June 14, 2021
Divorce Discussions in 'Dil Dhadakne Do': Isolation vs Support
The film offers a notable contrast between the two discussions of Ayesha's divorce, ensuring that all visual cues are in place to emphatically communicate the predominant sentiment of the scene.
These two sets of images are located in the same room with the same set of people, placed in the same situation both times - the discussion of Ayesha's divorce. However, the emotional trajectory of the Mehras covers a huge distance between the first and the second discussion. Consequently, the movement comes to stand for a family's growth from a dysfunctional structure that is crumbling on itself, to one marked by empathy, solidarity and looking out for each other. The two scenes, therefore, allow the film to emphatically convey one of its most important thematic concerns - familial dynamics, and within them, the journey of a group of people back to each other.
When writing scenes that are heavy on emotions and sentiment in this manner, but not on melodrama, it is imperative that the visual cues attain a meaning and significance of their own. For a scene to hold power over the viewer, it is essential that writing and camerawork conflate into one, allowing the various factors, from blocking of actors to who speaks from which side of the room to the slant of light to the colors in the palette, to work in tandem and, thus, successfully communicate the emotion the writer has intended for the audience.
Zoya Akhtar's Dil Dhadakne Do employs precisely these cues. Whether or not viewers manage to acknowledge them at first glance, they do a commendable job of lucidly conveying all the motivations of the characters.
Concept and photo editing: Riddhi Goenka
Writing: Rosheena Zehra
When writing scenes that are heavy on emotions and sentiment in this manner, but not on melodrama, it is imperative that the visual cues attain a meaning and significance of their own. For a scene to hold power over the viewer, it is essential that writing and camerawork conflate into one, allowing the various factors, from blocking of actors to who speaks from which side of the room to the slant of light to the colors in the palette, to work in tandem and, thus, successfully communicate the emotion the writer has intended for the audience.
Zoya Akhtar's Dil Dhadakne Do employs precisely these cues. Whether or not viewers manage to acknowledge them at first glance, they do a commendable job of lucidly conveying all the motivations of the characters.
Concept and photo editing: Riddhi Goenka
Writing: Rosheena Zehra
