Rating: ** 1/2

Do Dooni Chaar sees the return of yesteryear's top jodi, Rishi and Neetu Kapoor. The film marks the debut of director Habib Faisal and also happens to be Walt Disney's first full-length non-animated Hindi language feature film. What you can expect from this film is a whole lot of connection and a certain empathy with its characters.

Do Dooni Chaar revolves around the life of the Duggal family that lives in a small house in Delhi. With rather modest means and single income, Mr Duggal, a school teacher and the sole bread winner of the family constantly struggles to make ends meet and can get a little stingy at times.

So much so that he would rather that his son eats aaloo ka paratha instead of paneer since the latter costs 35 rupees and the former only 15. Being honest, he also finds it difficult  to accept bribe to pass his students in exams. But one distant family wedding and a borrowed car will bring things in the Duggal household to a headway.

The beauty of Do Dooni Chaar lies in its sheer honesty and realness. Every single scene, character and dialogue drips the typical lifestyle of the middleclass. It is fascinating to see how the filmmaker captures the nuances of a single income household that has big dreams but small pockets.

But the desire to live well can drive the son of the house to betting on cricket matches, the daughter to particiapte in random contests at college to win a tee-shirt, the father to work at a tuition center after school and the mother to constantly crib about her lost job and making chicken for dinner sound like the highest point in the lives of her family on a given day.

But as mediocre as it may sound, the fact that each of this holds true for most middle class household is undeniable. Whether it is the Meerut wali bua who will use everey emotional blackmailing card she has in her pocket to convince her brother to come in a car to her sister-in-law's wedding or the corrupt cop that will take all the mooh dikhai ka paisa from Mr Duggal on account of blackmail, everything in Do Dooni Chaar seems very close.

The beauty of a film certainly lies in its ability to offer a viewer some sort of a connect to be able to watch the film as a reflection of a certain aspect of his own life. Now Do Dooni Chaar will give most viewers many of these connects.

Unfortunately, despite all of that and some marvelous performances, the movie will not entertain per say. It could be owing to  its glaringly truthful fabric, or its pace, or the fact that it shows most people what for them is daily life.

There are no comic moments either. One either sympathy for the helplessness of the characters or anger at thier stupidity. Overall, watch the movie only if you want to see how real a film can get but if you were looking for entertainment this weekend, then Do Dooni Chaar might not really be the film for you.