Raanjhanaa Hui Main Teri... :D

A still from the movie.Photo Courtesy: Internet

Apart from everything else that south India has given me, I’ll always and always be grateful to it for bestowing me the opportunity to witness the magic of two magnificent magicians with whom you’ll fall in love with solely for their mesmerizing piece of art. Two time Academy Award winner , Madras maestro A.R. Rahman, has been, for quite long, ruling the list. And now Tamil superstar, Dhanush K.Raja a well-deserving talent, has joined the list.

Raajhanaa has three heroes: Kundan played by Dhanush, Rahman sir’s music and the divine Banaras. The story starts with a young Kundan  falling in love at first sight with Zoya, which grows through teenage and blossoms into adulthood. But mind you, this one's one sided. 

Kundan the son of a Hindu pundit is hardcore stubborn. So stubborn that he gets slapped 15 times just to know the girl’s name. So stubborn that he slits his wrist on being rejected. So stubborn that with his clever mind he can go to any extent to help Zoya not get married to a certain doctor who comes with a marriage proposal  So stubborn that he is ready to cross miles and miles to make Zoya meet her love Akram aka Jagjeet played by the talent powerhouse Abhay Deol. Now which young girl wouldn't want a lover like him? But ‘Zoya is child-like and unpredictable. She can be cold and at the same time, objective.’  And above all she loves Jagjeet, his college friend from JNU.

A still from the movie.Photo Courtesy: Internet

Time and again, with his great expertise as an actor,Dhanush keeps reminding you why he is a national award winner. Throughout the film, through various situations, it is evident that Kundan has a heart of gold and has the guts to fight for her lady love. He is ready to take the girl's dad's car for servicing or help her mom with buying grocery for the house, all efforts to win Zoya and her family.  But sadly, all his efforts bring him pain and this romantic tragedy meets a tragic ending.  The story starts in the homely lanes of Banaras , taking you through complex twists and turns which has a political angle, a religious angle, a mysterious angle and finally you are left with a teary ending.

Two people are most beaten in the film: one Kundan thanks to the 16 slaps he has had from the same girl. Dances in his own awkward yet funny style to celebrate every slap. And the other is Bindiya, another strong character and Kundan’s childhood friend, played beautifully by Swara Bhaskar( she was in Tanu weds Manu as well). For Kundan Madness=Unconditional love. And so is for Bindiya. The sole difference is that the former has it for Zoya while the later has it for Kundan.

Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub as Murari, kundan’s another childhood friend, along with Kundan, has taken the onus of making you laugh with their quirky one liners through out the most of first half. My mom kept nudging me for laughing loudly in the theater hall. Himanshu Sharma, take a bow there.“Bhaiya, gali mauhallo ka pyaar, doctor engineer utha ke le jaate hain” remarks Murari, to which Kundan replies, "Arrey launda yahan nahi jeeta toh kya jeetaa?”. This line was greeted with many claps and whistles. Abhay Deol has a small part in the story which he plays aptly.

 Easily Raanjhana shines with Dhanush’s performance and Rahman’s score. But Sonam deserves a mention too. It is easily her best performance till date. This is one role for which you can praise her for her acting prowess and not just for her fashion sense.

The film, very smartly, also takes a pot-shot at the sinister saints who take undue advantage of the religious value that Benaras is known for across the world.

Raanjhanaa is a celebration of the true love that rarely exists in today's age, the producer of the film producer Krishika Lulla said during a promotional event in Delhi. The first half portrays Kundan’s intense unconditional love. In the second half, the love story gets diluted to make way for gobbledygook political ideology . The director, Aanand L. Rai, surely knows his job well and should be appreciated for sucking an applauding performance from his talented actors.

Rahman's music score makes the whole experience enriching with his soulful songs like Tum Tak, Raanjhanaa, Tu mun shudi and the like. He has nailed it yet again.

Dhanush makes his Hindi cinema debut with a bang!With this movie, my love for Dhanush is born and the latest to join his long list of admirers is me! I loved him totally throughout ! :) A thorough entertainer, this one definitely deserves a watch. Go for it people! It will grip you and touch your heart’s core.

Quick Bytes on Raanjhanaa

• In late 2011, Shahid Kapoor and Sonakshi Sinha were signed as the lead pair for this movie. Apparently, they dropped out of the project for unknown reasons. After which Dhanush and later Sonam Kapoor  were signed, instead.
• Its dubbed Tamil version titled "Ambikapathy", releases exactly a week after the Hindi release.
• Initially, Aditi Rao Hydari was supposed to play the role of Kundan's childhood friend but she opted out due to lack of dates, being replaced by Swara Bhaskar.

• 

  A poster of the film. Photo Courtesy: Internet

P.S. Even after working for so long on this review piece, it feels as though i couldn't do justice to the film, a masterpiece I have come across after so long. It is to be felt, not simply be watched. Simply for that reason, go, give it a watch and tell me what you think of it! :)

Any suggestions for future posts? Feel free to send in your suggestions and requests here or on my e-mail id: aanchal.srivastava20@gmail.com . Hope to hear from you soon :)