By Shevaal Singh
Raanjhanaa joins the flourishing love stories similarly to Aashiqui 2 and Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani , it takes an eccentric path of approaching the genre by revealing the shadowy side of romance through shades of loss, regret, remorse, and pain. Notwithstanding a multi-coloured and vivacious start which seems rather conventional to audiences; the movie takes us down a surprising storyline of a political uprising that adds other elements of emotion to this tale…
Anand L. Rai’s ‘Raanjhanaa’ is set in the sacred city of Banaras; ‘Raanjhanaa’ develops the story of a Tamil Bramhin Kundan (Dhanush K. Raja) who has a crush on the Muslimgirl named Zoya (Sonam Kapoor) since childhood. In actual fact it was a crush-at-first-sight for Kundan. The crush grows into love as they reach on the verge of adolescence. He proposes love but Zoya’s who is from a strict Muslim family discards such love. After getting slapped 16 times then slitting his wrist and some emotional blackmailing later- the boy gets his way and the girl she finally reciprocates. Their love story is destroyed by the girl`s conformist parents puts an end to it even before it grows as she is sent to the city to study.She then returns 8 years later by when Kundan grows into a man who is now eagerly to have his beloved back in town but she has found someone else. Condemned love and an inopportune death, revenge and a youth-led political campaign will interlace the rest of the film`s story.`Raanjhanaa` is a love story that does not fall within the confines of a clichéd Bollywood romance.
Dhanush emanates excellence whenever he appears on the screen not with the typical kind of looks that a typical Bollywood hero is expected to have but Dhanush has given a knockout romantic style and his acting finesse. This `Raanjhanaa` is an enchanter. Sonam Kapoor appears to have improved her acting skills as she is somewhat convincing in her performance. Abhay Deol, as Sonam`s love interest has done comprehensive justice to his cameo role. He has been suitably casted for the part of a leader and a political activist. Mohammad Zeeshan Ayyub and Swara Bhaskar are brilliant. Ayyub and Dhanush’s friendship and mockery is humorous. The casting was perfectly conducted even for the smallest role possible.
The movie is very complete. The credit goes to the cinematographers Natarajan Subramaniam and Vishal Sinha for seizing the best visuals of the beautiful city of Banaras and also for artistically depicting the rustic alleyways of the civic. A.R. Rahman’s soundtrack is music to the ears and the film is precisely jam-packed with song and dance sequences. The ones that are truly pleasant are ‘Piya Milenge’, ‘Tum Tak’ and the title track. The dialogues have been written down in a very logical manner as they all convincing and end up making the scenes and characters look impressionable. Anand L. Rai’s direction is an added advantage for the film being paired with a flawless narrative. Rai delicately shifts the scenes that keep the viewers’ attention unbroken till the very end.
Dhanush’s Bollywood debut ‘Raanjhanaa’ is a superb watch for audiences of all ages – there are lots to look forward to be it the power-packed performances or the stellar direction or the superb location. ‘Raanjhanaa’ will surely keep you entertained this weekend at a cinema near you! The movie gets a truly deserving 8/10 from me …