Undoubtedly, Dhillon — one of Bollywood’s few A-list female writers — is an original thinker. Her stories often have intriguing premises, featuring strong, complex, unapologetic female characters and intricate plots. Yet, they rarely deliver a fully satisfying experience, leaving one feeling they could have been much better. Films like Manmarziyan, Judgementall Hai Kya, and Haseen Dillruba 1 and 2 all follow this familiar pattern. (Let’s not talk about Dunki and Raksha Bandhan please.)
This brings us to the latest film in her repertoire, Do Patti, now streaming on Netflix, for which she is credited not only with the story, screenplay, and dialogues but also as co-producer alongside Kriti Sanon. Directed by Shashanka Chaturvedi, the movie explores multiple themes: domestic violence, sibling rivalry, obsession, love triangles, childhood trauma and law versus justice. Leading the charge are two remarkable ladies — Kajol, the firebrand star of the ’90s and early 2000s, and Sanon, counted among today’s most talented young actors.
The ingredients are all there so what could possibly go wrong? Well, in this case, a lot —all thanks to a weak and weird screenplay, and some terrible acting (more on that later).
Kriti plays identical twins, Saumya and Shailee, living in a small hill town with a foster mother (Tanvi Azmi). As with most Hindi films that defy scientific logic, the twins look really similar, right from the body type to the eyebrows and voice. But as with most Hindi films, their personalities are diametrically different. Shailee is the bold, wild and adventurous one who wears skimpy clothes, has short hair and a devil-may-care attitude. Naturally, she smokes and drinks while Saumya is demure, shy and conservative with long tresses. (At least with a female writer and producer, one would imagine this stereotype of wild and vile = smoking-drinking-westernised woman and sweet and nice = demure, sacrificing Indianised girl would be subverted but alas.)
