Raanjhanaa

What can I say? I went to watch this movie after reading all the reviews online - Therefore with high expectations. Well, I was still blown over by the movie or should I say DHANUSH! Ranjhanaa is based on a topic that is so far reaching and yet is that much more realistic! Every scene is delicately handled and the emotional parts were so subtle.Everyone in the screen just melted away and got hazy when Dhanush was in it. He makes you laugh, cry, hate him, and sympathize with him at the same time. AR Rahman's music was divine and seamlessly blended with the storyline. Excellent performances by the whole cast - But Dhanush owns the movie! A definite must watch!!!

Dhanush who had earlier wooed the South Indian audience with his acting skills, chose a script tailor made for him to launch himself into Bollywood. The movie, doesn't disappoint those who enjoyed the stories where love stands above everything else in life. To top it all, when you have ARR weaving his magic with some sublime music, the beauty of Banaras just comes alive in front of your eyes. The three main characters, all have their own shades of grey and more often than not they stem from Love. Sonam for once does justice to her role, she grew into her role as the movie progressed and gave a telling performance that she could reflect back with pride. Abhay was as flawless as ever, just easing through his role with nonchalant ease. It would only be fair if i end where I started - Dhanush simply stole the show with his intense portrayal of a person driven by love, a person who does the most stupid, brave and incomprehensible of things in the name of love. My Verdict: Expect a love story with a traditional characterization supported by some brilliant music and clean performances by the lead cast - you won't be disappointed.

PROEM: It was an intensely hued picture which showed a young boy standing with a fascinated glance in his eyes & a pretty girl portraying the semblance of cheerfulness amidst the vibrant colors of pink, green, yellow & red; thereby recreating the festival of Holi in a rectangular first look poster of 'Raanjhanaa' !!

Colors always attract our eyes.Also I felt curious about the movie after knowing that it belongs to romantic genre.'Love' is probably the only word in a Dictionary which neither can be explained in a sentence nor has any perfect synonyms.Today while watching this love story, I could virtually visualize that thought of Rose Franken: "Anyone can be passionate, but it takes real lovers to be silly.." !! Let me illustrate this journey of 'Raanjhanaa' in the following paragraphs !!

MOVIE: Shot in Benaras & Delhi, 'Raanjhanaa' narrates a tale of love through Kundan (Dhanush), Zoya (Sonam Kapoor) & Akram/Jasjeet (Abhay Deol)..Kundan (a Brahmin boy) & Zoya (a Muslim girl) were brought up in Benaras, where Kundan expressed his love for Zoya during his teenage days.After growing up, Zoya took admission in Jawaharlal Nehru University where she fell in love with an university student cum socialist Akram..What happens next forms the crux of the story.

'LIKE's: 1) Cinematography by N. Subramanian and Vishal Sinha is astounding + Editing by H. Kothari & Choreography by Bosco-Caesar are impressive + Story/Screenplay by H. Sharma is a bit different than an usual romantic drama + Dialogues are extremely witty at many sequences + Acting by the leading & supporting casts are marvelous + Set design by T. U. Khan is befitting + Direction by Anand L. Rai is appreciable !!

2) MUSIC: A big applause to A.R.Rahman for such an wonderful soundtrack (well supported by Irshad Kamil's catchy lyrics) & appropriate background score..For example,

a) When Kundan showed his anger on Zoya for the first time, there the synthesizer chords fluctuated in a bizarre way to create the effect of displeasure & it was done repeatedly with different chords to break the harmony, so that audience could better relate to the scene.

b) In a gloomy conversation between Kundan & Zoya, where Kundan suddenly felt the ray of hope, he turned up his head towards Zoya..In that split second, Rahman used the rhythm of 'Tabla' in a tricky way to express Kundan's expectation which struck the heart of viewers too !!

3) A SPECIAL MENTION TO :

a) That scene where Zoya was about to leave Benaras by train with teary eyes & Kundan ran to meet her, multiple water patches were shown in the rail station, as if rain just happened, thereby subconsciously magnified the mood of separation since rains are often attributed to a heavy heart..

b) MakeUp Artists for giving Sonam the minimal touch up, which amplified the innocence of a face rather than glamour..Beauty can either flashes the eyes of a beholder like a mid-day sun or soothes the same like a morning dewdrop..Since the latter better suits the character of Zoya, so the lipstick/blusher/eye-shadow even eyeliners were absolutely unnecessary here apart from the marriage scene, where a loud make up was needed & make up experts also did the right job there by painting the line of eye-liner a bit above the corner of eyes + stark red lipstick..

'DISLIKE's: Very few are there, for example; 1) In the song 'Tum Tak', the lip movements of Dhanush were not synchronous with the voice of the playback singer..Looked like, the song was coming from a mike & the actor was just singing on his own..

2) First half was too romantic & at times, the efforts of Kundan to please Zoya looked silly..In Second half, the focus were more on politics, thereby concentration of romance got diluted by leadership activities..

3) Both Dhanush & Sonam looked misfit in the role of school going teenagers + Opening sequence was dull + Too much slapping on Kundan's face by Zoya ultimately invited humor rather than sympathy..That profound scene where Akram's mother was about to touch Kundan's cheek for greeting, I heard some boys laughing crazily behind my seat & saying, "Stop..Stop..No more slapping" !!

MESSAGE: There is a lyrics from the musical 'Cinderella' which says: "Do I love you because you're beautiful, Or, are you beautiful because I love you ?" !! One can easily relate this line to those love struck eyes of Kundan which glitter more than the pole star even in the shadow of Zoya..Of late, Zoya fell in love with Akram, because she considered 'Kundan part' as a childlike crush + Akram fitted the bill as per educational & social qualification..From here, the dilemma of selecting a lover/partner arrives, accompanied by a dialogue where Kundan's friend Murari (M. Z. Ayyub) told him that girls are more likely to marry Doctors/Engineers rather than ordinary boys of the same locality, since the question of love comes secondary to their mind..Obviously material satisfaction plays a vital role in such decisions..But, if an abstract force (love) plays a guest appearance in the same scenario & makes one cherish that pleasure somewhat like this: "To the world you might be one person, but to one person you might be the world", then should not one rise above the narrow parameters set by the society/religions ?

Once Tom Robbins said: "We waste time looking for the perfect lover, instead of creating the perfect love.." !! Life does not give us multiple chances..In this densely populated sphere of Earth, there is always a scarcity of those persons who can sacrifice his/her deepest desires to bring sunshine in the face of their loved ones..Don't let go that kind heart, if by chance you find him/her..

With the mellifluous touch of Shehnai, 'Raanjhanaa' sublimely delivered this tacit message in a pictorial way, making the film worth a watch !!

Absolutely Recommended !!

simply marvelous.... especially from a movie where d hero has so very unorthodox looks for a Bollywood actor but,wait ...u will forget that as d story moves on beautifully crafted on screen by the "tanu weds manu"(another interesting flick)director n acted upon by same guy.. Dis movie belongs to him only( heard he was d youngest recipient of the national award for the best actor down south) ... Dhanush with his simplistic looks,so very expressive face n true act oozes life in his on screen character.. With his earthly charm,he truly has carved out a niche for himself.. The director has succeeded once again in portraying our U.P. in such beautiful colors,capturing the mood n by-lanes of the people of eastern U.P. with gr8 detail.. Complemented by the so very fresh n beautiful sonam who seems like is going to dethrone d ladies at the top!!! Look for the dhanush's friend,a kin in all weathers,his sis who truly adores the local lad and not to forget abhay... In all, the director has managed to bring out the potential in every actor and has given the viewer some meaningful work.. Worth mentioning are the dialogues too which will both make u both laugh and give something to think about,kudos man.... and the soulful tunes to laud the effort by d Mozart from chennai ... worth a 2nd watch, meaningful one sided love story.... Majestic..

Well, I will not start with telling about story as it will spoil the fun for the people who haven't seen the movie or will see in the future, but I can see it is already spoiled here.

1> But I have to start with story which is extremely interwoven together. Now a days when people talk about first half and second half which doesn't matter according to me. Story has all the elements be it fun, romance, drama and it has a classic desi Indian touch with it because movie is based in varansi which gives it a flavor with its crispy language, people, ethnicity. Its pleasure to watch reality in the movie when all the movies releasing are masala shits.

2> If music is given by A.R. Rahman there is no point talking about it. Mucic was flowing like butter.

3> Performances are best like characters are meant for them. Dhanush is awesome in his performance. He is a delight to watch. The way he delivers his dialogues is super cool and his accent has a roughness and his south Indian accent doesn't interferes with his Hindi accent. Sonam looks sober and does her part with full conviction, Supporting cast especially Kundan's friend "Murari" is fun to watch.

4> Dialogues has everything from catchphrases, roughness to desi gaaliyan of UP.

Overall, it is a very good film after such a long time as we don't come across these days in bollywood :)