What is it all about?
Bollywood and its love stories.. here is a new definition of love.. `Raanjhanaa' this Eros International feature which launches the south sensation Dhanush in Bollywood is a brilliantly written, marvelously performed and soulfully sung desi capricious love guide beautifully realized by director Aanand Rai..
We are used to feel good romancers with added dose of bromance thrown in regularly by the tinsel town filmmakers.. `Raanjhanaa' is an unsuspecting welcome surprise which turns from poetic to politics taking the viewers on a journey which witnesses adolescent, obsession, jealously, friendship, ignorance, innocence, faith, love, loss, sacrifice, anger, revenge, guilt all one after the another and hold its `heart' right at the centre for its recognition as a wonderfully told different love story of Bollywood..
The Story..
Himanshu Sharma as the writer does a marvelous job here.. the story is set on the holy ghats of Ganges Banaras where Kundan (Dhanush) sees Joya (Sonam Kapoor) much before his adolescent and falls in love with her head over heels... Circumstances force Zoya to go to Delhi for further education. A wannabe politician (Abhay Deol) steals her heart... but be aware this is not a run of the mill triangle and just when you expect that now the feel good regular bollywood romancer will take charge.. the writer shocks you with a twist which can be anything from a political conspiracy to a joke on the so called paper revolutionaries (social media) revolutionaries who jump in the protest without understanding the root cause of the issue.. and the writer manages this difficult task of twining the poetry of love in Banaras to the politics of the so called `waken' up young souls in the capital Delhi in this new found `touchy' adage of love which is also blended with attitude..
What to look out for
Aanand Rai and his writer Himanshu Sharma are in song when they take us to Banaras.. the settings, the mood, the atmosphere, the lingo everything is bang on.. Tanu Weds Manu proved that Aanand Rai is a good director... The banaras episodes in `Raanjhanaa' crosses the career bridge for Aanand and brings him to the point where his substantial talent becomes vividly clear.. Anand's narration backed by Himanshu's writing powers gives an utter assurance of a profoundly moving picture in store for us when the love story in Banaras grows and continue to grow.. the moments are highly entertaining, humorous, poetic and yet so simplistic.. Excellent.. as said earlier Himanshu Sharma's dialogues are sheer brilliant piece of writing but those silent moments in the film where everything gets shared with the viewers just by expressions is just magic..
The confidence by which Aanand Rai takes the movie to an unconventional route deserves high praise..Himanshu again supports the cause of his director and we get a pulsating climax which knocks you out of the blue and Vow!! What a way to end.. real Ashiqui.. must say..
Propelled by A.R.Rahman's soulfully soothing scores.. `Raanjhanaa' gets an inspiring lift.. Tu Mun Shudi, Tum Tak, Piya Milenge are highly addictive enhancing the movie watching experience..
Vishal Sinha and Nataraja Subramanian do a beautiful job with their camera which captures the beauty of Banaras and the chaos in Delhi to great effect.. Hemal Kothari editing is crisp..
Production Design by Wasiq Khan and Art Direction by Tariq Umar Khan is up to mark..
Coming to performances Dhanush debut in Bollywood is terrific.. he is a stealer.. those who has seen him are worthy of his talents and `Raanjhanaa' is all set to widen his fan base all over.. this actor is so simple and yet magical.. his comic timings is excellent.. while his emotional rendering on screen is touchy moving.. capturing the viewer right from the first frame till the end.. Dhanush with his brilliance makes us believe that this role was tailored made for him..
Sonam Kapoor is a revelation.. this is her finest performance till date.. Abhay Deol is fantastic..
From the supporting cast Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub as the side kick Dhanush friend is the best. He gets some goods lines also.. he is sheer fun.. Swara Bhaskar gets a meaty role and she proves her versatility..
What not
The transformation of Ranjhanaa from poetic to politics is somewhat sudden and looks hurried.. though the sequences prove a point but it takes some extra time of the viewers to digest this sudden revolution in this love story..
Conclusion: `Raanjhanaa' this 140 minutes film strikes a rather unconventional notes of love ordered by Anand, orchestrated by A.R.Rahman's soulful tunes and powered by amazing performances by Dhanush and Sonam.. traveling between love, faith and loss taking the viewer on a journey that ends with a beautiful final image we rarely see in cinema.
`Raanjhanaa' is a movie that should be seen, savored and thoughtfully appreciated.
Rating ****
Comments