For his directorial debut Dono, Avnish Barjatya has followed in the footsteps of his filmmaker father Sooraj Barjatya and rekindled the old-school romance that his family banner Rajshri Films is known for. The film also introduces a new generation of star children — Sunny Deol’s son Rajveer Deol and Poonam Dhillon’s daughter Paloma.
Centred around a lavish North Indian wedding, Dono explores themes of love and relationships, addressing contemporary issues such as moving on and accepting people for who they are.
The story revolves around Dev Saraf (Rajveer), a young CEO struggling with his startup who receives an invitation to his childhood friend Alina’s (Kanikka Kapur) wedding in Thailand. Dev, who had feelings for Alina, decides to attend the wedding for closure after seeking advice from relationship expert Anjali Malhotra (Tisca Chopra). During the wedding celebrations, he meets Meghna (Paloma), a close friend of the groom, and a bond begins to develop between them.
Avnish Barjatya’s direction maintains the simplicity and charm associated with his father’s films while tackling modern-day issues in an engaging manner. Dev will remind you of Sanjay (Uday Chopra) in Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai (2002), who hid the pangs of heartbreak during the wedding preparations of his childhood friend. But, unlike Sanjay, Dev doesn’t want to disrupt the wedding; he is simply looking for closure.
Meghna, on the other hand, struggles to stay calm as her overbearing former boyfriend Gaurav (Aditya Nanda), who also happens to be the groom’s (Rohan Khurana) best friend, is also around. As Gaurav tries to guilt-trip Meghna to get back together again, her growing rapport with Dev makes Meghna realise that she deserves better.
The young debutants, Paloma and Rajveer, play Meghna and Dev with confidence. Rajveer has an innocent boyish charm that works in his favour, while Paloma nails the feisty-yet-vulnerable modern girl. Together, they have an easy-breezy chemistry.
Among the supporting cast, Aditya Nanda stands out as Meghna’s control-freak, ex, while Kanikka Kapur and Rohan Khurana are adorable as the soon-to-be-married couple. Manik Papneja delivers many laughs as Dev’s bestie Gappu.
The over two-and-a-half-hour runtime might test your patience but Dono manages to be relevant and relatable. The film is visually appealing, and trust the Barjatyas to know how to bring alive an Indian wedding on screen, from a cricket match between the ‘ladkiwale’ and ‘ladkewale’ to an opulent Sangeet ceremony. There are the stereotypical caricatures too — the ever-complaining relatives, the groom’s father who seldom smiles, an overenthusiastic father of the bride and a clumsy wedding planner.
The songs composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy work well — be it Khamma Ghani sung by Shivam Mahadevan and Shreya Ghoshal, or Agg Lagdi in Siddharth Mahadevan and Lisa Mishra’s voice.
