There’s romance in the air this festive season and to make this season of love even more special Rajshri Productions and Jio Studios is here with a new film. Starring Sunny Deol’s son Rajveer Deol and Poonam Dhillon’s daughter Paloma Dhillon, Dono is a romantic drama film directed by Sooraj R Barjatya’s son Avnish S Barjatya. Scheduled to release on October 5 in theatres across India, Dono marks the acting debut of Rajveer Deol and Paloma Dhillon as well as the directorial debut of Avnish Barjatya. Read on the know our review of the film.
The Plot Of Dono
Rajveer Deol’s Dev travels to Thailand for his best friend (and the woman he has been in love with for 10 years) Kanikka Kapur’s Alina’s wedding. At the wedding, he meets Paloma’s Meghna (friend of the Dulha), who is struggling with her own emotional turmoil as she’s dealing with a heartbreak after breaking up with her boyfriend of 6 years, Aditya Nanda’s Gaurav. And Gaurav happens to be the Dulha, Rohan Khurana’s Nikhil’s bestie. Both Dev and Meghna are on a journey to look for closure after their heartbreak but life has a different plan for them as they begin to bond and help each other. Will both Dev and Meghna find closure? Will love happen for them? Do I really need to answer that? I mean, hai toh ye inn Dono ki story na!
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Performances
Rajveer Deol as Dev: Rajveer Deol shines as Dev. The actor perfectly emotes the emotional turmoil of the best friend of the bride who has secretly been in love with her for a whole decade. The actor makes Dev relatable to all of us who have harboured feelings for a friend but were never able to say it out aloud but still go the extra mile for this person. However, there are moments when the actor seems to slip out of his character. For his debut film, Rajveer Deol has delivered his 100% and it’s safe to say that the actor has potential.
Paloma Dhillon as Meghna: Paloma Dhillon looks stunning as Meghna. She’s just as relatable to all those of us who have struggled with toxic relationships and have come out stronger. Having said that, the actress also seems to falter every now and then but thanks to the impeccable writing, I’m not complaining. The actress is at par with her co-star and does justice to her character. Most importantly, much like Rajveer, Paloma also delivers a promising performance.
Kanikka Kapur as Alina: Kanikka Kapur is almost perfect as the dulhan, Alina. She aces the portrayal of the emotional struggle and misogyny that the bride has to put up with. There are moments when she too slips out of her character but overall, the actress has given her 100% to the character.
Rohan Khurana as Nikhil: Rohan Khurana’s Nikhil is just as likeable as he is annoying. There are moments when you will relate to Rajveer Deol’s Dev when Nikhil gets all cliché and romantic. But there are moments when you’ll wish for a man like Nikhil who is a total simp for you. NGL but there are also times when all I wanted to do was smack Nikhil and tell him to see what’s happening around him but that’s what makes an actor a good actor.
Aditya Nanda as Gaurav: Apart from looking amazing on the big screen, Aditya Nanda’s Gaurav is someone that I managed to dislike. The actor has aced the role of a morally grey character, who’s a good friend to the dulha but also the annoying, manipulative ex to Paloma’s Meghna. And when the truth of Gaurav and Meghna’s relationship comes to light, it makes one despise Gaurav and his cockiness even more. Hats off to Aditya for nailing the role. It was rather tough to like him as an actor while feeling disgusted by Gaurav.
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Manik Papneja and Poojan Chhabra bring light and fun moments to the film but there’s not much to their stories or their characters. TBH, I wished these characters had more meat to offer and maybe a character arc too. On the other hand, the rest of the supporting cast seems to be grossly underutilized with nothing to offer the script.
Verdict: A Breath Of Fresh Air In Our World Full Of Clichés!
Dono is not your cliché friend of the dulhan meets friend of the dulha and falls in love kind of story. This is actually the story of two strangers (friend of the dulhan and friend of the dulha) looking for closure at a wedding. Both struggle with heartbreaks as they try to move on while handling the big fat Indian wedding drama. While looking for closure these two strangers end up meeting and joining hands through this journey.
What works for this film is the fact that the writing is rather fresh and free of stereotypes and clichés. NGL, some clichés are unavoidable in the romantic drama. We all know that the two leads are eventually going to end up falling for each other but what makes this story special and fresh is that the central theme is their journey to closure and moving on. It’s about their journey from becoming friends to each other’s strength and growing close and falling for each other. There’s no girl falls and the guy catches her, no girl’s dupatta getting stuck in the guy’s watch kind of cliché. Instead, the film shows how Dev goes the extra mile for his bestie and dulhan, Alina and on the other hand, Meghna struggles to stand up to her misbehaving ex, Gaurav.
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Soon, Dev becomes Meghna’s strength as he uplifts her, comforts her and helps her battle her demons and value herself while Meghna teaches Dev how to let of his past and relieve himself from the shackles of his own love. The screenplay is slightly weak with too many sub-plots. However, the beautiful storytelling makes it forgivable.
Avnish Barjatya delves into issues like gaslighting in relationships and misogyny in Indian society as well as the struggles of heartbreak, closure and moving on. The subplot of gaslighting and manipulation does not come across as forced as the director does not attempt too hard to send a message. Avnish has seamlessly blended the sub-plots within the central theme of the story making it extra special. While the misogyny that Alina faces at her big fat Indian wedding seems very superficial. Even though the actors have done their bit to uplift the script, the writing falls weak in this sub-plot making it seem unnecessary. I wouldn’t have minded if there was no attempt to deal with the social evil of misogyny and patriarchy.
Having said that, I’m going to call Avnisha Barjatya’s directorial debut film Dono starring Rajveer Deol, and Paloma Dhillon (who are also making their acting debut) a successful debut. This engaging and mature love story will keep you invested in the story of every single character (including the sasur who doesn’t smile) till the very end. TBH, all the journalists at the screening of the film cheered when the sasur smiled in the end (even though we knew he was going to). Despite the few clichés here and there, this film remains a fresh concept uplifted by Avnish’s superb storytelling.
FYI, Rajveer Deol and Paloma Dhillon’s film Dono is currently playing in theatres across the country.