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 It’s not every day that we get to see the humble looking Southern superstar Dhanush paired opposite our very own Bollywood style diva Sonam Kapoor. Ranjhaana therefore had our full attention with its very first promo. But when curiosity is peaked and expectations fly high even small lapses in execution are hard to forget. So you can just imagine the scale of disappointment since here we are talking about a fully fledged derailment!
The title, the songs and the “Tanu Weds Manu” feather on director Anand Rai’s hat all pointed to a heart wrenching tale of love. So why would the chef churn out such a confusing dish when he had all the necessary ingredient at his disposal? One reason could be that the makers (in an attempt to repeat their success and do something different) went about the whole journey without a map-no wonder the story is all over the place. We start in Banaras. The beauty admirably captured. Our hero Kundan (Dhanush) a naturalized Tam - Bram Banarasi is a priest’s son. Still in school he falls head over heels in love with the teenaged Zoya (Sonam Kapoor). But does she love him…she loves him not! Nevermind, punctured by a couple of nicely picturised songs we still keep faith. To our utter delight what takes centre stage is the charm and scintillating performance of the supporting crew. Bindiya, Kundan’s friend who never leaves a chance to openly confess her love for him and his ever faithful friend Murari. Swara Bhasker and Zeeshan Ayyub infuse life into their characters against the beautiful backdrop of Banaras and everything else fades in contrast. While the witty repartees between Kundan and his friends Bindiya and Murari help camouflage the inherent confusion in the script the cracks still show up!
The supporting cast of Swara and Bindiya are given the best dialogues at times mouthing the jibes that we as viewers want to pass. The camaraderie between Dhanush and Zeeshan and the surprising chemistry between him and Swara keep the first half highly enjoyable. The music of the film deserves a special mention. Composed by A.R.Rehman the songs are already chartbusters and in the movie these musical interludes definitely keep us engaged. Post interval we are totally lost. From Banaras to Delhi we are now following the story of Sonam and Abhay. From the flowing waters of Ganga and the colorful markets of Banaras its straight into the canteen of JNU with some khadi kurta clad jhola brigade ruminating about the ills of society. Why would the romantic train of thought derail and hit some politics leaves me totally clueless. Abhay Deol with his dimpled smile does a fine job as usual but he too suffers because of the confused screenplay. The end is probably the only sober thing after this wild sojourn in the post interval phase. Ranjhanaa is like two movies rolled into one. A great, well constructed entertaining one till the interval and an absurd, ludicrous one post it. What stays with us is the brilliance of Banaras and Kundan’s’ friends Bindiya and Murari. If only the momentum was maintained throughout. Sigh! However because of the brilliant performances I would still recommend a one time watch.
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The half baked characterization of Raanjha Kundan and his reluctant Heer, Zoya hardly help matters. Why do they love each other? Do they really? What’s special about their relationship? We just don’t know which is the next stop for this train! While Dhanush’s earnestness shines through especially his portrayal of a love struck teenager to an adult self sacrificing man both in appearance and acting, Sonam just about manages and gets a raw deal. Her character is so badly sketched that we can’t really blame her for that half- stunned expression she carries throughout the film. Unrequited love is a brave territory to tread on so while the idea is noble the execution is definitely below average. Add to that Sonam’s giggly self throughout the film. Poor girl has a hard time stepping into the kolhapuri chappals of character that is every man’s nightmare!