Do Aur Do Pyaar review: A well-made marital drama about the difficulties in sustaining love

There was a period when romantic movies used to end with the cliché of “happily-ever-after”. The messiness and complexities of marriage used to be sidestepped by the filmmaker.

But all this has changed in the recent past, thanks to the new-age directors who looked at the difficulties in sustaining love and how it is not all about cuddling with each other. This, of course, also has a lot to do with the way our society has evolved.

Shirsha Guha Thakurta’s Do Aur Do Pyaar is a good example of the new-age sensibilities.

Synopsis

Do Aur Do Pyaar primarily focuses on Ani and Kavya (Pratik Gandhi and Vidya Balan respectively). On the surface, they both are successful professionals living in a plush apartment in Mumbai.

However, their married lives are anything but that. They are in extramarital relationships, unknown to each other.

Ani is going steady with a struggling actor Nora (Ileana D’Cruz).

On the other hand, Kavya is having an affair with a hotshot photographer Vikram (Senthil Ramamurthy). They are almost ready to move into a sea-facing apartment.

Their respective partners want to take the relationship to the next level but Ani and Kavya are still struggling with revealing the news to each other.

Words of affection have long gone. And now, the only exchange of Ani and Kavya is anti-allergic medicine, etc.

Interestingly, Ani and Kavya elope and marry, leading to a strained relationship with their respective families, particularly with Kavya’s strict father Venkat (Thalaivasal Vijay).

Back to the present. Things take a turn when Kavya’s grandfather dies. So, they both pack their bags to Ooty. This journey rekindles old memories.

The rest of the story is about whether Ani and Kavya give their marriage a chance or find lifelong happiness with Nora and Vikram respectively.

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Best treatment by Shirsha Guha Thakurta

The premise of rediscovering love or choosing between lovers isn’t exactly a groundbreaking story, but the movie works because of the treatment.

Director Shirsha Guha Thakurta avoids the approach of moralising and getting into overt melodrama. There is a certain lightheartedness for the most part, and this works big time for the film.

Even the tense moments are peppered with some chuckle-worthy dialogues. For example, there is a scene where Ani has a nervous slip-up calling his father-in-law “Appam” mixing Appa and Uncle. This is just one of the numerous examples.

The scenes of Ani and Kavya rekindling their love all over again in Ooty and falling for each other again while doing mundane things back home give the movie some of its best moments.

The distinct characterisations of Ani and Kavya have come out well. For example, Kavya is the more temperamental one, and Ani, on the other hand, is a man burdened with responsibilities with poked-faced humour.

This variation in characters has come out well and adds to the drama, particularly when it reaches the point of crescendo.

The extra-marital relationships have also been treated with dignity.

Sendil Ramamurthy’s Hindi accent does get bothersome on occasions, but as viewers, you feel the love of Vikram and how deeply he wants her.

Vidya’s chemistry with Senthil is on par with the one shared with Pratik.

Similarly, Ileana D’Cruz’s Nora can occasionally come across as clingy, but her desire to have a normal life with Ani has been well written and enacted.

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Explores complexity of relationships

The complex relationships of rebellious daughters with their fathers are something we have seen before. But once again, it is the writing that makes the difference.

A scene that deserves a particular mention is when a frustrated Kavya asks her father the secret behind his long-lasting marriage. The father replies, “There is no secret. We just showed up every day.”

On the surface, it is a simple dialogue but the director makes a strong point that consistency in a marriage is quite important.

The second half of Do Aur Do Pyaar does sag somewhat in terms of writing. The attempts of Ani and Kavya at rekindling romance and juggling the existing relationships get repetitive. But still, these are not a major grouse.

Performances

Both Vidya Balan and Pratik Gandhi give top-notch performances apart from sharing a sizzling chemistry.

Ileana D’Cruz also gives a fine account of herself, in both light moments and dramatic bits.

Sendil Ramamurthy, too, is convincing as a hotshot photographer completely smitten by Kavya.

The music by the various composers also adds to the narrative. The case in point is the numbers “Tu Hai Kahaan” and “Jazbaati“.

Verdict

Do Aur Do Pyaar needs to be watched for the fine acting performances and the director’s depiction of modern complexities in a marriage.

(Views expressed here are personal.)