Hard to negotiate this Ghat

Usually, Aamir Khan comes up with innovative ideas to promote his films — be it giving a  ‘Ghajini’-like haircut to his fans before Ghajini’s release, or the hiding game he had played before “3 Idiots” hit the screens.

But this time, for his wife Kiran Rao’s directorial debut film “Dhobi Ghat”, Aamir decided to be different. The movie has no interval. This probably has grabbed more publicity than the film itself.

Arun (Aamir Khan) is a painter. He meets Shai (Monica Dogra), an investment banker from the US, during one of his exhibitions, and after a one-night stand with Shai, Arun blames it on his drink and keeps apologising to her for his “act”.

Shai meets Munna (Prateik), a good-looking dhobi who does a cleansing job, too – washing clothes during the day and turning a rat killer at night.

A wannabe actor, Munna helps Shai with her documentary and gets his portfolio done.

Meanwhile, Arun relocates to a new house and finds some videotapes left behind by the previous tenant Yasmin (Kriti Malhotra). He gets lost in those tapes and does some painting, which only he can explain.

Unlike a typical Bollywood entertainer, “Dhobi Ghat” is like a documentary. Though the film runs for 95 minutes, it gives a feeling it’s much longer.

Aamir and Prateik have given their best. Malhotra’s video diaries fail to impress. Monica Dogra’s role confuses the audience. At times, she is shown as being attracted to Prateik and goes on clicking away his shirt-less pictures. The end is too abrupt and leaves the audience guessing.