Doora Theera Yaana movie review: MansoRe presents a two-hour couples’ therapy session

Doora Theera Yaana movie review: Award-winning filmmaker MansoRe’s film is a case study in communication issues, emotional disconnect and the need for peaceful and respectful conflict resolution

Vijay Krishna and Priyanka Kumar in Doora Theera Yaana

Doora Theera Yaana movie story: Akash (Vijay Krishna) and Bhoomi (Priyanka Kumar), a young techie couple, have been together for five years and set to take their relationship to the next stage. But as they begin planning their engagement, it dawns on them that all’s not well with their relationship and they dwell on what’s missing, while on a trip that could be make or break for them.

Doora Theera Yaana movie review: Kannada filmmaker MansoRe steps away from his usual no-frills, serious social drama style of filmmaking and tries his hand at a relationship drama. It’s a lot more vibrant than his usual colour palette, but it’s not entirely lightweight fluff either. MansoRe has a point to make about how vital communication and mutual respect is in a relationship, especially when the parties involved have differing life goals.

For this, he picks a couple that’s taken 5 years to figure out that their paths are not as aligned as they thought it would be. Amid their busy schedules in Bengaluru, they’ve never really had proper conversations to get to know each other. Now that feels like a bit of a stretch; even if one were to consider raging hormones as the driving factor of a relationship in its initial stages, five years is a long time to not address compatibility.

Also read: Award-winning director MansoRe on his shift of genre with Doora Theera Yaana: It’s a very practical decision | Exclusive

The film is about the week that Bhoomi and Akash finally make that effort to understand each other better and the direction of their relationship. This also means that there is a lot of talking, either between them, or in the form of pearls of wisdom from people they meet along the way, whether it is Akash’s buddy Imtiaz (Vijay Shobraj Pavoor), innkeeper (Krishna Hebbale), Gowri (Sruthi Hariharan) or an elderly couple who realized that they are a better fit together as divorcees, played by Sharath Lohithashwa and Sudha Belawadi.

The reasons that the couple squabble over are largely silly, and never enough for a blazing row. So, there’s always room for them talk things over and point out faults peacefully. MansoRe uses this to establish the power of communication in a relationship, respect for each other and their individual life goals.

Also read: MansoRe: Doora Theera Yaana is a more ‘commercial’ film, but it will still cater to my core audience

Call me old-school, but a lot of this felt like a long-drawn out therapy session, which is not entirely bad. There’s solid relationship advice in there; you just need to have the patience to sit through it. Well, patience is not really my strong suit, and neither is silence. So, while Bhoomi silently goes through with Akash’s spontaneous ‘into the sea’ plan, despite the associated difficulties, I’d have nipped it in the bud.

Suffice to say, that I had a relatability issue with the relationship drama, but that’s subjective, and not really a fault with the film. Vijay Krishna and Priyanka Kumar are easy on the eye, but not entirely convincing as a couple that’s been together so long; they are too stiff. Visually, Doora Theera Yaana is quite pleasing and the music by Ronada Bakkesh is a definite plus.

Doora Theera Yaana movie verdict: MansoRe’s latest is not a stark departure from his school of films; it’s just packaged more colourfully. It’s the kind of film that urges viewers to reflect on the subject and maybe even have a takeaway or two from it. If that’s your cup of tea, Doora Theera Yaana could be a nice weekend evening watch.

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