Dil Dhadakne Do Review

Engaging family drama about the wealthy Mehra family who all go on a Mediterranean cruise for the parent couple's 30th anniversary. The cruise setting is perfect for a film -- exotic locations, and forced togetherness of family and friends. Having been on more than one of these multi-generational cruise trips, the closeness of everyone can lead to great times -- and lots of family tension, too.

The pacing is a little slow at times, but I really liked the all the characters -- even those that you'd think you'd hate, all became endearing in their own way. Kudos to all the actors for doing such a fantastic job, especially Priyanka Chopra and Anil Kapoor. The problems of the family are uniquely Indian in several ways, on top of the pressures of being a wealthy high society family. The older daughter of the family has created her own successful business, but is overlooked by her parents as the heir to the family business in favor of her hapless younger brother. Women's equality is a thread that runs through several of the stories -- examining her relationship with her domineering husband that she wants to divorce, and her mother's putting up with years of infidelity of her husband and his constant criticism of her weight. The scene where the mother in despair stuffs her face with chocolate cake is not one I will forget soon.

The songs are also delightful. Zoya always directs interesting films, and I love when they include her brother Farhan!