'Dry Day' review: Confused film doesn't know where to go
With names like Jitendra Kumar, Shriya Pilgaonkar, Annu Kapoor, and Saurabh Shukla (director) attached to it, I pinned my hopes on Dry Day, which was released on Friday. But I couldn't be more wrong. DD wants to be a piercing social satire, aspiring to make you uncomfortable, but it is confused, overlong, and insipid—ultimately turning into a chore to finish—not a film to enjoy.
This is 'Dry Day's plot
Dry Day—released on Amazon Prime Video on Friday—has a storyline that zigzags throughout and never settles. Gunnu (Kumar) is an aspiring political contractor and a hopeless drunkard, and his wife Nirmala (Pilgaonkar) threatens she will abort their baby if he doesn't secure a decent political post. Because DD is pitifully confused, a track of Gunnu inspiring everyone to relinquish drinking is also thrown in.
It is unable to present itself well
Dry Day's biggest problem is that despite seasoned actors at its front and center and a veteran artist behind the lens, it is unable to squeeze the most of its plot and exploit the many possibilities that the storyline and the setting offer. It starts at one point, then abandons it, only to jump to an entirely different sequence—it has no semblance of cohesion.
Tries to enmesh too many storylines
Dry Day bites much more than it can chew. It talks about women's role in triggering a revolution, the ravages of drinking, especially in rural areas, and the tumultuous trajectory of politics, among a few others. After the first 30 minutes, I began asking myself, "Where is this movie going?" It does not progress but simply runs in circles and then gasps for breath.
No piercing gaze; humor dries up
I enjoyed watching Dry Day for about half an hour, after which it ran out of all its good jokes and natural humor. It became something else entirely—a film bursting at the seams to tell you how socially aware it is. Satire works only on occasions when we are not lectured and when it is mixed with sarcasm/humor—but Dry Day can't boast of that.
Film forgets own storylines and is extremely forwardable
I don't recall the number of times I hit the forward button on Prime Video while watching Dry Day: three well-known actors and a script that works well on paper, and yet, the finished piece is unwatchable. To my immense surprise, another subplot involving Gunnu's mother was completely forsaken and tossed into the bin. It's almost as if the makers forgot their own script.
It's overlong and largely incoherent
Dry Day—which should have ideally been 90 minutes long— extends over two hours because it creaks under the weight of needless scenes. For instance, a sequence where, in the middle of a hunger strike, a bar dancer takes the stage to entertain the villagers or the completely haywire part where Gunnu and his friends travel to Delhi on a whim. It's a lost cause!
What works: Dialogues and performances
Something that attracted me toward Dry Day, at least momentarily, is its dialogues and performances. The dialogues, in particular, capture the nuances and intricacies of Mathura's Brij Bhasha immaculately, and it took me back to the days I spent in the region. Moreover, unlike several other mainstream films, there is no unnecessary hamming, no over-the-top accent, and the performances seem natural and organic.
Verdict: No need to invest time in 'Dry Day'
Dry Day has very few things going in its favor, and between its forgotten storylines, too many sub-plots, crowded frames, and haphazard storytelling, its heart gets completely lost. Here and there, it shows potential, but by the time it does, there's nothing left to be salvaged. If this were a theatrical release, I wouldn't have been the only one to walk out. Verdict: 1.5/5.
