Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare reminds one of Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s films. Not that there is anything gentle about Dolly Yadav or her cousin, Kajal’s, lives. However, in the two women’s hopes, dreams and aspirations, one sees a spiritual successor to Hrishi-da’s tender portraits of middle-class India from the ‘70s and ‘80s.

Dolly and her husband Amit grind out their middle-class existence in a nightmarishly ugly flat in Noida. They are working hard towards paying for a luxury flat — hopefully they would get better decorators! The younger of Dolly and Amit’s two sons, Pappu, likes dolls rather than trains, much to his parents’ horror.

Kajal comes to town from the village looking for work. After walking out of a dead-end job at a shoe factory, Kajal seems to find herself as Kitty, the voice on a dating app. While the trials the two women face is quite predictable, the acting and sense of place (right down to the rating stars for the food delivery executive) makes for engaging viewing.

Konkona Sen Sharma as Dolly and Bhumi Pednekar as Kitty/Kajal excel as do Aamir Bashir as Dolly’s feckless husband; Amol Parashar as the charming delivery executive Osmaan Ansari, who is co-opted into fixing the air-conditioner, giving Dolly a lift, and other sundry chores; Vikrant Massey as Pradeep, one of Kitty’s ‘clients’ she has the misfortune of falling in love with; and Kubra Sait as Shazia, the mandatory ‘bold’ girl who shows Kitty how to navigate life in the big city.