By: Dipashri Bardhan
PROEM: It was an intensely hued picture which showed a young boy standing with a fascinated glance in his eyes & a pretty girl portraying the semblance of cheerfulness amidst the vibrant colors of pink, green, yellow & red; thereby recreating the festival of Holi in a rectangular first look poster of the latest production from Eros International & Colour Yellow Pictures Ltd, in the cinematic name of 'Raanjhanaa' !!
Colors always attract the cone cells of our eyes.Also I felt curious about the movie after knowing that it belongs to romantic genre.'Love' is probably the only word in a Dictionary which neither can be explained in a sentence nor has any perfect synonyms.Today while watching this love story, I could virtually visualize that thought of Rose Franken: "Anyone can be passionate, but it takes real lovers to be silly.." !!
Let me illustrate this journey of 'Raanjhanaa' in the following paragraphs !!
MOVIE: Shot in the blissful backdrop of Benaras & urbanity of Delhi, 'Raanjhanaa' narrates a tale of love through Kundan (Dhanush), Zoya (Sonam Kapoor) & Akram/Jasjeet (Abhay Deol)..Kundan (a Tamil Brahmin boy) & Zoya (a muslim girl) were brought up in Benaras, where Kundan expressed his love for Zoya during his teenage days..After growing up, Zoya took admission in Jawaharlal Nehru University where she fell in love with an university student cum socialist Akram..What happens next ? Is the amorousness of Zoya destined to Kundan or Akram ? How much pain can be endured for the sake of love ?
Let those questions be answered after watching the movie, in silver screen !!
'LIKE's:
1) Cinematography by N. Nataraja Subramanian and Vishal Sinha is astounding + Editing by Hemal Kothari & Choreography by Bosco-Caesar are impressive + Story/Screenplay by Himanshu Sharma is a bit different than an usual romantic drama + Dialogues are extremely witty at many sequences + Acting by the leading & supporting casts are marvelous + Set design by Tariq Umar Khan is befitting + Direction by Anand L. Rai is appreciable !!
2) MUSIC: A big applause to A.R.Rahman for such an wonderful soundtrack (well supported by Irshad Kamil’s catchy lyrics) & appropriate background score..For example,
a) When Kundan showed his anger on Zoya for the first time, there the synthesizer chords fluctuated in a bizarre way to create the effect of displeasure & it was done repeatedly with different chords to break the harmony, so that audience could better relate to the scene.
b) In a gloomy conversation between Kundan & Zoya, where Kundan suddenly felt the ray of hope, he turned up his head towards Zoya..In that split second, Rahman used the rhythm of 'Tabla' in a tricky way to express Kundan's expectation which struck the heart of viewers too !!
3) A SPECIAL MENTION TO :
a) That scene where Zoya was about to leave Benaras by train with teary eyes & Kundan ran to meet her, multiple water patches were shown in the rail station, as if rain just happened, thereby subconsciously magnified the mood of separation since rains are often attributed to a heavy heart..
b) MakeUp Artists for giving Sonam the minimal touch up, which amplified the innocence of a face rather than glamour..Beauty can either flashes the eyes of a beholder like a mid-day sun or soothes the same like a morning dewdrop..Since the latter better suits the character of Zoya, so the lipstick/blusher/eye-shadow even eyeliners were absolutely unnecessary here apart from the marriage scene, where a loud make up was needed & make up experts also did the right job there by painting the line of eye-liner a bit above the corner of eyes + stark red lipstick..
'DISLIKE's: Very few are there, for example;
1) In the song 'Tum Tak', the lip movements of Dhanush were not synchronous with the voice of the playback singer..Looked like, the song was coming from a mike & the actor was just singing on his own..
2) First half was too romantic & at times, the efforts of Kundan to please Zoya looked silly..In Second half, the focus were more on politics, thereby concentration of romance got diluted by leadership activities..
3) Both Dhanush & Sonam looked misfit in the role of school going teenagers + Opening sequence was dull + Too much slapping on Kundan's face by Zoya ultimately invited humor rather than sympathy..That profound scene where Akram's mother was about to touch Kundan's cheek for greeting, I heard some boys laughing crazily behind my seat & saying, "Stop..Stop..No more slapping" !!
MESSAGE: There is a lyrics from the musical 'Cinderella' which says: "Do I love you because you're beautiful, Or, are you beautiful because I love you ?" !! One can easily relate this line to those love struck eyes of Kundan which glitter more than the pole star even in the shadow of Zoya..Of late, Zoya fell in love with Akram, because she considered 'Kundan part' as a childlike crush + Akram fitted the bill as per educational & social qualification..From here, the dilemma of selecting a lover/partner arrives, accompanied by a dialogue where Kundan's friend Murari (M. Z. Ayyub) told him that girls are more likely to marry Doctors/Engineers rather than ordinary boys of the same locality, since the question of love comes secondary to their mind..Obviously material satisfaction plays a vital role in such decisions..But, if an abstract force (love) plays a guest appearance in the same scenario & makes one cherish that pleasure somewhat like this: "To the world you might be one person, but to one person you might be the world", then should not one rise above the narrow parameters set by the society/religions ?
Once Tom Robbins said: “We waste time looking for the perfect lover, instead of creating the perfect love.." !! Life does not give us multiple chances..In this densely populated sphere of Earth, there is always a scarcity of those persons who can sacrifice his/her deepest desires to bring sunshine in the face of their loved ones..Don't let go that kind heart, if by chance you find him/her..
With the mellifluous touch of Shehnai, 'Raanjhanaa' sublimely delivered this tacit message in a pictorial way, making the film worth a watch !!
LAST WORDS: Along with showing the sparkling colors of a Holy city (Benaras), 'Raanjhanaa' tastefully painted a pale color too & thats the color of grey which often stays dormant in human minds and taints the negative aspects of an otherwise blameless person..Don't miss this film, if you believe in those lines of Loretta Young: "Love isn't something you find. Love is something that finds you..."
Absolutely Recommended !!
