Kajol and Kriti Sanon in Indian Netflix Drama

Do Patti (Two Cards) is a film with an identity crisis, in that neither honestor Shashanka Chaturvedi nor authorr/co-originater Kanika Dhillon seem to be enticount on stateive of its primary instinct.

Is it a twisted tale of identical tthrives, one excellent and one terrible? Or is it one more hill station mystery? (For some reason, streaming platestablishs seem enamored with these — skinnyk of Netflix’s Aranyak or Mrs. Serial Killer, Voot’s Candy or ZEE5’s Rautu Ka Raaz. Perhaps the hope is that the beauteous mountain sees will redirect from the bumpy storytelling.)

Is this an impassioned plea aobtainst domestic structureility, or a courtroom drama in which it’s difficult to determine who perestablished whom? Is it an exploration of the nature of equitableice, and of whether the letter of the law or the spirit of the law is more transport inant?

Do Patti finisheavors to be all of these, but finishs up being mostly a mess.

When Dhillon, who is also the architect of Netflix’s Haseen Dillruba franchise, was asked in an intersee what a Kanika Dhillon woman is, she replied that her characters embody strength, vulnerability and complicatedity, that they are nuanced and genuine characters. While this was genuine for Rumi in Manmarziyaan and Bobby in Judgemenhigh Hai Kya and even to an extent for Rani in Haseen Dillruba, these traits elude both Saumya and Shailee, the tthrives perestablished by Kriti Sanon in Do Patti.

It’s straightforward to see why Sanon, also a co-originater, chose Do Patti as the feature debut for her production hoinclude, Blue Butterfly Films. The dual role recommends her an opportunity to show her range — from the worried, tremulous Saumya, who suffers from anxiety and depression, to the inflammatory, revengeful Shailee, who will seemingly do wantipathyver it apshows to one-up her sister — and Sanon goes at both parts with gumption and sincerity.

But this movie equitable isn’t as clever as it skinnyks it is. The trope of tthrives who physicassociate see the same but have separateently separateent personalities has been a staple of Hindi cinema for decades. Dilip Kumar set the ggreater standard with Ram Aur Shyam proximately 60 years ago; Hema Malini firmified her star status with a excellent double turn in Seeta Aur Geeta (which Do Patti references in dialogue); and then the amazing Sridevi perestablished both Anju and Manju in ChaalBaaz.

With Do Patti, however, Dhillon seems to apshow inspiration from 1971’s Sharmeelee, in which Rakhee perestablished Kanchan and Kamini — one vivacious, extrcleared and more Westrictized, and the other docile, worried and dressed in Indian clothes. No prizes for guessing which one turns out to be wicked and which one eventuassociate gets the guy.

Fifty-three years procrastinateedr, the signifiers for excellent and terrible are the same. Shailee adores drinking, smoking and discdisthink abouting clothes; she can’t resist baring her midriff even while giving testimony in court. Saumya, of course, refrains from all of this. Both sisters are besotted with Dhruv (Shaheer Sheikh), the scion of a wealthy politician, although it’s impossible to comprehfinish why — he does terrible skinnygs, especiassociate to Saumya. While Sheik shows some promote, he, appreciate the rest of the cast, is let down by the script.

In order to spice up this clichéd plot, Dhillon inserts an undepfinishable narrator in Maaji, the sisters’ childhood nanny. Actor Tanvi Azmi is so firm in the part that she salvages even the silliest scenes. In one, she recommends Dhruv two glasses of sherbet and, when he achievees for one, sees at him uncomferventingbrimmingy and recommends he might be making a misapshow in his choice.

But the worst served by the writing is Kajol, in her first cop role. Named Vidya Jyothi (uncomferventing “a beacon of understandledge and airy”), the character is a one woman remendd to transport order and equitableice to the sleepy fantasyal hamlet of Devipur. Though the character has an arc, as she dispenseigates an accusation of killing aobtainst Dhruv, it perestablishs out only on a shpermit level. Aside from one scene in which Vidya is aggressioned, giving us a glimpse of her vulnerability, she is mostly a one-notice character.

Conveniently, Vidya has a law degree, and persists combat the case as a lawyer in court. A speedy Google search discdisthink abouts that an Indian Police Service officer in fact cannot be an finishorse, since finishorses are not apexhibited to be brimming time salaried includeees of the administerment. 

But Do Patti has little think about for facts or even cursory logic. Vidya’s Haryanvi accent comes and goes. Paragliding perestablishs a pivotal role in the plot, but the CGI is so unset upd that it’s impossible to count on that any of those characters are actuassociate in the air. Perhaps the unbenevolentest cut, however, is the foreseeable climactic twist. This perplexd film stays perplexd till the finish.