Dilwali Diwali Is a Small Family Film Heading to Netflix on November 5, and Manoj Pahwa Is the Reason to Press Play

Photo: Slyronit, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Netflix has a festive film for the week of Diwali. Dilwali Diwali premieres on November 5, with Mihir Ahuja and Manoj Pahwa leading and Neelu Kohli and Aurra Bhatnagar also in it. Some outlets write the title as Dil Wali Diwali, so search for either spelling.

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The premise is simple. Mihir Ahuja plays Ansh Sikka, who has been working abroad and comes home for Diwali after buying his parents a new apartment. I do not know where the film goes from there, and I like that the set-up is small enough that it could go in several directions.

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Manoj Pahwa is the kind of actor who makes any family scene better. He has spent years as one of the best parents in Hindi cinema, usually in films smaller than he is, and a Netflix film built around the father and son is a good use of him.

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Festive family films are a risk, because the sentiment tends to arrive before the story. The ones that work are usually specific about a single household, and a one-apartment, one-family story gives it a chance.

Photo: Dinesh Korgaokar, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

It arrives the same week as Ramayana, which is probably the point. Are you watching the epic in a cinema and the small film at home?