Raanjhanaa.

Raanjhanaa is Anand L Rai’s second offering after Tanu Weds Manu and with this one thing's proved for sure - apart from him being a good director, he has a brilliant story teller in Himanshu Sharma, as a team they understand the complexity of relationships. 

After I watched Raanjhanaa I wasn’t too sure who the director was or where the story came from, but now it all makes sense!

Himanshu Sharma in both his films tipped over shades of grey within his characters. Forming an opinion declaring the good bad or the ugly is easy, but keeping your audience shifty between one bum cheek and the other is an art.

Tanu’s character was a tease yet naive, blatantly in your face but coy, confused one minute but all planned out the next, she could be in love one minute and not, in the other, but she was real and I couldn’t decide if what she was doing was right or wrong.

Similarly, with Kundan. At the start of the film, I remember discussing with a friend that this boy will have it tough, wont last a day in Bollywood, he’s simply not gonna find any takers to become poster boy!

And as the movie untangled and tangled I swallowed every word…bit by bit.

The thing to love about Raanjhanaa is, that it’s not preachy, it didn’t feel like I was watching a story with a motive or didn’t find myself questioning where is this going? It felt like experiencing just a page out of three regular lives, Kundan (Dhanush), Zoya (Sonam) and Jasbeer’s (Abhay).

Kundan is just about potty trained when he falls in love with Zoya. His love grows with puberty at the peak of which, he finally gathers courage to propose. Circumstances take Zoya away to a far off land leaving Dhanush only with a hope of her return.

8 yrs later she does. But by this time Zoya has blossomed into a lady with views on political and literature standards. Kundan, on the other hand, never really travelled beyond the Ganges and the difference between the two now seems wider than the Ganges. Him still nurturing his puppy love, now has a bigger task at hand – getting Zoya married to the one she loves!

As this story of unconventional love unfolds, many scenes are bursting with emotions well enacted, the flashback of Zoya and Jasbeer, Kundan’s moment of anger upon realizing his love pines for another, helplessness upon realizing the irrevocable catastrophe his actions have resulted in, realizing the price of repentance and the smile that knows and accepts it all. Moments where you don’t know if forgiveness is an option, but you understand, how when you can see life ahead but one turn, that’s not even wrong to begin with, changes everything.

The cinematography was not about creating a coffee table book on Benares but some scenes are really well shot. Years progress musically through Raanjhanaa and Tum Tak is well written and directed. Aise Na Dekho has soft jazz undertones. Nazar Laaye is a soft melodious number, though I don’t remember it being in the film. The soundtrack is decent mix of goodies. 

As far as skills are to be rated, it’s more important that Sonam has managed to not make anyone cringe, Abhay Deol, I’ve always maintained is a good actor known to be very choosy about his scripts. I wonder why then, is he in films without an iota of a chance for him to flex anything. Dhanush, well like they say “…Tamil super star…”

So when Jr. AB called up and congratulated Dhanush personally on his performance, even extending an invitation to play Godfather, I’d say “banta hai boss!”

Interesting, Introspective and Intense – that’s what Raanjhanaa was for me.