Ajeeb Daastaans is a portmanteau film which deals with four short stories with a single theme and interlocking events. This film is directed by Shashank Khaitan, Raj Mehta, Neeraj Ghaywan and Kayoze Irani and produced by Karan Johar and Netflix. It deals with “the uncomfortable emotions simmering under fractured relationships”. Now, when I first saw the trailer I was quite stunned and excited about it. Not only the storyline but the casting also grabbed my attention. The movie got a rank of 6.7/10 on IMDb and 3.5/5 on TOI.
The first story ‘Majnu’ dealt with revenge and betrayal. I was quite disappointed with the character of Babloo played by Jaideep Ahlawat and Lipakshi played by Fatima Sana. The story didn't have any oomph factor in it and had some missing factors as it didn't have any impact. I would rate the story 1.5 out of 5.
The second story was ‘Khilauna’. It was quite predictable from my POV. I personally loved Nusrat Bharucha’s acting but the portrayal of the household was not real. What shocked me, was the ending, it was quite unpredictable and the dialogue, “Baccha nahi tha woh, baas khilona tha” by Binny added the spice to it. I would give a solid 3 out of 5 for the story.
The third story ‘Geeli Puchi’ was my second favourite. The camaraderie between the two actresses, Konkona Sen Sharma and Aditi Rao Hydari just took the show to a next level. The story dealt with caste discrimination and societal behaviour. Although the ending was a bit predictable still it was quite disheartening. I would like to rate it 4 out of 5.
The last and final story ‘Ankahi’ was my favourite and I guess everyone who has watched the movie will agree with me. Shefali Shah is one of the most underrated actresses and in this movie she was just mere perfection and the male lead Manav Kaul was equally good in his part. Although the story is light but the complexity shown in the story was quite grave. I personally think that the ending was quite forcefully done just to make it fall under the same category. But still can't deny that the ending brought happy tears to my eyes. I would give it 4.5 out of 5. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. Although most of them had predictable endings. I will give it 3.5 out of 5.
Let us know your opinion on Ajeeb Daastaan and if there’s a movie of a series on your mind that you’d like to see our “filmy opinions” on, surely do let us know in the comment section below!
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Bijeta De
Student of Masters in British English and an entrepreneur,
Content Writer at N-Clicks Studio