Review: Life OK's Do Dil Ek Jaan

Life OK which has stuck by its pledge to steer clear from saas bahu drama keeps offering us pleasant new surprises from time to time. The new shows which are being launched are deviating from the hackneyed path. Its newest show Do Dil Ek Jaan (Nautanki Films) opened in Heaven on Earth- Kashmir Valley. It’s a welcome change as TV shows are usually set in Central and North India (ignoring the beautiful state of Kashmir). What do you expect when you see a hand strumming a guitar in a work of fiction? You generally expect it to be a male rock star guitarist who is surrounded by ardent fans. Instead of showing a male guitarist serenading his lady love or winning the hearts of female fans, they showed a beautiful Kashmiri girl playing and singing a melodious song. Indeed she has braved all social restrictions prohibiting Kashmiri girls to pursue music which indicated that the heroine is progressive. The opening scene in a way reminded us of the first scene of the classic movie Sound of Music in which Maria (Julie Andrews) sings on the beautiful mountainous landscape. Kudos to the creative team and the writers Gautam Hegde, Janaki V and Raghuvir Shekhawat that they have etched out each and every character so beautifully. They have endearingly portrayed the close-knit Kaul family who like every kin, play, dine and go out together- all of these activities are portrayed with additional sweetness. For instance, Antara’s (Nikita Sharma) father Ashok Kaul (Farooq Sheikh) plucking a rose from the flower garden in which picking flowers is prohibited and giving it to his wife Geeta (Kishori Shahane) to appease her anger, the children knowing their parents’ love story of their youthful years by heart, daughter telling her father in jest that she missed him by five kilograms as he was not at her press coverage, father holding the cricket bat to shield his son from facing his mother’s wrath for shattering the glass window and the family bonding over singing during a barbeque at night were simple and sweet in their poignancy. Antara’s brother writing his sister’s name on the wind shield of the car and some alphabets being worn off from the nameplate of the Kaul residence reveal that the makers have an eye for minute details while building the scenes. Strife and unrest in the heavenly serenity of the Kashmir Valley has been depicted touchingly. Unfortunately this show will soon shift base to Mumbai. A source informed us that Kashmir Valley can’t be recreated in Mumbai unlike most other cities and towns of India which is why they were left with no choice. Antara falling in love with the terrorist Raghu (Ayaz Ahmed) later on the show gives us the hope that this will be an offbeat love story. It will be also interesting to watch how the Kaul family battles with the tragedy of losing the head and breadwinner of the family Ashok and cope with leaving the idyllic natural beauty of Kashmir to relocate to the busy and bustling Mumbai. Coming to the performances, each and every actor has done a very good job, especially Farooq Sheikh as the righteous Indian citizen, ethical doctor and the ideal family man. Nikita Sharma made a spontaneous debut as Antara. The cinematographer has captured the exquisitely beautiful and serene landscape of Kashmir very well. The scene when dawn is breaking (accompanied by a peaceful blue hue) was especially well done. The night scenes brought out the serenity of the landscape very well. Do Dil Ek Jaan seems quite promising and has opened quite well. We hope that it won’t lose its inherent sweetness after it shifts base to Mumbai.