Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare premiered on Netflix on 18th September 2020. Starring Konkona Sen Sharma, Bhumi Pednekar, Amol Parashar, Kubbra Sait, Vikrant Massey, Karan Kundra, and Mushtaq Khan, the film is directed by Alankrita Shrivastava and produced by Balaji Telefilms Ltd. The film initially premiered at the 24th Busan International Film Festival under the category “A Window on Asian Cinema” on 4 October 2019.
Human Desires and Emotions
Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare revolves around the lives of Dolly (Konkona Sen Sharma) and Kitty/Kajal (Bhumi Pednekar.) The 120-minutes long film takes us deeper into the lives of both the sisters who reside in a middle-class household of Greater Noida, Delhi NCR.
Dolly is a married woman whose marriage looks perfect on the outside but is broken inside (she shares both physical and emotional differences from her spouse). On the other hand, Kitty, her cousin sister who comes to live with her from a small town of Bihar, aspires to live a free life and explore.
The roller coaster of Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare depicts their emotional, mental, ethical, and sexual struggles and the dominance society practices on them.
When Amit, Dolly’s husband, touches Kitty inappropriately and tries to get close to her, she complains about this to Dolly but the whole scene drifts her away from the family. She, thereafter, decides to find a new PG and takes up a job in a call centre. To which, obviously, her sister is not happy and time and again slut shames her for the same.
The film shows Dolly and Kitty’s quest for human connection which is real and heartwarming but life seems to be unfair to them on those roads. Social judgments, the want of looking perfect on the outside and gender biases are some of the key themes of the film, packed and presented with a pop of colours and music.
The film also touches on sexuality and discovering oneself. Dolly’s son, since childhood, is closer to his feminine side. He prefers dolls, loves makeup, and everything traditionally feminine – and Dolly is blamed for it. The film brings forth the hushed topics around women’s sexual needs and desires without sounding over the top or vulgar and acts as a commentary on moral policing, sexuality, gender biases, and stereotyping that have become a potential part of our society.
Talking about the cast, the film features a star cast that does not fail their characters and every single person brings stellar performance to the screen. Vikrant Massey as Pradeep, a family man who Kitty falls in love with without knowing his reality; Amol Parashar as Osmaan, a college student who works as a delivery man for extra bucks and forms affection towards Dolly; Aamir Bashir as Dolly’s perverted husband Amit; Karan Kundra as DJ Johny and Kubbra Sait as Kitty’s friend and confidant are some of the significant characters who bring their par-excellence screen presence in Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare!
Stream It or Skip It
STREAM IT! Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare is a movie worth watching as the narration in itself is layered with many important and less talked about themes. Director Alankrita Shrivastava doesn’t go full-on with the music but instead keeps subtle background scores that embrace the mood of the film.
While the film might not set into people’s expectations at times, overall, the film works on a well-set narrative and roots itself in reality as much as possible and it is here that it becomes easy for the viewers to relate with the character to certain lengths.
Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare is now streaming on Netflix.
Read our other reviews here.