Karamveer Singh (Ayushmann Khurrana) is a man who can’t not be a woman. As a kid, he played – or was rather forced to play – Sita in local Ramlilas (and Radha in Kishan Leela). In a small town like Mathura, that became part of his identity. In a world ruled – and destroyed – by men, Karam is a curious outlier. He’s also had no female figures in his life: his mother died when he was young; he has no sister, either. Most Bollywood films spend an inordinate amount of time worshipping the machismo of their heroes. But Dream Girl, directed by Raaj Shaandilyaa, is cut from a different fabric; it unfolds as a quest for masculinity – one that is not vicious or entitled but sensitive and inwards, the kind of divine intervention boys need before becoming men.
Karamveer Singh (Ayushmann Khurrana) is a man who can’t not be a woman. As a kid, he played – or was rather forced to play – Sita in local Ramlilas (and Radha in Kishan Leela). In a small town like Mathura, that became part of his identity. In a world ruled – and destroyed – by men, Karam is a curious outlier. He’s also had no female figures in his life: his mother died when he was young; he has no sister, either. Most Bollywood films spend an inordinate amount of time worshipping the machismo of their heroes. But Dream Girl, directed by Raaj Shaandilyaa, is cut from a different fabric; it unfolds as a quest for masculinity – one that is not vicious or entitled but sensitive and inwards, the kind of divine intervention boys need before becoming men.
0 Comments