It is an inspiring tale of two overweight yet confident individuals.
Star Plus, in an attempt to regain its afternoon audience, kick started the dopahar shows, of which one is ‘Dhhai Kilo Prem,’ produced by Sandeep Sickand and Ekta Kapoor. The show is the story of two obese people – Deepika (Anjali Anand) and Piyush (Mehrezan Mazda), and their daily struggles pertaining their weight.
How they deal with it and gradually try to overcome it is what the show is about. One week into the show, and here’s what we think about it.
Story So Far:
The show begins with the introduction of Deepika and Piyush in the most traditional ways; while Deepika’s mother is trying hard to fix up her daughter’s meeting with the manager of a matrimonial company, Piyush’s friend lectures him on how he doesn’t keep a check on his eating habits. Deepika is of the opinion that her life partner should have a big heart and be a good human being, whereas Piyush is of the opinion that irrespective of however he look, his life partner should be a good looking slender female.
Both Deepika and Piyush have totally opposite ideas of their respective perfect match and love themselves, but the society obviously thinks otherwise. Deepika is supposed to be the replacement for Sita in ‘Ramleela’, but her best friend Sarika(Benazir Sheikh) who Deepika is supposed to replace return, making Deepika the target of loads of mockery and insults. But in all good spirits, Deepika goes by what her dad says, – ‘The show must go one!’ and abides by it.
She, later on, ends up playing the role of Hanuman, which comes as a shock to her mother. Enraged, Deepika’s mom goes on stage and pulls her out midway, which leads to the former getting insulted even more. Out of nowhere, Shilpa (Kishwer Merchantt) adds to her miseries by making fun of her again. While even an equally fat Piyush walks up to Deepika to insult her, he sees Sarika and acts sweet to Deepika to impress the latter.
And then, begins the saga of a one-sided love story for Piyush (with Sarika) and the adamant ‘I don’t want to marry right now’ arguments for Deepika. Throughout, what remains is the support of her father for Deepika and that of his mother for Piyush.
Piyush comes to join the gym where Sarika is the Yoga teacher, but fails to register there due to certain reasons. That’s when Deepika spots him and runs behind him to thank him for being sweet to her during the play. But the she hears someone say that ‘he has returned from Bareilly and this gets her worked up so much, that she runs from the spot. The mystery behind what happened there persists as the very mention of it, saddens Deepika and her parents. With so much happening, we see Anuj (Piyush’s brother) is involved in some sort of gambling problem (since he owes money to them) and is seen trying to get away with it.
The second meeting between Piyush and Deepika happens, with Piyush yelling on Deepika for a prank that she plays. In the meanwhile, the goons that Anuj owes money to, break into his father’s grocery shop to steal. But Deepika lands up there and catches them red handed.
Trying to fight them, she ends up in trouble and that’s when Piyush becomes her knight in shining armour. Piyush’s father aka Babuji (Kiran Karmarkar) discovers that the goons had the key and doubts Piyush (since he is responsible to shut the shop every day) and reprimands him.
However, Inspector Kunal, the son-in-law of the Sharma’s discovers that it was Anuj, who was the one responsible for this entire fiasco. He also learns of Anuj’s involvement in match-fixing. A good lecture, followed by a heart warming hug between the brothers (Piyush and Anuj) marks the end of the final episode of the first week.
The Good:
For starters, despite the concept being here and there in bits and pieces, the approach to the story is different. The everyday struggles, the trials and tribunals, everything is totally relatable.
The show has managed to portray human relations at it’s best, be it the delicate nature of the father – daughter relationship or the always overwhelming and lovable mother, be it the caring and protective elder brother or, the always supportive best friend.
There is total focus on the issue that the story revolves around but, along with that, there’s a balance of emotions, reality, and everyday life.
The Bad:
The setting of the story i.e Agra, is a little too outdated. The portrayal of the city could have been a little like that of modern day.
There have been instances where the characters are shown to have gone overboard (like where Shilpa mocks Anjali or when Babuji prevents Piyush from eating). Despite the balance in the story, these two characters seem to have overplayed it at times.
Not to forget those weird songs along with the visuals of Piyush daydreaming about Sarika, were not really required, but we had to endure it anyway.
The Performances:
Meherzan Mazda as Piyush Sharma is a convincing actor. Not only does he manage to look like someone who’s been struggling for quite some time, but he also satisfactorily pulls off the different emotions that his character goes through at different situations.
Anjali Anand as Deepika, does complete justice to her role, be it the full-of-life girl who is in love with herself, or be it when she plays daddy’s Lil girl. Anjali does it effortlessly, not making us feel for a second that it’s not for real.
The performances of the supporting cast have been equally satisfying, with special mention to the two fathers (Piyush and Deepika’s fathers). They have managed to put up a convincing act. The others too, add up to the entire look and feel of the show.
The verdict:
Dhhai Kilo Prem is a perfect mix of struggles faced by people who are obese, every day. And when the marriage aspect and employment aspect is added, how life becomes even more tough for Piyush and Deepika, is what forms the crux of the story. This one isn’t a random story or a saas-bahu saga, it is a tale of two people and their will to overcome the hurdles that life throws at them.
Rating: ***1/2 (3.5/5)
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