‘Dhai Aakhar Prem ka Pade so Pandit Hoye’ is one of Kabir's famous couplets, which resonates so well with the title of the film Dhai Aakhar. The film touches upon the point towards having a sensitivity towards love in relationships and how it can make or break it if either of the partners is insensitive or unempathetic towards the other.

Dhai Aakhar is a film about a woman who rebuilds herself after an abusive marriage, where there is nothing like love but a years old bondage, and she finally breaks free to find true love, while she starts talking to an empathetic writer.

Directed by Pravin Arora the film stars Mrinal Kulkarni, Harish Khanna and Rohit Kokate. The story begins with the journey of a middle-aged widow Harshita(Mrinal Kulkarni), who is married to an atrocious abuser who has no respect for her feelings and disrespects her choices, beats her, physically assaults and abuses her now and then. After her husband dies in an accident, her two sons decide to leave her alone in a small room on the rooftop, with minimal comfort.

The Story talks about how women in society can comfort each other in times of distress and so did her younger daughter-in-law, to whom she would tell her atrocious stories about how her husband mistreated her. In turn, she takes care of Harshita and even helps her gather the courage to befriend an empathetic writer, Harish, after reading his story which seems like her own story. While Harshita decides to meet him, her sons find out about it and create chaos belittling and blaming her character.

On the contrary, Harish is a gentleman, who lives poetry both in his persona and ambience. He’s sensitive towards Harishta and her journey and empathizes with her to be her true friend and a life companion. His love gives her the comfort that she never experienced with her husband, while he gives her the freedom to enjoy small things in life, instead of suffocating her like her husband. She would have heart-to-heart conversations with him, laugh aloud, read his books, watch her favourite movies, dance in the rain, and express her desires to him.

Harish is an evolved soul who has understood the real meaning of Love ( Prem) which is not to bind someone in a relationship but to liberate, that’s what the title Dhai Aakhar suggests. His love gave Harshita the power to liberate and face everyone to accept her relationship without any shame because she truly deserves to be happy in Life.

The film questions the dual-faced orthodox Indian society which has different standards for men and women, as men have been given the right to govern the life of a wife, while the wife is supposed to serve him and his family, take their undue commands and should bear to be mistreated if she doesn't obey. At the same time, the film is an eye-opener for the women of the society to support and help each other to fight any kind of physical and mental abuse take back their power and establish their self-respect.

Excellently, Directed by Pravin Arora, written by Asghar Wajahat, with heart-touching Lyrics by Irshad Kamil, and befitting Music by Anupam Roy, that gives the film a dream-like feel after a nightmare. The film takes you to Harshita’s journey of emotional catharsis, while she transforms from a subdued abused being to a liberated soul.

Overall a must-watch film!

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