Director: Anurag Kashyap
Cast: Taapsee Pannu, Pavail Gulati, Rahul Bhat, Saswata Chatterjee and others
Where: In theatres near you
Rating: 4 stars
Not many Bollywood films have been made on the parallel world or time travel except for a couple of them which were the biggest duds of that time — Priyanka Chopra-starrer 'Love Story 2050' (2008) and Akshay Kumar, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan-starrer 'Action Replayy' (2010), both primarily were romantic films which failed miserably at the box office considering their poor screenplays. However, our filmmakers have tried their hands on the sci-fi genre — a whole broader genre in totality. 'Koi… Mil Gaya' (2003) and 'Mr. India' (1987) were the most successful films among them.
Director Anurag Kashyap, who in a way changed the narrative of heartland stories in our Hindi films with the 'Gangs of Wasseypur' franchise (2012) brings an unusual film 'Dobaaraa 2:12', which is an official remake of a Spanish film, 'Mirage' (2018) — an enticing tale of a parallel world that won’t even let you blink your eyes.
In 2021, Antara (Taapsee Pannu) plans to divorce her cheating husband only to lead a happy life with her daughter Avanti. They unknowingly move to a house which has a bad history — a school-going boy Anay was killed after he witnessed a murder in the neighbourhood. Things turn complicated when Antara starts interacting with the dead boy Anay and decides to find the truth back in 1996.
Alternate reality and parallel world aren’t usual genres in Hindi films but Anurag is a risk taker and never hesitates in trying something new. In a casual chat with The Free Press Journal, he once said, "Ugly (2013), Raman Raghav 2.0 (2016) and Dobaaraa 2:12 (2022) are the only three films which I believe are mine." 'Dobaaraa 2:12' indeed stands out like the earlier two. He tackles the genre with finesse, his treatment of the subject and plot enables a new window for the audience. The film is a fast-paced stylised thriller.
Taapsee is a good performer but her monotony kills the mood, however, the plot is so interesting that you hardly get time to distract yourself to realise an A-lister face is the torchbearer of the film. Pavail Gulati surprises yet again after his debut performance in 'Thappad' (2020). It seems like Taapsee is his lucky mascot. His seriousness and emotional breakdowns are noticeable. Rahul Bhat is a Kashyap protégé, 'Ugly' being the best example, he is watchable in this one too.
One more thing about 'Dobaaraa 2:12' that attracts you is the background score by a band called Shor Police. It seems like Anurag is creating his own Kashyapverse. It is trippy and addictive. Kudos to producer Ektaa Kapoor for backing a probably risky film as per the Hindi market sensibilities. To add to that, there is a Christopher Nolan joke in the film for your reference that will crack you up. Watch 'Dobaaraa 2:12' as Anurag shocks you with his intelligent filmmaking.
