Dasvidaniya is a superb story about the realization through the eyes of a dying man. It is a bittersweet comedy about Amar Kaul who is diagnosed with cancer and how he spends the last three months of his life. The film flows through to your heart effortlessly which leaves you with a lump in the throat at times or giggling away at the jokes it throws at you.
This film will also make you identify and even fall in love with the simpleton ‘loser’.
Shy and quiet Amar Kaul lived a mundane run of the mill life – like millions of others. Amar is a 37-year-old timid and lonely bachelor living with his eccentric old mother (Sarita Joshi) who has a hearing problem and is an addict to soap operas on television. Amar’s existence was non-existent to people around him.
And then one day a doctor told him that he will die within 3 months. In a hurry Amar Kaul rushed to make a list of things to do before he dies… and in the course of doing them, he realized that he has been dead all along until now except for these 3 months before he is going to die.
Amar is symbolic of all those people who have always wanted to do things but kept on hold. Faced with the prospect of dying without having truly enjoyed life and egged on by his flamboyant alter ego, he makes a list of “Things to do” and he sets out to do them.
He quits his job, plucking up audacity to settle a score with his hateful boss and embarks in pursuit of his dreams. He buys a shiny red car, goes on a foreign trip, confesses his love to a childhood crush, has guitar lessons and reuniting with an estranged brother.
The best scene of the movie Dasvidaniya is when Amar confesses his love to Neha (Neha Dhupia) skillfully in a silent way standing in the rain. It is definitely the career best performance from Vinay Pathak.
Debutant director Shashant Shah manages to extract extraordinary performances from a superb bunch of actors. The entire cast and crew have done an outstanding job. Vinay Pathak deserves a special mention for his soulful and heart wrenching performance in this superb film. There is also magnificent music and a nice song by Kailash Kher. Ranvir Shorey is notable in his cameo as a habitual tippler who bumps into Kaul at a bar.
After seeing Dasvidaniya, one is reminded that anyone may have to face it one day sooner or later. And one should start making your “Things To Do Before You Die” list – as you never know what will be there when you wake up next morning.
Cast of Dasvidaniya:
Amar Kaul – Vinay Pathak
Maa – Sarita Joshi
Rajiv – Rajat Kapoor
Boss Dasgupta – Saraubh Shukla
Neha – Neha Dhupia
Savio – Joy Fernandes
Vivek – Gaurav Gera
Shiraz – Brijendra Kala
Suchi – Suchitra Pillai – Malik
Garima – Purbi Joshi
Jagtap – Ranvir Shorey
Tatanya – Svetlana
Chandan Bisht
Suresh Menon
Sonia Rakkar
Shurobi Menon
Crew and Credits of Dasvidaniya:
Production: One More Thought & Lemontea Production
Producer: Azam Khan, Vinay Pathak
Co-producer: Guneet Monga, Sikhya Entertainment
Director: Shashant Shah
Director of Photography: Arun Varma
Story, Screenplay & Dialogues: Arshad Sayed
Editor: Aseem Sinha
Lyrics: Kailash Kher
Music & Background: Kailash, Paresh, Naresh
Sound Designers: Shajith Koyeri & Satheesh P.M.
Production Designer: Rakesh Morchale
Art Director: Brij Bhushan
Location Sound Recordist: Kamod Kharade
Costumes: Anuja Joshi & Priyadarshini Mujumdar
Make Up & Hair: Arun Gire
Production Manager: Gaurav Mishra
Chief Assistant Director: Navin Gujral
Assistant Director: Masoom Gandhi
Publicity Design Team: Venkatesh Kalluri, Milind Matkar, Rameshwar Mhatre
Media Relations: Perception Managers & Ravi Prakash
Dasvidaniya, movie review