Dobaaraa
A woman connects across time to save a boy.
**Dobaaraa** (also written as **2:12**), meaning "second time" or "2:12," is a Hindi science-fiction mystery thriller directed by Anurag Kashyap. The film features Taapsee Pannu, Pavail Gulati, and Rahul Bhat in lead roles. It is an official Hindi adaptation of the 2018 Spanish film *Mirage*. Dobaaraa premiered as the opening film of the London Indian Film Festival in 2022 and hit theaters on 19 August 2022. Although critics gave it strongly positive reviews, it performed poorly at the box office.
**Plot** During a thunderstorm in the present day, a woman connects through a television set to a similar storm from 25 years earlier. This gives her the chance to save the life of a 12-year-old boy who accidentally witnessed a death during that past storm. With the help of a police officer whose own history is mysterious, she slowly uncovers what happens next.
**Cast** Taapsee Pannu plays Antara Awasthi (also called Dr. Antara Vasishth), who is Vikas's wife and Anay's love interest. Pavail Gulati portrays Anay Anand, Antara's love interest, with Aarrian Sawant playing the younger Anay. Nassar appears as Dr. Sethupathi, Rahul Bhat as Vikas Awasthi (Antara's husband), and Sukant Goel as Abhishek, with Shaurya Duggal as young Abhishek. The cast also includes Saswata Chatterjee as Raja Ghosh, Vidushi Mehra as Shikha Vats, Himanshi Choudhry as Sheela, Nidhi Singh as Bhavna Awasthi, Madhurima Roy as Sarah Kunder (Vikas's girlfriend), Myra Rajpal as Avanti Awasthi, Medini Kelamane as Rujuta Ghosh, Priti Shroff as a hospital nurse, and Rahul Tewari as a police inspector.
**Soundtrack** Gaurav Chatterji and Shor Police composed the film's music, with lyrics by Hussain Haidry. The background score was also created by Shor Police.
**Critical Response** Dobaaraa earned positive reviews, with critics praising its direction, screenplay, and performances. On Rotten Tomatoes, 73% of 11 critic reviews are positive, averaging 5.3/10. Rohit Vats of DNA India gave it 5/5, calling it "fast, dark, exciting, disruptive" with multi-layered storytelling. Rohit Bhatnagar of *The Free Press Journal* rated it 4/5, noting Taapsee's strong performance and an engaging plot. Amandeep Narang of ABP News also gave 4/5, highlighting Kashyap's precise handling of timelines and pacing. *Outlook India* rated it 4/5, calling it an "edge-of-the-seat, brainy remake." *The Times of India*'s Ra
- director
- Anurag Kashyap
- release_date
- 19 August 2022
- language
- Hindi
- genre
- Science-fiction mystery thriller
- box_office
- ₹4.72 crore (domestic, as of 26 August 2022)
- based_on
- 2018 Spanish film Mirage
Lore & Background
The plot follows a woman who gets an opportunity to save the life of a 12-year-old boy who accidentally witnessed a death during a thunderstorm 25 years earlier. She connects with him through a television set during a similar storm in the present. The story is slowly unraveled with the help of a police officer with a mysterious past. The cast includes Taapsee Pannu as Antara Awasthi/Dr. Antara Vasishth, Pavail Gulati as Anay Anand, and Rahul Bhat as Vikas Awasthi.
Reader's Guide
Dobaaraa received positive reviews from critics, with praise for its direction, screenplay, and performances. On Rotten Tomatoes, 73% of 11 critics' reviews were positive, with an average rating of 5.3/10. Critics highlighted the film's fast pace, multi-layered storytelling, and engaging plot, though some found it confusing or lacking the edge-of-the-seat atmosphere expected from a time-travel thriller. The film's box-office performance was poor, collecting only ₹0.72 crore on its opening day and ₹4.72 crore domestically as of 26 August 2022. Its significance lies in being Anurag Kashyap's remake of a Spanish original, noted for its mathematical precision in cutting between timelines and its emotional engagement.
Did You Know?
- Dobaaraa is an official remake of the 2018 Spanish film Mirage.
- The film opened the London Indian Film Festival 2022.
- The music was composed by Gaurav Chatterji and Shor Police, with lyrics by Hussain Haidry.
- On its opening day, the film collected only ₹0.72 crore at the domestic box office.
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