Dor - A fascinating half-movie

A friend of mine had been telling me to watch the movie 'Dor' for the last 6-7 months.

'Dor' means a thread. This movie is heavy with symbolism.

The story line is simple and there are just four main characters in the movie.

Inspite of this the story brings together several different themes such as: people going to work in the Middle East for money, the plight of widows in Rajasthan, the problems faced by women in general, the status given to women across the different states in India.

Note: Since this movie is available on DVD/VCD I would advise readers not to watch the whole movie at one go unless you are really relaxed and can concentrate on what is happening. This is not the kind of movie you can watch with one eye on food and one eye on the screen or when you are half asleep after a days work.

To appreciate you should watch the movie when you WANT to watch it.

I watched the movie in three parts over a two day period.

One of the most amazing thing about this movie (apart from the story) is the location. It is filmed in Rajasthan (in and around Jodhpur) and the scenery is 'jaw-dropping'. The amazing desert vista will make you eyes pop out.

There are a few scenes filmed filmed somewhere in the Himalayas (according to the movie Himachal Pradesh) which are equally beautiful.

The movie talks about the meeting of two worlds.
On one side we have the restricted and life-less world of the young widow (Ayesha Takia).
On the other hand we have the tough yet happy life of the new bride (Gul Panag).

The unhappy state of women (especially widows) is a true reflection of the state of affairs in the villages of Rajasthan. The movie also touches upon the high rate of female infanticide in Rajasthan (which now has a female Chief Minister!).

Opposite to that we see the relatively free and bold women of the hills. This too is a typical state of affairs. Women in the mountain states of India, such as Himachal Pradesh, are more empowered than their desert counterparts.

I am glad that I saw the full movie before I deicded to write a post about it.
The movie develops normally till about the last 40 minutes or so when so many things start to happen that it feels as if the makers of the movie realised midway that the movie was going to be too slow for normal public. This means the thread of the story gets lost in between.

This means that ending of the movie is fairly cliched and disconnected.

One wonders why actors, when they are leaving on a train, always end up taking the seat on the side of the platform.

I was also disappointed that the interaction between the widow and the new bride is not developed further after the truth comes out.

The involvement of Nagesh Kukunoor (who is not at all convincing as 'Mr. Chopra') feels added on after the fact.

It seems as if the makers of the movie lost faith in what they were doing mid-way and then decided to bend the storyline to bring it closer to something less unique.

All said and done.. this movie is worth watching once.
If not the whole movie then at least the first 80 minutes or so.
That is where the magic of this movie lies, the symbolism simply amazing.