Dus Kahaniyaan as the title suggests has 10 stories, directed by 6 directors, stars about 24 actors, written by 10 writers and the music is composed by 4 music directors.Matrimony (Mandira Bedi, Arbaaz Khan and Sudhanshu Pandey). The Sarin couple (Mandira Bedia and Arbaaz Khan) have been married for 5 years. Without kids and happiness, Mrs Sarin gets involved in a extra-marital relationship. Matrimony is about how love makes a fool out of us. The story is interesting and directed well. Mandira Bedi acts well. Arbaaz Khan and Sudhanshu Pandey are average.
High on the Highway (Jimmy Shergill, Masumeh). A violent, unpredictable love story between two reckless, uncontrollable people. He calls her *itch, she calls him bastard! Boring and doesn’t connect. Too brutal, a lot of blood and is strictly not for the family audience. The weakest story in the movie. The performances of Jimmy Shergill and Masumeh is good.
Pooranmashi (Amrita Singh, Minissha Lamba). Poornamashi is a story of a mother’s unconditional love for her daughter, who is engaged to get married soon. But the mother ends up being responsible for her daughter’s death. Again pretty boring, but does tend to get a bit emotional in the end. Amrita Singh is superb, Minissha Lamba is good.
Strangers in the night (Neha Dhupia, Mahesh Manjrekar). On every wedding the couple have to share a personal secret. Its the wife’s turn this year. She narrates a encounter with a stranger at a public railway station, that could change their lives forever. Quite interesting for most parts, but the twist in the tale is weird and isnt convincing. Dialogues are good. Neha Dhupia looks extremely hot and acts well. Mahesh Manjrekar is funny, maybe its just his face.
Zahir (Manoj Bajpai, Dia Mirza). Two strangers meet on a lift. They are instantly attracted towards each other, the bond of friendship grows. Soon he discovers a bitter truth of her life, he takes a step which changes his life forever. Very interesting with a lot of shock value. Directed brilliantly by Sanjay Gupta. Dia Mirza looks extremely sweet, perfect for her role and acts well. Manoj Bajpai is splendid.
Love Dale (Anupam Kher, Aftab, Neha Oberoi). Neha is traveling by train and she meets a woman with just one ear-ring. The story behind the one ear-ring changes her life. Love Dale is about fate and destiny. The writing could have been much better for this story, it tries hard to convince the audience but doesnt. Performances by Aftab and Neha are good.
Sex on the Beach (Dino Morea, Tareena Patel). Dino finds a old book on a beach and signs on it, instantly he sees a woman half-naked in the water. He’s attracted to her, they have a great time together but all of a sudden things change...The horror and suspense thriller is interesting in bits but far from gripping. The performances are average.
Rice Plate (Shabana Azmi and Naseeruddin Shah). A hindu woman who hates muslims. Its her journey with a Muslim man over a plate of Rice. The muslim stranger is consuming her plate of rice. Will she place her hardcore beliefs over hunger? Without doubt the best part of the movie. The story has moral and is sensitive, emotional, gripping. Two legends share screen space and their performances are top-notch. Shabana Azmi is sheer brilliance. Nasseruddin Shah in a comparatively smaller role is good too.
Gubbare (Anita, Nana Patekar, Rohit Roy). Husband and wife, travelling on a bus, have a argument. An irritated Anita sits next to a interesting man holding 11 red colored balloons in his hand. He is carrying them for his wife… The story behind the balloons carries a very important lesson in ones life. Must watch! A very emotional and touching tale, written by Gulzar. The execution is perfect and the story leaves an impact. A brilliant Nana Patekar is in form. Anita and Rohit are good.
Rise and Fall (Sanjay Dutt, Suniel Shetty). Rise and Fall is a story of two gangsters, their childhood friendship that finally leads to betrayal. There are 2 stories running simultaneously both on the same two gangsters. The last story would make the most impact and if its good, the audience would leave with a smile on their face, unfortunately that isn’t the case here. The 10th story disappoints. Neither the performances nor the execution is upto the mark. Sanjay Dutt and Suniel Shetty are average.
On the whole, the number of interesting kahaniyaan in Dus Kahaniyaan outnumber the not-too-interesting ones and that's what goes in its favor.
