The story follows three Indian kids, from three different walks of life. Vivaan is a rich kid who is best friends with Santoo, his housekeeper's son. They are friends with a Muslim girl, Fiza. Each of them has their own dreams - Vivaan wants to secure an internship in the United States; Fiza wants to be able to play cricket for a youth league team; Santoo wants to build his own swimming pool. Through a series of events, both victories and hardships, each character achieves their goal. From a kid's world-view, this film is highly relatable, because kids end up making friends across social lines. The film shows the division of each character's social station, and then demonstrates how these three kids don't care about that and value each other as people, rather than their social status. A large portion of the film was shot using a handheld camera style, which some (myself included) may find unsettling and difficult to watch due. The cast does a bang-up job of portraying the different roles and archetypes. However, outside of the three protagonists, the supporting cast members fall flat. The actor portraying Vivaan's father seems like the least likeable person on the planet. The wardrobe and costuming seems to be very authentic, quite probably their own clothes, which lends to the authentic feel of the film. In the slums, everyone's clothing is unwashed with ragged edges; in the sports club, everyone, except Santoo and Fiza, wears clean, well-kept clothing. The film takes place in a modern-day city in India, showcasing the use of the most current iPhones. The visual style and cinematography are this film's strongest point. They provide a visual buffet of curated shallow-depth shots and several aerial drone shots. Plus, the use of natural lighting makes this a great film to watch. The film's color grading is fantastic. The skin tone grading is very very nice. My favorite scene is when Fiza is trying to convince her father to talk to her mother about letting her try out for the cricket team. It's the best performance of the film, because the actress who plays Fiza shows multiple emotions. The film's message is summed up in the last few minutes of the film - if you have a dream and a team, you can make whatever you want to happen, happen. I give Dupki 4 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 12 to 18, plus adults. By Andrew B., KIDS FIRST!
The story follows three Indian kids, from three different walks of life. Vivaan is a rich kid who is best friends with Santoo, his housekeeper's son. They are friends with a Muslim girl, Fiza. Each of them has their own dreams - Vivaan wants to secure an internship in the United States; Fiza wants to be able to play cricket for a youth league team; Santoo wants to build his own swimming pool. Through a series of events, both victories and hardships, each character achieves their goal. From a kid's world-view, this film is highly relatable, because kids end up making friends across social lines. The film shows the division of each character's social station, and then demonstrates how these three kids don't care about that and value each other as people, rather than their social status. A large portion of the film was shot using a handheld camera style, which some (myself included) may find unsettling and difficult to watch due. The cast does a bang-up job of portraying the different roles and archetypes. However, outside of the three protagonists, the supporting cast members fall flat. The actor portraying Vivaan's father seems like the least likeable person on the planet. The wardrobe and costuming seems to be very authentic, quite probably their own clothes, which lends to the authentic feel of the film. In the slums, everyone's clothing is unwashed with ragged edges; in the sports club, everyone, except Santoo and Fiza, wears clean, well-kept clothing. The film takes place in a modern-day city in India, showcasing the use of the most current iPhones. The visual style and cinematography are this film's strongest point. They provide a visual buffet of curated shallow-depth shots and several aerial drone shots. Plus, the use of natural lighting makes this a great film to watch. The film's color grading is fantastic. The skin tone grading is very very nice. My favorite scene is when Fiza is trying to convince her father to talk to her mother about letting her try out for the cricket team. It's the best performance of the film, because the actress who plays Fiza shows multiple emotions. The film's message is summed up in the last few minutes of the film - if you have a dream and a team, you can make whatever you want to happen, happen. I give Dupki 4 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 12 to 18, plus adults. By Andrew B., KIDS FIRST!
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