The use of double roles has been a prevalent plot element in Hindi films for decades. There isn't one popular actor of yesteryear mainstream cinema who didn't play dual roles at least once in his films, and it was common expectation of each star to play double so as to prove their acting prowess. Sometimes it worked quite wonderfully, and sometimes the results were laughably bad. Few of these films were of good quality, among which Ramesh Sippy's Seeta Aur Geeta remains a definitive classic where both the film and the lead performance by Hema Malini made wonders. Anand L. Rai makes Tanu Weds Manu Returns, and it definitely belongs to the category of good films employing dual roles. It might not be a perfect film, but it works. The film is actually a sequel to the enjoyable musical romance Tanu Weds Manu, but it is pretty much a film of its own which could be watched without having to see the prequel. It is essentially very different from the prequel in style, mood and execution, but most importantly, this is one of the rare occasions where a sequel is better than the first film.
Tanu Weds Manu Returns is amusing and entertaining, but above all, it is a nice film. The script is good, with some wonderful dialogue and cleverly handled situational comedy which generally doesn't insult the intelligence of the audience. The very first scene where Tanu and Manu recount their dysfunctional marriage and argue along the way is testament to that - it is excellent and consistently funny. Sadly, the second half starts losing some of its wittiness as it goes on and somewhere towards the end it starts gathering moments of pure silliness and some messy portions which drag it a bit down. Some of the scenes during the wedding reception in particular were not easy to follow and included too many unnecessary diversions. In that respect, the film's style is inconsistent, and it's placed somewhere between the old classics by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and the silly comedies by David Dhawan. Another one of its biggest minuses for me was the poor dubbing and sound which often did not sound natural or genuine and took away from the quality achieved in the writing.
Among the highlights of this film, the film's highpoint is the scene where Tanu and Datto finally meet, and it is absolutely delightful. Indeed, Kangana Ranaut reaches impossible heights in her exploration of her own artistic limits. Generally speaking, her dialogue delivery is much more refined and confident than it used to be in some of her previous films, and she plays the two roles so differently one can almost forget it is the same actor. As the titular Tanu, she is typically wicked and unlikable and plays her just fine even if she overdoes a little her scowl at times. Her biggest achievement, however, is the creation of Datto, one of the loveliest, most distinct characters one can think of, and she plays her with amazing vigor and affection. The Haryani accent she employs for her is impressive and just adorable. Madhavan, who was brilliant in the prequel, is relegated to a supporting actor in this film, which is sad but so is everyone else. They're all the backdrop for Ms. Ranaut, and she is the star of this show. This project is overall a very good film which is worth a watch, particularly for Kangana, whose presence shines.
