Do Dooni Chaar

About the film

Do Dooni Chaar (transl. Two twos are four) is a 2010 Indian Hindi-language family comedy-drama film produced by Arindam Chaudhuri (Planman Motion Pictures), written and directed by debutant director Habib Faisal, starring Rishi Kapoor, Neetu Kapoor, Aditi Vasudev and Archit Krishna in lead roles. The film is about a middle-class school teacher who tries to keep his wife and children happy in inflationary times and dreams of buying a car. The film also marks the return of the Kapoor pair as a lead couple on the silver screen. Although the duo had not acted in a film in over 30 years, they had previously acted in numerous hits during the 1970s. The directorial debut film was also the first live-action Hindi film to be distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. It went on to win the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi at the 58th National Film Awards.

Plot

The Duggals are a middle-class Punjabi family living in a one-bedroom apartment in Lajpat Nagar, Delhi. The middle-aged patriarch, Santosh Duggal, is a modest high-school mathematics teacher; his wife Kusum is a stay-at-home housewife who quit her job at Santosh's insistence. They have two teenage children: a tomboyish college-going daughter, Payal, who narrates the film, and a high-schooler son, Sandeep, who is also known as Deepu or Sandy. They lead a hand-to-mouth existence, penny-pinching at every opportunity. Santosh commutes using a dilapidated old scooter, nicknamed "Duggal Express", from his home to the school and to a coaching centre, where he gains a supplementary income. Despite his best efforts to give his children a quality education, he always falls short of their expectations, who wish for a comfortable life despite their situation.

One evening, Santosh receives a phone call from his sister Urmi, who informs him that her youngest nanad (sister-in-law) is getting married at their home in Meerut that weekend. This throws the children's plans of buying gadgets out the window, as their meagre budget is now further strained with the burden of travelling to Meerut and buying gifts for the groom's family. The following night, Urmi turns up at the Duggals', and entreats the family to arrive at the marriage by car at any cost; if they show up on the scooter, she will have to face taunts from her family. Santosh immediately says that this is impossible, since he does not have the finances to borrow a car, let alone to buy one. However, Kusum promises a distraught Urmi that they will go to the marriage in a car, no matter what the expense.

After a fellow teacher at school proposes renting a car to Meerut, but at too high a price, Santosh turns to his jovial neighbour Farooqui, who offers the Duggals his old Maruti Esteem. Payal drives the family to Meerut without incident. The marriage is a success, and Urmi's family is pleased to see the Duggals. However, upon returning home, Payal reverses the car into a wall, damaging its rear bumper and tail-light. Farooqui is unperturbed by the damage expenses, but his wife Salma loses her temper and challenges the Duggals to buy a car. Despite himself, Santosh takes up the challenge, and vows to buy a new car within fifteen days.

Production

Even at the script development stage, Neetu Kapoor had been in the mind of the makers, for the female lead opposite Rishi Kapoor, initially Juhi Chawla was approached, she, however, refused the role. Although Neetu-Rishi pair had made a brief appearance in the Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone starrer 2009 film Love Aaj Kal, Do Dooni Chaar was their first film as a lead pair, after a gap of 30 years as Neetu Kapoor had retired from film after her marriage to Rishi Kapoor in 1980. Later in an interview Neetu, revealed she had no intentions of signing on the film and agreed to listen to the script at the insistence of her husband, who has already been signed on. Upon hearing the script from the director Habib, she started imaging herself as "Kusum Duggal" and immediately agreed to the part.

The film deals with the issue of underpaid teachers, and their issue with their self-worth in the face of growing inflation and demands of their family. The middle-class school teacher who works overtime to support his income and to send his children to good schools ends up in a moral dilemma when it comes to fulfilling the needs of his ever unsatisfied teenage children. As per producer, Arindam Chaudhuri, "The common question the teacher asks when he looks at his student, who is just 25 and owns a car, is why at 55 he is still riding a scooter?" In the end, it is not just the teacher who redeems himself by not succumbing to taking bribes, but also his children who begin to see him in the true light and importance of being a teacher and an honest citizen.

Film was shot on locations across Delhi, in places like Kirori Mal College, Vinobapuri, Shalimar Bagh (Delhi), Khan Market, Chittaranjan Park, Mayur Vihar Phase - 3 and Noida. The wedding sequence in the film set in Meerut, was shot in a Chhattarpur farmhouse and later in Nizamuddin area, in early 2009. Coaching class shot in DICT Institute, Mayur vihar phase 3.

Release

In August 2010, the film became the first live action Hindi feature film to be produced by Disney India and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The film premiered at a suburban theatre in Mumbai on 6 October, attended by the cast and Bollywood stars, followed by a nationwide release on 8 October 2010. The film had its North American premiere as the opening night film of the 2011 New York Indian Film Festival on 4 May 2011.

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