Do Patti review: What could have been a clever film is undone by its own messy writing!

With Kriti Sanon, Kajol and Shaheer Sheikh in the lead, Do Patti tries to deliver a pulpy thriller but fails miserably to build up to something worthwhile with its disjointed, confusing and scattered storytelling! 

Doppelgangers, or double roles, often make for an exciting device to build upon an intriguing premise that unearths something deep within. It is almost like a mirror that compares, contrasts and reflects what lies between the lines; just as much for the characters as for us! And while Do Patti bases itself to work on the same principle, it conveniently forgets to build a narrative for the tool to function effectively. Hence, we get a film that feels like one too many movies, moods, and characters are all packaged into one, leading up even to discredit the message it's trying to put forth!

The story is rather simple and predictable to follow! Twin sisters, Saumya and Shailee ( played by Kriti Sanon), who lost their mother in childhood, grow so distant and jealous of each other that they become each other's worst enemies. They fight over the same guy, Dhruv Sood (Shaheer Sheikh) from Haryana, the charming local hero women fawn over, until their cruel rivalry with each other to get the guy, turned into an alliance to get rid of the guy! 

At the film’s onset, we’re introduced to a police officer recently transferred to Devipur, Vidya Jyothi (Kajol), who serves as the narrator, framing the film's story with her position as someone "stuck between things." There could be nothing more apt to describe the film! Unfortunately, rather than mirroring, VJ is caught between the 'the word of the law' and 'the spirit of the law', highlighting the film’s themes of duality and conflict. The film mirrors this framing in its confused tone, caught between wanting to be a pulpy thriller, constantly oscillating between a soap opera-style effect and a social dramedy.

The story, screenplay, and dialogues penned by Kanika Dhillon (the film producer along with Kriti) eerily feel similar to her previous work from Haseen Dillruba and its sequel. While there is nothing wrong with a writer building upon a reputation and a brand for themselves, this idea of utilizing the pulp fiction genre to talk about female-related issues, fails to achieve the same resonance, especially when domestic violence and mental health feel more like a cover-up to hide the film's faults than to work in sync with it. 

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I understand and appreciate the whole duality aspect, where the age-old switcheroo between twin sisters, like Seeta and Geeta, goes on to unmask the dual nature of humans, all of whom witness the domestic abuse happening in their own homes but choose to remain silent. In fact, this duality becomes such a second nature to the film that it extends the idea to VJ's profession as well, who is a rulebook follower police officer cum justice-delivering lawyer. But this ingenious idea is concocted in such an unclever way that every mysterious turn, hook, and revelation becomes so numb that you feel nothing. Most of the courtroom and police procedural scenes lack thrill and the background music seems to do the heavy lifting of the emotional depth of these scenes. 

That's not all! Do Patti further disappoints as it reduces its own characters to a stereotypical box which buries the film's interesting play with our biases. It's clear that both sisters are entirely different from each other so is it necessary that Saumya's docility is only brought out in contrast to Shailee's wildness? I understand—Shailee represents the woman every guy desires, while Saumya is the one they choose to marry, as domesticity is valued more than excitement. But couldn't this male gaze contrast have been portrayed more thoughtfully than reducing the sisters to mere archetypes of the meek and the bold? The only reason they somehow seem to work in some scenes is because of the depth that Kriti Sanon's acting brings to them. In fact, her swift change as each character is commendable!

Also, it is highly admirable how Shaheer's TV's good guy image is utilized here as he plays the brat entitled playboy. His bigde baap ki bigdi hui aulad vibe works for most parts. Kajol, despite her accent going on and off, brings her A-game to essay a poorly written eclectic police officer cum lawyer. Yet, the lack of character development is felt throughout the script, which is so underwritten that it seems like the film leaves each plotline or character right in the middle. Hence, everything looks staged or too choreographed to cause effect, not emote, especially that one long scene of domestic abuse!

Shashanka Chaturvedi's Do Patti is so busy becoming a TEDx talk on women's empowerment that it forgets it is a film whose main job is to show, not tell! It serves as a reminder that a clever concept needs strong storytelling to resonate genuinely, especially when tackling sensitive issues of domestic violence and mental trauma that demand more sensitivity than a trendy approach; otherwise, it's just irresponsible! 

Do Patti is currently streaming on Netflix! 

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