FILM REVIEW
Sanskrit
plays, Hindi literature and Indian cinema have for long been about something
for everyone. Around a decade ago Indian cinema witnessed a clash between the
underdogs of Indie and Indie-like productions and moguls of mainstream. Stories
no longer had to take a backseat and they didn't have to make way for entertainment alone. Today
the audiences have changed, and even for mainstream cinema, story has started
mattering much more than it ever did in the history of Indian cinema. Let’s face it, Guru Dutt’s masterpiece 'Kaagaz Ke Phool' too was a massive flop. And yet
for the first time ever Indian cinema is attempting to find a middle ground.
Our film Industry has truly come of age.
Like all Hindi films, it has something for everyone, but the packaging is undeniably different. It promises amusement and
entertainment to the intellectual. It serves the same entertainment to the professional
seeking enjoyment over the weekend. It bedazzles the lower middle class student.
And makes everyone think, reflect and even cry. Raanjhanaa mocks
everyone but does not offend anyone. It has characters from real life. Non-villainous
police carrying out orders, the Tamil bureaucrat carrying out the orders from
his superior, by-lanes of Benaras, Ganga, small town romance, clash of religions
over marriage, the innocence and practical cunning of the Banarsi Pandit,
parents trying to be the best parents they can with the irony of complying to
social norms, the damsel-in-distress Muslim girl, the angry and empowered
Muslim girl, the kurta-jeans wearing JNU romantic, the tongue-in-cheek portrayal of intellectual groups of JNU who discuss socio-economic issues on the
most mundane things ever, allusions to Safdar Hashmi, you name it! The film asks you whether it’s fair to dismiss
politics before understanding its dynamics. Then it dismisses it! Still it
leaves the loose end as if it were saying that this is a possible end. You can
change the end if you want. It tells that the power of youth is an asset when
in control. But if its directionless it can break an entire generation.
Among all things, it is a drama on a grand scale. Is it unfair then to call it an epic? Dhanush makes a statement with his performance that actors from the South need not be typecasted in the North. Perhaps it will break the barriers of the rightly accumulated contempt in the Southern industries regarding the Hindi film industry. The show however, is stolen (to our surprise) by none other than the lovely Sonam Kapoor. With this film, she has finally proven her mettle. All in all the film is a sheer joyride.
Sanskrit
plays, Hindi literature and Indian cinema have for long been about something
for everyone. Around a decade ago Indian cinema witnessed a clash between the
underdogs of Indie and Indie-like productions and moguls of mainstream. Stories
no longer had to take a backseat and they didn't have to make way for entertainment alone. Today
the audiences have changed, and even for mainstream cinema, story has started
mattering much more than it ever did in the history of Indian cinema. Let’s face it, Guru Dutt’s masterpiece 'Kaagaz Ke Phool' too was a massive flop. And yet
for the first time ever Indian cinema is attempting to find a middle ground.
Our film Industry has truly come of age.
Raanjhanaa is not just a film. It is a film event. It is the wet dream
of the quasi-right wing fundamentalists. At the same time it is also a wet
dream of the left wing fundamentalists. Better still it is the wet dream of
adherents of a million other ideas in between. Wait…. that makes it every
Indian’s wet dream! It is therefore safe to say that Raanjhanaa is all
of India in a nutshell. It is a reflection of our times. It doesn’t tell you how we’ve
reached here. Every other movie does that today. But it gives you a sense of
where you are now, the good, the bad and the ugly. And yet it manages to stay a blissful romance.
Like all Hindi films, it has something for everyone, but the packaging is undeniably different. It promises amusement and
entertainment to the intellectual. It serves the same entertainment to the professional
seeking enjoyment over the weekend. It bedazzles the lower middle class student.
And makes everyone think, reflect and even cry. Raanjhanaa mocks
everyone but does not offend anyone. It has characters from real life. Non-villainous
police carrying out orders, the Tamil bureaucrat carrying out the orders from
his superior, by-lanes of Benaras, Ganga, small town romance, clash of religions
over marriage, the innocence and practical cunning of the Banarsi Pandit,
parents trying to be the best parents they can with the irony of complying to
social norms, the damsel-in-distress Muslim girl, the angry and empowered
Muslim girl, the kurta-jeans wearing JNU romantic, the tongue-in-cheek portrayal of intellectual groups of JNU who discuss socio-economic issues on the
most mundane things ever, allusions to Safdar Hashmi, you name it! The film asks you whether it’s fair to dismiss
politics before understanding its dynamics. Then it dismisses it! Still it
leaves the loose end as if it were saying that this is a possible end. You can
change the end if you want. It tells that the power of youth is an asset when
in control. But if its directionless it can break an entire generation. Among all things, it is a drama on a grand scale. Is it unfair then to call it an epic? Dhanush makes a statement with his performance that actors from the South need not be typecasted in the North. Perhaps it will break the barriers of the rightly accumulated contempt in the Southern industries regarding the Hindi film industry. The show however, is stolen (to our surprise) by none other than the lovely Sonam Kapoor. With this film, she has finally proven her mettle. All in all the film is a sheer joyride.
In case you’re wondering why the film is called Raanjhanaa, all you need to do is to go over the story of Heer-Ranjha. (Relax, there are no spoilers here.) The writer-director duo Himanshu Sharma and Anand L. Rai have taken care of the smallest of details in the story to make it as real and as believable as possible. Sometimes these details are heard in the ambient sounds, and can be seen in out-of-focus areas of certain shots. The duo are certainly the new badasses in B-Town. We expect more from you.
If you want to see what it is to be a human being in this great subcontinent,
you must not miss this one. If you want to go to the movies to have a great time this
weekend, you should still watch the film.
(P.S.: We know that in real life kurta-jeans-gamchha donning smart student
leaders do not get the love of their life as easily, as portrayed. But hey it’s
just a movie! Right?)
Rating: 4.5/5
Rating: 4.5/5
-End of Log-
~The RED Indian~
