The stories, except the second one, were good. But! Like every Dharma Production film, the “feel” was missing. You couldn’t feel the emotions or the pain of the characters. That involvement was the key factor for the stories that are told in Ajeeb Daastaans.
To tell you a little about the film, it’s an anthology of 4 short stories just like Lust Stories, but the theme here is revenge. The last story is an exception though. If you decide to watch this film, it will demand your 2 hours 20 minutes. Should you give that much time to it?
Honestly, it’s a timepass film. So, if you have time on hand, do watch it. Even if you don’t like it, you will not hate it. Let us now talk about the stories:
Since the stories are a bit twisted with an intention to ‘shock’ the audience, I won’t reveal the plots here. But as I said, the stories are ‘twisted,’ in order to ‘shock’ you. And that is where they ruined it. The writers should have either planned better shocks or the director should have kept the shock factor aside and have had some kind of build-up for the twists. The sudden ‘kahaani mein twist’ doesn’t go down well, especially in Khilauna, the second story in the film.
When it comes to the first story, I liked its end. But again, there was a sudden twist in between which looked abrupt, unnecessary, and forced. I do not know why Dharma Production’s films and web series are obsessed with gay/lesbian angles. It really looks weird. It feels like every human being is either gay, lesbian, or bisexual. No one is straight in Dharma’s world. Having said that, there were straight love stories so don’t worry about it. I am talking about majority of the production house’s content where at least one character is gay. Again, that is completely fine unless and until it doesn’t look forced (which is the case in Dharma’s films).
The only story that I liked is Geeli Pucchi. Konkana Sen Sharma and Aditi Rao Hydari have done fabulous jobs. This is the only story where you emotionally get involved. The way Bharti Mandal (Konkana Sen Sharma) is treated, you really feel bad for her. Her expressions, body language, controlled dialogue delivery – everything was simply fantastic. Same could be said for Aditi Rao Hydari, but when it comes to Konkana, since hers was a tomboyish character, her changed and convincing body language earns extra points for her.
Coming to the last story, Ankahi: OMG! Manav Kaul is a charmer. I so wanted to replace Shefali Shah and talk to him in sign language. Watch that story only for him. When it comes to Shefali Shah, I am tired of seeing her as a frustrated woman. I cannot see any variation in her characters just because they all are so similar. May it be Neelam Mehra from Dil Dhadakne Do, Manju Singh from the short film – Juice, or Tara Shetty from Once Again; I see no difference in any of these characters or their portrayal.
To cut the long story short, watch it if you want to. Don’t watch it if you don’t want to. Won’t make much difference in your life.
Streaming On: Netflix