Taapsee Pannu & Anurag Kashyap Brew A Storm That Blows Your Minds

Story

Set
in
Pune,

Dobaaraa
begins
with
Antara
Bhatt
(Taapsee
Pannu),
a
local
nurse
moving
into
a
new
house
with
her
husband
and
her
daughter.
She
soon
learns
that
her
abode
was
previously
inhabited
by
a
12-year-old
boy
Anay
who
was
run
over
by
a
heavy
vehicle
after
he
witnessed
an
unfortunate
event
during
a
thunderstorm
twenty-six
years
ago.

Cut
to
present,
Antara
finds
a
television
in
her
new
house
on
the
night
of
a
similar
storm.
When
she
switches
it
on,
she
finds
Anay
on
screen.
Antara
begins
to
communicate
with
him.
Antara,
who
learnt
about
Anay’s
death
from
a
friend,
tries
to
stop
him
from
falling
into
a
mishap.

But
little
does
Antara
know
that
her
‘tweaking’
of
the
past
events
have
triggered
a
chain
of
events
which
will
push
her
down
the
rabbit
role
and
make
her
question
her
sanity!

Direction

An
official
remake
of
the
Spanish
film
Mirage,
Anurag
Kashyap
along
with
writer
Nihit
Bhave
adapt

Dobaaraa
in
an
engaging
way
with
‘twists’
neatly
tucked
in
it.
There
are
enough
moments
to
keep
you
glued
to
your
seats.
Kashyap
and
team
make
sure
that
the
tension
is
palpable
in
their
time-travel
thriller.

Having
said
that,
one
wished
the
makers
had
focused
a
little
more
on
defining
the
timeline
of
the
events.
Since

Dobaaraa
slips
off
a
bit
in
that
department,
there
are
times
when
it
takes
you
a
while
to
grasp
the
events
unfolding
on
the
screen.

Parallel
universes,
a
murder
and
some
time
travelling;
the
movie
ticks
all
the
boxes
except
one
i.e
emotional
depth
of
certain
characters.
Anurag’s
treatment
is
a
little
superficial
there

Performances

After
Amitabh
Bachchan-starrer

Badla,
Taapsee
Pannu
gets
another
chance
to
step
into
Oriol
Paulo’s
world
of
twisty
thrillers
with

Dobaaraa.
As
expected,
the
actress
puts
her
best
foot
forward
and
delivers
an
act
that’s
both
electrifying
as
well
as
mystifying.

Next
comes
Pavail
Gulati
who
walks
shoulder
to
shoulder
with
Taapsee
and
breathes
life
into
his
written
part.
Sashwata
Chatterjee
manages
to
send
shivers
down
your
spine
even
with
his
limited
screen
space.
Rahul
Bhat
as
the
cheating
spouse
adds
some
light
moments
in
the
otherwise
mind-boggling
narrative.

Technical
Aspects

Cinematographer
Sylvester
Fonseca
with
his
right
balance
of
warm
and
cool
hues,
adds
more
depth
to
the
dense
atmospheric
thrills.
Aarti
Bajaj’s
tight
hold
on
the
editing
scissors
keep
the
film
crisp.

Music

The
tracks
in
Taapsee
Pannu’s

Dobaaraa
work
more
as
a
vehicle
to
take
the
plot
forward
than
standalone
music
album.
However,
what
pinches
is
that
the
songs
lack
a
recall
value.

Verdict

While
trying
to
the
crack
the
jigsaw
puzzle
of
her
life,
Taapsee
Pannu’s
Antara
exclaims, “Matlab
mein
past
mein
jaake,
past
badla
diya.
Uske
wajah
se
present
badal
diya.”

On
a
similar
note,
Anurag
Kashyap
and
Taapsee
Pannu
revisit
Oriol
Paulo’s

Mirage
and
pull
off
a
winner
out
of
it
despite
some
rough
weather
on
the
way.