| Dus Kahaniyaan, meaning '10 stories' depicts exactly what the title says. Made by six directors, each of the 10 tales has its own unique, conclusive twist before the next story begins. Directed by Sanjay Gupta, 'Matrimony' sees Mandira Bedi as a lonely, bored wife having an extra marital affair. But before she could end the illicit relationship, she learns a shocking secret about her husband, a character played by Arbaz Khan. Directed by Hansal Mehta, 'High On The Highway' sees Jimmy Shergill and Masumeh Makhija as two doped-up undergraduates whose outlook on life changes after a serious incident. Meanwhile, Apoorva Lakhia, directs a weird story about a guy (Dino Morea) who tries to fulfil his sexual desires when a beautiful woman pops out of a worn out novel found on a secluded beach. Titled 'Sex On The Beach,' the guy ends up getting more than he bargained for when this beautiful woman springs some shocking surprises. The romantic exploits of a couple (Neha Dhupia and Mahesh Manjrekar) is narrated in 'Strangers in the Night,' which is also directed by Sanjay Gupta. Sanjay Dutt and Sunil Shetty star in yet another Sanjay Gupta directed short tale titled, 'Rise and Fall', seeing the friendship and subsequent betrayal of two gangsters. In 'Zahir', a writer is driven to madness when he makes a startling discovery about his neighbour after having a relationship. A mother/daughter bond is explored in 'Puranmaasi.' Starring Amrita Singh and Minissha Lamba, this story sees a mother happily organising the engagement celebrations of her daughter until someone from the past makes an unexpected appearance on the scene. And in the short story titled, 'Lovedale', the identity of a mysterious woman leading an innocent girl to a painter's house is revealed. In 'Gubbare', life's most important lessons are learnt whilst in 'Rice Plate', a Hindu woman faces a challenge when a Muslim man claims her plate of rice. Consisting of six directors, 12 writers and 25 actors, each story is bound to have its own unique style with no uniformity in this ambitious Bollywood project. Among the six directors, Sanjay Gupta deserves full credit, directing five of the stories, with 'Matrimony', 'Pooranmashi' and 'Gubbare' being the best due their surprising and shocking climax scenes. Unfortunately 'Zahir 'and 'Sex On The Beach' are the worst of the lot - their storylines are far fetched and unbelievable. The cast mebers who stand out due to their brilliant and flawless performances include Amrita Singh, Shabana Azmi, Nana Patekar and Naseerudin Shah. Dus Kahaniyaan is a stylish product with an average musical score. It's a film where the brilliant stories out-number the not-so-good-ones. Worth a watch provided you keep in mind each story stands alone in this feature and has no connection with the other tales. Reviewed by Manish Gajjar
BBC Bollywood Correspondent  | 
