Yawn!

To be frank, I went into the screening of Dhobi Ghat mentally prepared to dislike the film given my growing discontent with Aamir's brand of cinema and his aggressive publicity seeking ways. Debutant director Kiran Rao did not give me any reason to feel otherwise. For a movie that is merely 90 minutes long, it sure felt like a never-ending tale. Sadly, Dhobi Ghat is everything I thought it would be - pretentious, over glossy and totally fake! At no point in time do you feel that anyone in this film (except Munna) is even close to being real. Characters never progress beyond their cliches - Aamir's moody artist is an example- and the director's self professed love for Mumbai is never palpable. I agree, Mumbai can be a tough city to like, but its just lazy to show the audience a series of picture perfect shots and assume that it is a glimpse of the city's pounding heart.

Prateik's Munna is the only good thing about the movie. Munna is at some level too urbane and classy, not to mention well-dressed, to be a rat-killing dhobi. But Prateik brings out Munna's desperation and vulnerability so well that it doesn't matter. Maybe acting can be passed on through DNA after all!

Verdict - give it a miss!