Dor

What I really liked about Nagesh Kukunoor's Dor is the way he has presented a complicated story in an uncomplicated, sensible and a crisp manner. None of the roles have been presented for longer than needed.

The movie starts with the first 30 - 45 mins being spent in setting up the context for the actual story about two women whose worlds are about to collide. Zeenat (Gul Panag) plays a mature kashmiri girl who gets married to Amir Khan who she is in love with, a day before he is headed to Saudi for a new job. The marriage happens without the groom's parents consent who are introduced in the scene when Amir is leaving to Saudi. There is no mention of Zeenat's parents in the movie and from the description of Zeenat's character and her coming across as a person who has matured after overcoming obstacles in life, it looked like she did not have one.

Meera (Ayesha Takia) is a young, naive Rajasthani girl who is married to Shankar and they live in a joint family. Shankar's father (Girish Karnad) wants to get back his haveli, which he has not been able to due to the lack of financial resources, sends his son off to Saudi so that he could send more moolah back home which will help him in getting back the haveli.

Aamir's and Shanker's paths cross in Saudi and they live together as room mates (this part is not shown in the movie) when tragedy strikes. Shanker falls off from the balcony and Amir is held guilty for murdering him. Amir is put behind bars, and is given the death sentence and he will be executed in 2 months.

The news reaches both the families. Meera is shattered and is now only confined to a small room and her black gown, the only outing which she gets to have is with a sweet lil' girl who stays with Shanker's family to the temple. Zeenat is informed by the ministry of external affairs that the only way she can rescue Amir is if Meera agrees to forgive Amir by signing on a form. This is when the actual story begins. Zeenat heads out in search of Meera in Rajasthan where she comes across behrupiya (Shreyas Talpade) who can easily switch roles from a police constable to a IT officer to a jyotishya, who helps Zeenat in her pursuit. Zeenat manages to find Meera's house and decides to go and speak to Shanker's parents about Amir. Shanker's parents do not agree to it and Zeenat is sent out of the house. She decides to get in touch with Meera at the temple which she visits daily and persuade Meera to sign the form. Zeenat and Meera meet regulary for over a month (?) and become really good friends. There is a lot which Meera gets to learn from Zeenat. At times, the girls venture out to have rosogoolas which Meera likes, a movie which Shanker happens to like a lot, camel ride et al. All this while, the behrupiya stays with Zeenat and it is now time for him to get back to work. When the behrupiya is about to leave, Zeenat asks him to call up Amir's parents in Kashmir and inform them that things are fine at her end. Behrupiya gets back to Zeenat the next day to inform her that Amir is to be executed in 2 days and Zeenat is to head back to Jaipur the next day with the signed form from Meera.

In the meantime, Nagesh Kukunoor also steps in on the screen as a rich industrialist who is setting up an industry in the same place as that of Rajasthan and who is currently put up at the haveli which Shanker's father has an eye on. Nagesh offers Rs. 5 lakhs to Shanker's father for Meera, an amount which will get Shanker's father back the haveli and he agrees to it. Meera overhears the entire conversation and realizes that she is just another mode for making money for her father-in-law.

Zeenat meets Meera at the temple and speaks to her about Amir, something which she has been avoiding all this while, for the fear that Meera may also reject the plea the way Shanker's parents did earlier, and she may also end up loosing a great friend. Meera is shocked to hear that her best friend's husband was the cause of the misery that she was undergoing now and is not ready to forgive Amri by signing the form. The two friends part ways here, Zeenat leaves a note for Meera on the tree under which both of them would sit and chat for hours earlier.

When Meera gets back home and has a chat with Shanker's grand mother who has become pally with her of late tells Meera to go more with her conscience and not with what the society has to say. Meera decides to get back to Zeenat and sign the form, she rushes to the temple where she finds the letter Zeenat has left for her, and getting the clue, heads to the raliway station where she finds Zeenat is a train which is about to leave. Meera hands Zeenat the letter, and later when the train gets moving Zeenat also extends her hand forward for Meera to grab and get on to the train which will lead Meera to her freedom which she sensibly clings on to.