Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-leela

Ram Leela: Film opens up with colors, guns and a mahool was tried to be created but it was simply studio environ and thus provided a fake feeling. But Bhansali has also shown tremendous potential as a director when you consider certain aspects. Credit to him to get out some exceptional performances from his cast, Deepika is definitely improving with every outing but he deserves applaud to get some real stuff out of Ranveer Singh. That's where Motwani was found wanting in Lootera. Ranveer's hot bod is flaunted with precision and no one will complain about it. Supriya Pathak as Deepika's mother deserves special mention here for her performance. Priyanka was simply mind blowing in her class title track, as well as Deepika in her red ghagra 'Dhol' song....both of them have some exceptional choreography with equally fantastic dance. Deepika also looked like a queen seductress in her act on bed while 'Ang laga De' was playing, in fact she played that role uninhibitedly in whole movie. Songs are pretty good except 'Ishqyaun' that reminds you of Govinda-Raveena of 90s, simply bogus. Chemistry is intense between the lead pair, it becomes hard to take your attention off.....you tend to drown in their acts, where their electric smooches are icing on the cake. Only worry is that it started too spontaneously. Cinematography is great, but there are places where you feel this should have been real instead of studio and animation. Bhansali saab please understand movie is supposed to be real and theater is drama unless you don't want it to be otherwise. Editing is done beautifully, you hardly get to cry about length or unwanted stuff. Screenplay is the weakest link of the movie, transition of Ranveer from lover to don and an unconvincing end without much weight will leave you dissatisfied. If you want to watch a fitting end, go for Romeo + Juliet starring Leonardo and Claire Danes (1996). All in all film has Bhansali's stamp-theatrical, lots of perfect scenes and moments.....but it fails when you talk of the whole package. Definitely a watch, but don't expect it to deliver as a movie. This is a classical example of how you can fail to deliver even when you succeed- 3.3/5

I watched this film with mixed expectations. On one hand, I had seen the Nagada Sang Dhol and Lahu Muhn Lag Gaya clips on you-tube - exactly what caught my eye and made me want to watch it. On the other hand, a- not-so-good rating and most reviewers claiming it was very bad were lowering my expectations. I did, however, watch it, and I loved it.

The film is intense, wonderfully directed and benefits from great acting. I am not familiar with any of the actors; nor with Bollywood films in general, which I do not find appealing because of their over- dramatisation of... pretty much everything. And mostly, poor acting. This is where Ram-Leela stands out. Apart for a few scenes, the director made use of the actor's skills, and pushed them to the point they save the sometimes-poor script. There's great chemistry in there, as well as some more than convincing acting, all in wonderful colours and costumes.

I had a hard time understanding why it's got such harsh reviews, given how good it is, but reading them I realized what the problem is (and probably why I liked it): Ram-Leela is not a film for puritans. While it seemed quite tame to me, certain watchers found it "vulgar", or too sexual. From my point of view, it's aligned with European films. What it lacks in plot-line (although decent), makes up with daring performances and honest acting. As for those claiming it's not a love story, I agree: it's a battle of egos, and most important, a battle with the self for each of the characters. This could have been emphasized more, but you can't have everything.

Director Mr. Sanjay Leela Bhansali ,is known for taking the scenes far more ahead from screenplay by adding visual magic and he succeeds to create the magic again. He is also master of portraying emotions but this movie lacks his masterstroke. Story is simple, screenplay is OK but dialogues by Siddharth-Garima , are very good mostly. Movie is slow at places even belonging to the action drama romantic genre. Climax is forced because of adaptation. Love scenes are best as usual. Director has given his 200% to conceiving the visuals that he couldn't give his 100% to the emotions. Characters are not well established. A women, who is able to remove bullet from her most loved one person's dead body, possess soft heart!! How!? A person goes to the deadly enemy's house without proper disguise or any other precautions. Even , he can intrude with the help of a tree trunk.Guns are the most common things between them but in pre climax they fight with swords! Main male lead body is deliberately over exposed, which doesn't go well with the premise of the movie, where rest of the person prefers to cover themselves. Performance wise Ranveer Singh is OK but lacks in most of the emotional scenes. Deepika Padukone is adorable. He slaves you to look at herself in every frame. Ratna Pathak is impressive. Richa Chaddha is fine. Music by director himself is OK but lyrics by Siddharth-Garima is very good.

Ram-leela (Review) – The latest offering by Sanjay Leela Bhansali comes from his own factory. The caption of the movie 'Goliyon ki Raasleela' is very apt to the story. Ram-leela as claimed by the filmmaker is inspired by William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The screen adaptation of the same has 2 families the Saneda's and the Rajaadi's in the town of Ranjar in Gujarat. These two familes rule the place. The 2 families have a 500 year old feud and hatred between them. Ranjar is a town where every individual moves around with rifles and knives and firing bullets at the snap of the fingers and there is nothing that the law keepers can do about it.

The two protagonists Ram and Leela played by Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone are members of either families. Ram, a member of the Rajaadi's is now back with the family after a long hiatus in Ahmedabad and runs a video parlour. He however differs from the attitude of his family and does not believe in violence. He along with his friends visit the Saneda's on the occasaion of Holi in an attempt to make friendship with the women of the community assuming that no one would recognize them amongst all the colours. As expected, Ram sees Leela and they instantly get along like a house on fire. They fall in love with each other. Ram starts visiting Leela secretly and vice versa. They both have an intention of breaking the rivalry between the two families. When turn of events add fuel to the burning rivalry between the families, Ram and Leela elope and get married only to be tracked down overnight and brought back. This forms an entertaining, engaging and an elongated first half. What happens later? Will the families break the ice and unite? Will Ram and Leela be able to play foil in bringing the families together? The answers to these form the engaging second half and climax.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali who is known for making movies with serious drama promised another movie in the same genre with the trailers and teasers of Ram-leela. He has also managed to pull it off as the screenplay of 2hrs and 35 mins which seems more than its duration never makes you feel restless and also keeps you engaged. The setting, the costumes and the look of the movie are sure to take you into another world. They all look picture perfect. The performances by all the artists are worth appreciating. Supriya Pathak who plays the head of the Saneda family pulls off her character with elan. Ranveer Singh in a particular scene where he interacts with Supriya Pathak is brilliant. Deepika Padukone not just looks beautiful, but also portrays her character to perfection. Music by Sanjay Leela Bhansali fits in brilliantly to the movie. The first half may have the songs frequenting but you can forgive Sanjay Leela Bhansali for that. 'Mor Bani Thangat Kare' and 'Laal Ishq' come with the start and end credits respectively. 'Tattad Tattad' is for the front benchers. 'Ang laga de' has been picturised beautifully. The most popular track 'Nagada Sang Dhol' is a treat to watch on the big screen not just for the song but also for its brilliant choreography and mannerisms by the actors.

There are few filmmakers like Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Tigmanshu Dhulia who can give you dramas like this which satisfy the appetite of both the class and mass. Watch Ram-leela for it will give you a satisfaction of having witnessed two and a half hours of good story telling. My verdict - 7/10

Apparently, this was one of the most awaited and anticipated movies of the year and the controversy just before the movie release ensured that the shows were sold out! I too was eagerly awaiting for this one and had really high expectations considering the SLB tag.

Let's talk the good stuff first. Brilliant performances by all, stunning and spectacular sets, fabulous music and a whole lot of color. Up till now I had some doubts about Deepika's acting talent, but boy can she act. She was superb and fantabulous in the movie, and I am not talking about her beauty. Supriya Pathak was incredible as Ba. Ranveer again displayed what a brilliant actor he is.

So with all this amazing stuff about the movie, why doesn't it still work. Poor story or should I say, no story whatsoever! The movie just keeps rolling and you end up thinking how is this scene different from the previous one. The story is so bad (and believe me I am not exaggerating even one bit) that nothing else works for the movie. All the viewers with me in the theater were yawning and loudly calling out for the movie to finish.

God knows why the critics are going gaga for this one. I had always believed in Rediff's review and I just wish I had done the same this time as well. Rediff gave it just 1 star.

Do yourself some favour, don't watch it at all.