Raanjhanaa (Jun 2013)

Cast: Sonam Kapoor, Dhanush, Abhay Deol, Swara Bhaskar, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Kumud Mishra, Shilpi Marwaha

Director: Anand L. Rai

You are all set to watch a ramp walk. The model walks in well dressed in ethnic, colorful  and vibrant finery well laced with gota, embroidery, sequins and the likes. Upon reaching the front of the stage she turns around to commence her exit. But the back of the apparel is a combination of leather black and whites in different geometrical shapes, very Gen-X like, simply strewn together within the outline of the apparel. You are left in an utter confused state because how much ever you try, you cannot derive to any logical or creative or even any experimental link between the front and the back of the apparel. Neither can you find clear logical link between the elements of the back of the apparel themselves! You really enjoy the model’s entry on the stage, make up a mindset which makes her exit somewhat predictable and somewhat mysterious, and you are all set to enjoy her exit. But the whole experience simply leaves you fumbling to understand what the designer actually intended. This is Raanjhanaa. Rustic, well scripted and soothingly paced first half, but absolutely differently scripted and cumbersome second half.

It seems that the director intended to recreate the magic of the classic 1942 – A Love Story in modern day setting i.e. pure, innocent love amidst the backdrop of political turmoil. Instead he created pure innocent love and political turmoil. Reasons – a) because he could not handle both the sensibilities together, and b) Sonam is not Manisha, who when well directed, can throw in myriad expressions together to depict the internal turmoil of the character.

First half of the movie is fresh in its approach and keeps you entertained. Sonam looks beautiful in every frame. But she direly needs to get out of her ‘Saawariya’ mindset. Yesteryears’ actresses mould does not work for the modern day complex characters. Her acting ranges from being good to confused to ordinary. Abhay has a magnetic screen presence. You expect him to do a lot more than he is given the chance to do in the movie. But the surprise package is Dhanush. You would never expect this lanky man from south to act and emote so well in every scene that he has been given to act. Best thing about him is that he neither tries to steal away other actor’s scenes nor he tries to display the star in him over the character that he is playing. Swara Bhaskar and Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, his two friends in the movie have also acted very well. Except for the voice, you simply cannot realize that Swara is the same lady who played Kangana’s robust elder sister in ‘Tanu Weds Manu’. Kumud and Shilpi have also done justice to their roles. Some of the dialogues mouthed by Dhanush and his friends do make the required impact. They have their own vernacular charm. Music is composed by the legendary A. R. Rahman, so it is undoubtedly good.