RAANJHANAA ("PERFORMANCES AND MUSIC")

June 21, 2013

Cast: Dhanush, Abhay Deol, Sonam Kapoor.

Director: Anand Rai.

Like many of the South stars, Dhanush makes his bollywood entry this year through the Anand L Rai film.

School kid Kundan (Dhanush), the son of a Pandit falls for muslim girl Zoya who is one year younger than him (Sonam Kapoor) right from the moment his eyes fall on her praying figure. He starts following her everywhere and finally when it seems like his love is about to blossom when he is in the tenth standard, Zoya’s father comes to know about the affair and sends Zoya packing to Aligarh from Banaras.

The multi ethnic, vibrant and diverse Banaras has been made use of in a wonderful way by the director in the first half with the help of nothing short of simple but spectacular cinematography.

The first half just flows out beautifully with some really spectacular performances ,especially by Dhanush and the actress playing Bhindiya, amazing music by the legendary ARR and a good screenplay filled with all the elements required to satisfy almost every demographic section. While the camaraderie between Kundan, Murari and Bhindiya is nice to watch, Sonam Kapoor gives a decent performance as Zoya.

8 years on and Kundan is waiting for his Zoya to come back to him and when finally she does, she comes with the ultimate bad news for Kundan; Zoya is in love with her college-mate Akram (Abhay Deol). On hearing this Kundan rides the scooter right into the Ganga with Zoya as his pillion; such a scene is a very natural response anyone could think of, yet so fresh and hence interesting.

Abhay Deol, in a character with an unexpected twist, gives a cool performance in the limited screen space that he has. The whole mood changes in the second half with the story getting more serious with a tinge of politics and may be a few little clichés and it is a bit of a turn off. But again towards the end the screenplay is sure to surprise a lot of the viewers.

There may be a few loose ends in the screenplay which might catch the attention of a critic but that would in no way take away the pleasure from the audience, especially because of the music and performances.

Dhanush undoubtedly steals the show with a stellar performance towering above everyone else. The scene, just before the climax where he talks to Sonam Kapoor holding her face, itself is more than enough to understand why the guy is a National Award Winner.

I am giving a 3/5 for the film and 0.25 for Dhanush and ARR. The bollywood innings for Dhanush has just begun.

Rating Scale (Out of 5)

Less than 2                   -           Unwatchable.

2    to 2.25                   -           Below average.

2.5 to 2.75                   -           Average.

       

3    to 3.25                   -           Good.

3.5 to 3.75                   -           Really Good.

4    to 4.25                   -           Great.

4.5 and above               -          Extraordinary.