- Film : Raanjhanaa
- Producer : Krishika Lulla
- Director : Anand L Rai
- Star Cast : Dhanush, Sonam Kapoor, Abhay Deol, Swara Bhaskar, Deepak Dobriyal, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Kumud Mishra, Shilpi Marwaha ...
- Music Director : A. R. Rahman
3.5
Raanjhanaa is a 2013 Hindi romance film, directed by Anand L. Rai and written by Himanshu Sharma. The music of the film is composed by double Academy Award Winner, A. R. Rahman. The film is produced by Krishika Lulla under the banner Eros International. The film stars Tamil film actor Dhanush in his Bollywood debut and Sonam Kapoor in the lead roles. The film is scheduled to release on June 21, 2013. The dubbed Tamil version of the same film titled "Ambikapathy" is scheduled to release by a week of its Hindi counterpart. Set in Benaras, a gully ka launda falls in love with a Muslim girl. Followed by the most uncanny ways of wooing her, the two part ways after the girl’s family discovers about them and send her off to Aligarh. While she moves on and builds a new life, falls in love again, the launda is still madly in love with her. Where does this tale of unrequited love head for?
Other Ratings
3.5
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Deccan
3Yo, he’s one of those... -
The Times of India
3.5A Hindu Brahmin boy... -
BharatStudent
3.25A heart touching tale... -
Rediff
3When a man loves...
Story :
First love is always special in everyone’s life, so is the story of Raanjhanaa. It is the tale of a Hindu boy Kundan (Dhanush) and his journey from a 13-year-old lover to a committed young man who stays by his childhood love till his last breathe. Varanasi holds a special place in Kundan’s heart and the reason is not only his childhood days but also the city that gave him Zoya (Sonam Kapoor).
Like every committed lover, Kundan used to peep at his love secretly, smiles whenever her memories come in, gets impatient in loneliness and waits eagerly for the D-day when he will propose her. But the young girl never takes him seriously. Life takes a harsh turn when they both grow older and Zoya moves to Delhi for further studies. But distance fails to dim love for Zoya in Kundan’s heart. Time passes by and Kundan waits for her love to comeback and one day she is back.
With Zoya back in Varanasi, Kundan’s world was filled with excitement as he was thinking of finally telling her how he felt. But his meeting with Zoya leaves him heartbroken. Zoya was in love and yes with another guy Akram (Abhay Deol) who was her college mate. Kundan’s heart breaks into millions of pieces when Zoya who meant the whole world for him asked for his help in marrying Akram. He was torn between his true feelings for Zoya and his heart’s pleas to help her get her true love because who could understand that pain better than him. He decides to help Zoya and now begins the tale of love, betrayal and redemption.
Analysis :
One could point out too many loopholes in the narrative. Yet before one could begin, there’s the most important part that a tad bit tauter execution could have done wonders to the film! The slashing wrists business was an ultimate spoiler for oneself! Slapping for fun and ‘consistent stalking’ being a quintessential element for dating was plain illogical. The second part of the film almost drowned under the undue weight of its slimly researched political aspect of the plot. Nevertheless, there were too many genuinely funny bits that will invariably crack you up! The analysis of ‘Bhai Tum Chor kaise Bane’ had me rolling. The film’s vision was unquestionably refreshing, but with the screenplay becoming increasingly jerky post interval shows the lack of smoothness in director’s translation of the script! I genuinely felt that I had slept off and woke up to find the story not making sense anymore, like it wasn’t even the same film at all.
Performance :
Dhanush has in him the Superstar persona. He performs with clever and quenching mirth. With unmatched energy, the man does stand out solidly. Though his diction fails, the innocence in his work and the naivety he gets in Kunder is laudable.
Abhay Deol in his few minutes managed to do the most impressive job. His tantalizing dimples are indeed magical and as an actor he is indeed fascinating!
Swara Bhaskar and Mohammad Zeeshan Ayub are mesmeric in the supporting roles and often exhaust Sonam and Dhanush’s act.
Naman Jain is unsurprisingly fulfilling in his few scenes, worthy of being mentioned.
Final Word: Painted on a novel idea of unrequited love, packing it with a kinetic first half, the film’s buoyancy transforms into brittle in its second half. With a few mercurial performances from its supporting cast mostly Abhay Deol, it is the clumsy and lackadaisical show in the second half that makes the film plain facile. Had the film maintained its force, it could easily have been more spirited. However a sluggish screenplay and lurching script makes Raanjhanaa a half baked effort and hence gets a 3.5 from me. It is exasperating to see how directors lack the perseverance to hold steady a film’s entertainment value till the end.
Raanjhanaa releases today, that's 21st June 2013
(AW:Samrat Biswas)
