyaar Review: A fresh and profound take on urban relationships

“Marriage is an institution but who wants to live in one”, Shirsha Guha Thakurta’s debut directorial Do aur Do Pyaar starts off with this caption and peeks into the lives of Kavya Ganeshan and Anirudh Banerjee , a couple played by Vidya Balan and Pratik Gandhi, whose marriage is falling apart, with both of them seeking love outside the nuptial bond, in Nora and Vikram ( Illeana Dcruz and Sendhil Ramamurthy playing the respective parts).

“Pyar is like a Toothpaste – jitna bhi nichodo aakhir mein kuch reh hi jaata hai “, we see dentist Kavya’s partner (urf Kav) the New York based photographer Vikram saying this to her while they are chilling out in a coffee shop. They are contemplating on a new seaside flat while Vikram is encouraging her to muster up courage and reveal their relationship to Ani aka Anirudh who is in a similar predicament with an empathic demand from Nora urf Rosie.

But destiny has other plans. The couple, who were love birds once upon a time and had eloped from their homes, breaking their familial ties for marrying each other, inadvertently rekindle their romantic sparks after they happen to visit Ooty for the funereal of Kav’s grandpa and rethink on their relationship.

Inspired from the 2017 Hollywood rom com, The Lovers, Do aur Do Pyaar is a consistently engaging watch. Its reflective, profusely performed, realistic and infused with metaphors. Shirsha builds a breezy synergy between the fun, flaws, and banters of her protagonists – wonderfully played by Vidya and Pratik.

Like any film offering a modern take on urban relationships, Do aur Do Pyar also follows a standard and laid out template and familiar themes, but it’s the treatment and its fresh perspectives that stand out. The entire trajectory and evolution of the vegan-turned Kavs and the musician-turned-Cork marketer Ani’s relationship feels real with the potpourri of love, anguish, bickering and ugly fights. Even when they press the RESET button, they strike an endearing chemistry dancing to the 90’s hit - Bin Tere Sanam, cooking Baigan Poshto and cracking jokes on Aunties’ fantasies. They call each other with the surnames. Ani even addresses Kavs as Chori ka Maal.

 

While the makers borrow the central premise from Lovers, the writing team Supratim Sengupta, Amrita Bagchi and Eisha Chopra induce emotional resonance with an incisive gaze on marital dynamics, discord and divorce and implanting interesting characters with profound and fascinating conversations. Like the Gen Z millennial CR Surya who is excited to hear the couple’s stories around the Elephanta Hotel, the lamp post rammed by the scooter.

Shirsha’s fertile observations are further validated by wonderful performances from the entire cast. Vidhya Balan stands out as Kavs – she is spontaneous and natural in the outbursts, saddled with daddy issues. Pratik’s Ani is clumsy, broken, boring and loaded with responsibilities after the death of his father – it’s a character that reminds you of Farhan Akhtar from Rock On! where his musical penchant is sabotaged by the familial business legacy.

She doesn’t villainize the third parties in the love quadrangle – Nora and Vikram come across as genuine humans – part reconciling and part possessive. Illeana and Sendhil imbue them with worldly charm.

 

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