At first glance, Dil Dhadakne Do looks like another escapist travelogue from the master of the genre, Zoya Akther, but it quickly reveals itself to be a dark gritty character study.

Usually, when Bollywood tackles the dysfunctional family, we get generally likeable people with a few eccentricities — too loud, too uptight, etc. The Mehra family, in contrast, consists mainly of borderline sociopaths. Yet, the fact that these people are truly damaged makes them more relatable and endearing, not less. The movie is not blind to their flaws, it explores them. We do not need to pretend these people are perfect, we need to understand how they got to where they are. Without condemning or condoning any character's choice, Dil Dhadakne Do has compassion and insight rare in big budget, ensemble movies of this kind.

Kamal and Neelam Mehra embark on a cruise amidst an idyllic Mediterranean setting, surrounded by their friends and family on the occasion of their 30th anniversary.

Instead of a fantasy vacation, however, it underlines their bleak reality. They only arrange the trip to distract from the fact that Kamal Mehra's empire is on the verge of bankruptcy (probably due to extravagant expenses like this one). The invited guests are not people the Mehra's want to spend time with but people they need to impress. What would be aspirational in another movie comes off like a cautionary tale here. It's impossible to drool over the lavish interiors, gorgeous scenery and designer clothing without constantly being reminded that all this outward luxury simply masks the grating emptiness of our protagonists' lives. The opulence is for the benefit of on-lookers; no one is actually enjoying this journey. The cruise is so suffocating that by the end, our lead characters have to literally escape on a lifeboat.

Thankfully, the resolution while hopeful, is not saccharine. They don't suddenly become wonderful people, they simply gain some perspective and self-awareness. Having a primary focus on perception and presentation takes a toll on your soul and it makes sense for all these characters to exist at various levels of moral ambiguity.

With that in mind, this review ranks the characters from least awful to most.

9. Farah Ali (Anushka Sharma)

It's possible that Farah seems more good-natured than the rest simply because she gets less screen time, and what we do see of her is through Kabir's eyes who might be biased because he is in love with her. Still, even though she is relegated to love interest, Anushka Sharma manages a grounded performance that does not veer into the territory of manic pixie dream girl. Farah did not like the life her parents envisioned for her, so she changes it. She exercises agency and choice and works hard at her dream of being a dancer. Moreover, she has no patience for the petty games of the upper class; this definitely gives her extra points.

8. Noorie Sood and Rana Khanna (Ridhima Sood and Vikrant Massey)

As the ship's resident version (darker and edgier) of Romeo and Juliet, Noorie and Rana are quite adorable. Their parents hate each other so they have to engage in some minor sneaking and lying in order to continue their relationship, but they do it "all for love", so it's forgivable.

7. Sunny Gill (Farhan Akhtar)

Farhan Akhtar is credited as a special appearance, so his main purpose is to be charming, which he delivers in spades. Sunny's one misstep is to argue women's rights with another man, while the woman in question is sitting right there. If you really care about women's rights, then let their voices be heard instead of speaking for them. This is really a flaw in the script though, written in to position Sunny as the good guy against chauvinist Manav, rather than an actual flaw in the character.

6. Pluto Mehra (Aamir Khan)

Pluto would have ranked better by virtue of being a dog and therefore not engaging in any of the morally suspect activities of his human family, except that his perceptions on humanity swiftly go from sharp to cliched. We don't need to have every single intention and motivation telegraphed for us. Perhaps his clunky exposition can be attributed to the fact that dogs probably don't have a very good grasp on subtlety or nuance; neither does Aamir Khan for that matter.

5. Ayesha Mehra (Priyanka Chopra)

Ayesha is a smart, successful businesswoman but is unable to talk honestly and directly to any member of her family except her brother. She still carries a torch for her first love and stays in her marriage only because it's the thing to do. She is told over and over again that she has no value except as a wife and mother despite being very accomplished at her job. Unfortunately, she succumbs to this pressure and is unable to stand up for herself. Her constant need for approval and validation undercut all her personal achievements.

5. Kabir Mehta (Ranveer Singh)

More immature than actually awful, Kabir is generally a good guy. The sibling bond with Ayesha highlights his best qualities — optimism and vulnerability. After meeting Farah, he gains a better focus on life and a determination to follow his heart. On the other hand, he concocts a ridiculous engagement scheme that hurts everybody in order to acquire a private jet and narcissistically believes that his romantic drama supersedes the rules of the ship.

4. Manav Sangha (Rahul Bose)

Manav is a bad husband that you can't help but feel sorry for. He simply doesn't understand what he's doing wrong. He "allows" his wife to work, does not beat her and plays squash with her. The fact that they may have different values and goals is unfathomable. He is sure that a baby will solve all their problems.

3. Kamal Mehta (Anil Kapoor)

As the aging patriarch, Kamal is under a lot of stress, but much of it is self-inflicted. If he was able to see his family as people instead of assets and investments, he could share his burden with them. By trying to control everyone and use them as pawns in his quest for power, he loses sight of who they are. If he was a little less self-obsessed, he may have noticed which of his children had better business acumen and that ridiculing his wife's weight actually drives her to stress eat. He seeks to control other people's life without realising he is losing grip on his own.

2. Neelam Mehra (Shefali Shah)

Neelam is simultaneously the most sympathetic character and the most broken. Shefali Shah's brilliant performance has you alternately want to hug her for comfort and shake her out of her fugue state. She is so resigned to the emptiness of her marriage that she can't comprehend why her children are so committed to fighting against a loveless marriage. To her it's just something you live with. She confronts her husband's adultery not when it is hurtful but when it is embracing, because perception is the only thing she has left. When the ridiculous expectations of society weigh down on her, she buries her pain in chocolate cake and then starts all over again.

1. Various aunties

These horrible creatures exist primarily to hold gossip sessions, judge everybody and match-make relentlessly. One of them does however get the funniest line in the movie. When Ayesha calls them out for having no lives and tells them to get a job, the auntie quite sagely remarks "Silly. Who would give us a job?"

---

Hala Syed is a culture critic who writes on television, fashion and food.