Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Gannu bhaiya is a day dreamer, day drinker, political worker and small-time thug who keeps getting into fights. Fed up with Gannu’s alcoholism, his wife of four years threatens to have an abortion because she doesn’t want their child to have a father who is a drunk, unemployed goon. Thus begins Gannu’s journey to straighten his life (through short-cuts).
Written and directed by Saurabh Shukla, ‘Dry Day’ begins with a lively shot of Jitendra Kumar as the protagonist Gannu, delivering a speech at a packed rally where he praises the virtues of free alcohol to rousing applause. It’s one of the most entertaining scenes of the film, and the rest of the story just doesn’t live up to its comic potential. The film traces Gannu’s journey from being a political sidekick of a powerful politician named Dauji (Annu Kapoor) to emerging as a prominent local leader in his region who promises to ban alcohol in his town to secure women’s vote, while struggling with his own drinking habit. Gannu’s transformation is triggered by his wife’s ultimatum to mend his good-for-nothing ways.
Shriya Pilgaonkar plays Gannu’s fierce wife, Nirmala, who demands that he quit drinking and pursue a serious respectable career. Ironically, Nirmala’s own identity is ‘the daughter of a teacher,’ yet she lectures to those around her about responsibility. And in an even worse little detail, Nirmala laments that her father warned her about marrying a useless alcoholic, but she wins the debate by claiming she could ‘fix’ him once they wed. Both Gannu and Nirmala are problematic characters, Jitendra Kumar and Shriya Pilgaonkar’s spirited performances don’t do much to make the movie feel entertaining.
“Dry Day” starts off as satirical look at the lives of men who let alcohol ru(i)n their lives, but soon becomes a confused drama-comedy, that’s neither funny enough nor emotionally poignant. The script doesn’t commit itself to a clear path, so even by the end of one hour of the film, Gannu is still drinking and creating a ruckus around him. Kiran Khoje stands out in her supporting role as Janki, a henna artist whose alcoholic husband drinks away all her earnings. Janki’s character is a realistic representation of impoverished working women who are crushed by their husbands’ alcoholism, pinning their hopes on politicians promising prohibition.
While the audio-visual elements are well-executed, and the cast delivers strong performances, the bland chaotic storytelling is the undoing of “Dry Day.” With a runtime of about two hours, relatively short for a Bollywood film, it is still a struggle to maintain interest in a narrative that shifts from a goon’s penchant for alcohol-fueled violence to preaching abstinence for political gain.
Rating: 4 on 10. “Dry Day” is available to stream on Prime Video.
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