'Metro... In Dino’ review: Anurag Basu swipes right on old-school love in a breezy, messy tale

In Anurag Basu's much-acclaimed Life in a... Metro, one needed to manoeuvre hard, make multiple calls on clunky mobile phones, and get a key to an empty apartment to hook up. 18 years later, it's just a matter of swiping on a dating app on sleek smartphones. Much has changed in this period—well, there are many more devices, and far fewer barriers—yet what remains are humans and their yearning for connection, to belong, to feel safe. However, there are many heartbreaks, hardships, learning and unlearning, which Basu explored then, and does now beautifully in Metro... In Dino, the spiritual sequel of his 2007 much-acclaimed film.

There is an age arc, which starts with Aditya Roy Kapur, who plays Parth, a commitment-phobic Casanova, and Sara Ali Khan as Chumki, a textbook 'good girl'—an obedient girlfriend, on her way to becoming a compliant wife, and unable to even stand up to her predatory boss. Then there is Parth's couple-buddies—Akash (Ali Fazal) and Shruti (Fatima Sana)—madly in love, at first, but increasingly growing apart due to the usual pressures of career, ambitions, and impending parenthood, all together fueling bitterness and resentment. Soon, they prefer texting over talking.

Then there is the middle-aged couple Kajol and Monty, played by actors who never put a foot wrong—Konkana Sen Sharma and Pankaj Tripathi, respectively. Sharma is the only cast member returning from the original, while Tripathi steps into big shoes. While watching Metro... In Dino, it's hard not to miss the late Irrfan Khan, who played Monty in Basu’s 2007 outing. It feels like a touching gesture that the makers retained the character’s name, as if a quiet ode to Khan, who played a quientessential jackass who stares at women's breasts, with such finesse that he ended up being the most likeable character. 

Kajol and Monty, a perfect couple on paper, are drifting apart out of boredom. They are constantly glued to their screens, whether at the dining table or in bed, and schedule sex as if it's a doctor's appointment. Kajol's social media gets more colourful whenever her life takes a hit, a subtle dig at how picture-perfect Instagram lives often mask emptiness, while Monty strays looking for greener pastures on a dating app—"Linger". What follows is a familiar arc: Kajol finds out, Monty tries to win her back, and surprisingly, you root for him. While Sharma is phenomenal as the fearless, independent woman who's just done with her husband, Tripathi is likeable to the tee in his antics of winning his wife over. While the countless dating apps fuel the idea that there's always someone out there better, their story flips that notion, reminding that love is about circling back and not swiping right.

Then there is Kajol and Chumki's mother Shivani (Neena Gupta), who sacrifices herself while building a family with her dictatorial husband (Saswata Chatterjee), and now, in her twilight age, just wants to be there for herself and live. A college reunion, where she meets old flame Parimal (Anupam Kher), becomes the turning point, where she finds herself and her happiness.

All their lives are intertwined, and the plot moves—rather meanders— beautifully, nothing overpowering or dull. It's the kind of romantic film that makes you smile quite often, in the dark.

Then there's the music of Pritam, who, along with his three-member band, is strewn through the film. Like in the previous example, the music isn't just there but furthers the characters' thoughts, dilemmas, and feelings. However, if you're a big fan of the 2007 album, you would feel that the songs of this one don't stick as deeply. It seems it'll take us another 18 years to figure out if the songs are as evergreen as 'In Dino', 'O Meri Jaan', and 'Alvida'.

When good films are hard to find, both in theatres and even on OTT, Basu's Metro... In Dino feels like a breath of fresh air. All actors deliver— maybe some better than others. Kapoor, Sharma, and particularly Tripathi stand out, and Khan is better here than in her other films.

However, there are loose ends. For example, the story of Akash and Shruti, despite the potential, feels muted. Then there is a young teenager trying to figure out "whether she likes boys or girls". Kher’s widowed daughter-in-law (Darshana Bainik), who cannot leave him for a better life out of some unsaid devotion for her late husband.

But most of all, it's the metro that disappoints. While Mumbai was a character itself in Life in a... Metro, with its frantic pace, ambitions, and loneliness, here, there are four—Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, and Kolkata, and you cannot tell one from the other. The city played a major character in the previous film in making and breaking relationships out of what it demands from the individuals who inhabit it; here, the city doesn't have any such role to play. 

Having said that, there are bonus moments, such as when Imtiaz Ali comes on screen playing himself, and a cameo by Basu himself. All in all, Metro... In Dino is a decent film with its heart in the right place, and a treatment that makes you fall in love, the old school kind, all over again. 

 

Film: Metro... In Dino

Director: Anurag Basu

Cast: Anupam Kher, Neena Gupta, Konkona Sen Sharma, Pankaj Tripathi, Aditya Roy Kapur, Sara Ali Khan

Rating: 3.5/5 

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