Shalu’s Review of Raanjhanaa

Raanjhanaa is a love story. Not a romance and most definitely not a romcom. This one is about the kind of love that doesn’t understand the ‘move on’ way of life. It is not a simple tale but it is told with simplicity mirziamov.ru. Quite the opposite of the usual Bollywood staple, eh? And then there is newcomer (to Hindi films) Dhanush who alone is a good enough reason to watch this film.

Kundan (Dhanush) falls in love with Zoya (Sonam Kapoor) as a five-year old and falls for life. He grows up dreaming about her and pursues her relentlessly as a teenager. To his delight she finally responds to his advances but the love story is cut short when her parents send her away for higher studies. He decides to wait for her, totally ignoring the love of his childhood friend Bindiya (Swara Bhaskar) towards him. She returns 8 years later but as a young woman who looks back at her teenage love as a passing affair. Kundan vows to win her love again but this time it won’t be easy as she is in love for real – with the JNU student leader Akram (Abhay Deol).

Sounds like the regular story of the hero being in love with the heroine but she being in love with someone else, right? It is anything but. Just when you think that you have the story figured out, comes along a twist that turns the story in a totally new direction. Some scenes are just brilliant and stay in your mind long after the film ends. Bringing freshness to a love story needs genuine creativity and the story/dialogue writer Himanshu Sharma has done a commendable job for the most part.

Director Anand Rai knows his Benaras. He knows its people, its lingo, its quirks. He makes Benaras one of the most endearing characters of the film, so much so that I started feeling nostalgic for it when the action shifted to Delhi in the second half. Delhi too is presented authentically and it rightly remains politically cold when compared to the sunlit warmth of Benaras. However, that is the main problem with the movie. As the action shifts from Benras to Delhi, the tone of the film too shifts completely. Mid-way into the second half, it becomes a different film. From then on to the climax it flounders, and that is the reason the climax fails to be as impactful as it could have been.

Ranjhanaa’s songs are melodious but I feel not of the level that A. R. Rahman’s admirers expect from him. The screenplay is highly effective though somewhat repetitive, which doesn’t rankle so much in the first half as it is mostly fun, but as the seriousness takes over the repetitiveness becomes jarring. The dialogues are another high point of the film – authentic and very impactful. A special mention must be made of the director of photography who has captured North India, especially Benaras, in all its colours and moods.

There is not a single bad performance in Raanjhana. Sonam has never looked more beautiful or acted better. Though she is still one-dimensional as an actor, she brings in the required immaturity to her portrayal of the flighty Zoya. Abhay Deol is likeable though a little low on energy. Mohammad Zeeshan Ayub is just outstanding as Kundan’s best friend Murari. He gets some of the film’s best lines and elevates them even more with his performance. As does Swara Bhaskar. Even the actors in minor roles make a strong impact. And yet Dhanush manages to tower over everybody. Despite the south Indian accent (which is explained through his Tamil family), he comes across as a real Benarasi – the body language, the dialogue delivery, the attitude – and is equally good in the comic as well as intense parts.

Ranjhanaa is not perfect but it is heart-touching and very entertaining. And it is that unique thing – a love story that men will like more than women. Must watch!

My rating is 3.5/5.

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6 Comments
  1. Baba 11 years ago

    just back from ranjhaana. i want to take back my words on dhanush. 😉
    he is a very good actor and the film is good to brilliant. slick direction mostly and dhanushs performance has to be among the performances of the year. even sonam acted well first time .the film has some issues in second half but we can leave that for tomorrow to discuss.

  2. Baba 11 years ago

    “Raanjhanaa is a love story. Not a romance and most definitely not a romcom”

    completely agree. this is how a love story should be made

  3. sputnik 11 years ago

    I had watched this Telugu movie 7G Brundavan Colony few years back which was the Telugu version of the Tamil movie 7G Rainbow Colony.

    The movie was about this guy who basically was a loser. I had liked that movie and the performances were good. Just found out that it was directed by Dhanush’s brother. Not sure but there could be some similarities between that movie and Raanjhanaa.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7G_Rainbow_Colony

  4. Author
    Shalu 11 years ago

    Baba, Glad you also liked it so much 🙂

  5. Nilda 11 years ago

    Saw Raanjhanaa, and my opinion is a little different from others. Found the movie average to good. First half was good with vibrant Benaras, and the story revolved mostly around Dhansush. But unlike others I liked the second half where Sonam’s character had moved beyond Benaras and could justify that so did not miss Benars in this half and neither did I mind the political turn to the story as IMO that helped the movie become a love story which otherwise could have been a romantic flick.
    The reason behind most people not liking second half may be because the movie concentrated completely on Dhansuh and his POV while Sonam and Abhay’s story was not so well developed neither was Sonam’s character. Hence most could not justify it
    I would have wanted to see more of Abhay and Sonam’s story which would have helped the second half and the climax.

    performance wise Sonam was better than her previous movies. Abhay was was hardly there which was a disappointment. Dhansush was good moreso in first half. Supporting performances were good and likeable.

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