Kiran Rao | India | 2010 | 103’ | Hindi, English spoken, English subtitles
A refreshing debut feature written and directed by Kiran Rao, Dhobi Ghat (washerman’s place) has four protagonists, whose worlds intersect in Mumbai (formerly Bombay) and leave them forever altered.
Yasmin, a shy, small-town bride arrives in Bombay; but lonely, she films the city on her videocamera, as ‘video letters’ to her brother. Shai, an attractive investment banker and photographer from New York, is in Mumbai on a sabbatical. She meets Arun the painter and has an on-off relationship with him. Munna is the slowburning, sexy washerman (dhobi) who delivers clothes to Shai’s house and wants to become a film star. As he shows her the ‘real’ city in exchange for her shooting his portfolio, he falls in love with her. And, as Arun moves into a new apartment, he finds Yasmin’s video letters and learns of her terrible secret.
The film delicately explores class-conscious India–where the lower orders must keep their place–and the fate of love that tries to vault across its forbidding chasm. Dhobi Ghat gets wonderfully under the skin of Mumbai – in a very different way from Slumdog Millionaire – but its heart beats for that same impossible love. The film is produced by and features Bollywood star Aamir Khan, who is also married to Kiran Rao.
Thurday 11 August, 7.15 pm, Rialto 
Saturday 13 August, 7.00 pm, Rialto
Maandag 15 augustus, 22.00 uur, Rialto
