Dil Dhadakne Do

Dil Dhadakne Do (translation: Let The Heart Beat) is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language comedy drama film directed by Zoya Akhtar and produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar under the banner of Excel Entertainment. Released worldwide on 5 June 2015, the film features an ensemble cast of Anil Kapoor, Shefali Shah, Priyanka Chopra, Ranveer Singh, Anushka Sharma and Farhan Akhtar, along with a voice-over performance by Aamir Khan as the family dog Pluto and the narrator of the film. The supporting cast also includes Rahul Bose, Zarina Wahab, Vikrant Massey, Ridhima Sood, Pawan Chopra, Ayesha Raza Mishra, Parmeet Sethi, Dolly Minhas, Manoj Pahwa and Preeti Mamgain. The film tells the story of the Mehras, a dysfunctional family who invite their family and friends on a cruise trip to celebrate the parents' 30th wedding anniversary and later reconcile.
Zoya conceived the film as a family drama centered on a brother-sister relationship. She wanted to depict a more realistic sibling relationship in contrast to the dubious and over-the-top portrayal for which Bollywood is known. She later wrote the script with her friend and longtime collaborator Reema Kagti, while Farhan penned the dialogues. Much of the principal photography was done on Pullmantur Cruises' ship MS Sovereign while sailing across the Mediterranean Sea and Europe, and on land in France, Spain, Tunisia, Turkey and Italy.
The soundtrack was composed by the trio Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, with lyrics by Javed Akhtar. The film was released worldwide on 5 June 2015 to positive reviews from critics, who praised the performances of Kapoor, Shah, Chopra and Singh, who portrayed the members of the Mehra family, as well as Akhtar's direction, cinematography and costumes. The film grossed 1.45 billion at the box office against a production and marketing budget of 850 million, and earned a number of accolades. It received five Filmfare nominations, winning Best Supporting Actor for Kapoor. Dil Dhadakne Do also received nine nominations at the 2016 Screen Awards, including Best Film, and won two, Best Supporting Actor for Kapoor and Best Ensemble Cast.
Plot
The film is narrated by Aamir Khan in a voice-over for a dog named Pluto belonging to the Mehras, a dysfunctional family that comprises Kamal Mehra (Anil Kapoor), a billionaire businessman in Delhi who owns AyKa, a company on the verge of bankruptcy, and has a troubled relationship with his wife Neelam (Shefali Shah), older daughter Ayesha (Priyanka Chopra) and younger son Kabir (Ranveer Singh). Ayesha has a successful travel business in Mumbai, but is unhappy with her marriage to the narcissistic and controlling Manav Sangha (Rahul Bose), who hates her family along with his mother Smita (Zarina Wahab). Kabir unwillingly takes part in the AyKa business, instead of fulfilling his dream of becoming an aircraft pilot. Kamal and Neelam invite their family and friends for a cruise across the Mediterranean Sea to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary.
Their guests include the Sood family. Kamal and Neelam plan Kabir's wedding to the Soods' daughter Noorie (Ridhima Sood), in exchange to her father Lalit (Parmeet Sethi) investing in AyKa, aiming to prevent bankruptcy. However, Noorie falls for Rana (Vikrant Massey), the son of the Soods' sworn rival Khannas. Aboard, Kabir falls in love with Farah Ali (Anushka Sharma), a dancer and ship performer from Birmingham. On the other hand, Ayesha, while strongly disapproving Kamal and Neelam's plans to betroth Kabir to Noorie, blurts out before then and Kabir that she miserably wishes to divorce Manav due to their bitter married life.
During this emotional crisis of Ayesha, enters aboard Kamal's manager Amrish's (Ikhlaque Khan) Egypt-based son Sunny Gill (Farhan Akhtar), a childhood friend of Ayesha and Kabir who had only gifted Pluto to the Mehra family. Sunny and Ayesha are revealed to be teenage lovers, but Kamal had paid for and arranged Sunny's Yale University scholarship to separate him from Ayesha. Ayesha and Sunny, now a successful journalist, still harbour feelings for each other. Unlike Manav, Sunny appreciates Ayesha's strong personality and is a feminist.
Meanwhile, Neelam sees Kamal flirting with a local guest and wonders why she did not divorce him despite his past infidelities. Ayesha confronts Sunny about their separation and kisses him, which shocks them both. Farah hears that Kabir is going to marry Noorie and storms off. Kamal sees Noorie making out with Rana and learns that Kabir and Noorie are not together as he had thought, causing him to have a minor gas attack. After the confirmation of Kamal's recovery, Kabir reveals to the family that he is in love with Farah and that he intends to leave the AyKa business and asks them to consider Ayesha, who is actually interested in the business. When he tries to persuade them to let her proceed with her divorce, Kamal and Neelam refuse, believing marriages are lifelong commitments.
Infuriated, Kabir bursts out that they are hypocrites for talking of marriage, values, and morals, as the whole family circle is aware of Kamal's adultery and that Neelam has been suffering silently for years. Kamal asks Neelam why she did not leave him and she reveals that she had no choice because her family would not accept her back due to dishonour. Kamal realises his mistake and profusely asks for Neelam's forgiveness. While trying to reconcile Manav and Ayesha, Kamal sees how his son-in-law mistreats his daughter and orders him and Smita to leave, finally agreeing to the divorce and apologizing to his daughter.
Meanwhile, Farah is dismissed from her job for being romantically involved with a passenger and told to leave the ship. Kabir learns about her dismissal after the ship has set sail. He breaks news of Ayesha's now-impending divorce to Sunny, and after publicly rejecting his impending marriage to Noorie, jumps off the ship to swim to shore, believing his family will rescue him. Kamal, Neelam, Ayesha and Pluto scramble aboard a lifeboat and go after Kabir with the help of their friends. While leaving, Ayesha asks Sunny if he will wait for her, to which he replies "forever". The family successfully rescues Kabir and heads toward shore to help him find Farah while being chased by the ship's crew. The Mehra family is seen happy in each other's presence for the first time as Pluto narrates that togetherness is what matters the most in any circumstances around the world.
Cast
Anil Kapoor as Kamal Mehra; Neelam's husband, Ayesha and Kabir's father, Pluto's older master, Manav's former father-in-law
Shefali Shah as Neelam Kamal Mehra; Kamal's wife, Ayesha and Kabir's mother, Pluto's older mistress, Manav's former mother-in-law
Priyanka Chopra as Ayesha Kamal Mehra (formerly Ayesha Manav Sangha); Kamal and Neelam's older daughter, Kabir's older sister, Pluto's younger mistress, Sunny's love interest, Manav's ex-wife, Smita's former daughter-in-law
Ranveer Singh as Kabir Kamal Mehra; Kamal and Neelam's younger son, Ayesha's younger brother, Pluto's younger master, Farah's love interest, Manav's former brother-in-law
Anushka Sharma as Farah Ali; Kabir's love interest
Farhan Akhtar as Sunny Amrish Gill; Ayesha's love interest, Kabir and Pluto's friend, Amrish's son
Aamir Khan in a voice-over appearance as Pluto Kamal Mehra; the Mehra family's dog
Rahul Bose as Manav Pranav Sangha; Smita's son, Ayesha's ex-husband, Kamal and Neelam's former son-in-law, Kabir's former brother-in-law
Zarina Wahab as Smita Pranav Sangha; Manav's mother, Ayesha's former mother-in-law
Ikhlaque Khan as Amrish Gill; Sunny's father, Kamal's manager
Vikrant Massey as Rana Vinod Khanna; Vinod and Vandana's son, Noorie's love interest
Ridhima Sood as Noorie Lalit Sood; Lalit and Naina's daughter, Rana's love interest
Pawan Chopra as Prem Mehra; Indu's husband, Kamal's brother, Neelam's brother-in-law, Ayesha and Kabir's paternal uncle
Ayesha Raza Mishra as Indu Prem Mehra; Prem's wife, Kamal's sister-in-law, Neelam's co-sister, Ayesha and Kabir's paternal aunt
Parmeet Sethi as Lalit Sood; Kamal and Neelam's accquaintance, Naina's husband, Noorie's father
Dolly Minhas as Naina Lalit Sood; Kamal and Neelam's accquaintance, Lalit's wife, Noorie's mother
Manoj Pahwa as Vinod Khanna; Kamal and Neelam's accquaintance, Vandana's husband, Rana's father
Preeti Mamgain as Vandana Vinod Khanna; Kamal and Neelam's accquaintance, Vinod's wife, Rana's mother
Shireesh Sharma as Jamaal Hashmi
Divya Seth as Saira Jamaal Hashmi
Vandana Sajnani as Anju Chopra
Sarah Hashmi as Divya Mehra
Khushi Dubey as Putlu Mehra
References