Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani review: Just hand Ranveer an Oscar, someone!

Rocky Aur Rani ki Prem KahaaniDirector Karan JoharActors Ranveer Singh Alia BhattRating 355This is the kind of film that takes some getting used to before it kicks in Speaking for myself as an audiencemdashwho else will I speak for here anyway Itrsquos probably around the 20th minute on the moviersquos timeline that the switch happens Primarily because our picture palette has become so unaccustomed to straightbat superurbane Bollywood opera on the big screen perhapsStarting with a fullon giant discoball item song scores of goris preening in the background An appropriate romantic song shot before chiffon sarees slipped in for dreamlike sequence up in the mountains That is when the characters arenrsquot all playing to the gallery with their oversizedmdashDelhi Punjabi Bengali intel lsquoaatelrsquo jockboymdashclicheacutescultural stereotypes and coincidencesHave OTT platforms spoilt some of the visceral fun we associate with all things Hindi filmy famdram family drama served so deliciously OTT overthetop Maybe Does Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani sufficiently restore that setting Hell yeahOnce you settle in what follows is a film that for a fair part is about a casual fling turning serious Which usually happens when either person in a hookup starts to develop feelings God knows itrsquos common in urban relationshipsmdashthat suddenly go southwards as the persistent partner sees no reciprocation for love thatrsquos emerged from lust foremostItrsquos also a film about how opposite vibes attract Meaning all those couples yoursquove noticed all your life and instantly wonderedmdashhow are these two even together I know people gossip the same way about wellknown Bollywood stars as well As with the leads Rocky Rani that this romcom is named afterThe petite pocketfull of dynamite Alia Bhatt being the ravishing lsquoBengali beautyrsquo Ranimdashpersonally sorted professionally successful repeatedly breaking into spontaneous infectious laughshellip She could have anybody for dinnerRocky though is the lsquoPuppyrsquo prosperous Punjabi Bhaisaab with biceps The sort of bloke yoursquod think of as lsquoPappursquomdashnever mind where he derives all that confidence from I want that But hersquos the dildaar from DilliHaving grown up with a few Rockys in that city myselfmdashyou can tell what kinda guy with a goldplated visiting card he is Allheart in all honesty Such a beautifully etched character Ranveer Singh owns this role like nothing short of an inimitable rockstar At some point I felt so taken in by his swag actually wanted to talk like himmdashldquogenes ka jalwardquo ldquomammary issuesrdquo ldquojust the small actually convo karni thirdquohellip Full salaam to dialogue writer Ishita Moitra for inventing this language ldquobebsrdquoRanveer started off as a Dilliwallah with Maneesh Sharmarsquos Band Baajaa Baaraat 2010 I assumed him to be actually the annoying lsquosadakchhaaprsquo he was playing He was that good But it didnrsquot work for me as an audience for a romcom which is altogether hinged on how you want the guy to get the girl eventually I just didnrsquot want this hero to land his heroineWhat a redeemer Ranveer has been since throughout his career and in particular with this role Yoursquore absolutely in love with Rocky and therefore Ranimdasheven before any conflict gets in the way of their love for each other Where does Rocky come from though A family that sells mithaisweets with its stock prices regularly making it to business magazine covers Thatrsquos too fancy to be a BengaliNathursquos Sweets type from DelhiMaybe a snack empire like Haldiram Schooling evidently wasnrsquot his strong suit and so hersquos gol zero on everything you can find on GoogleThe girl is from a family of an Englit prof They swap homes to gauge if their marriage could ever work under such opposite circumstances The only thing they have in common is their grandparents once liked each othermdashthatrsquos Shabana Azmi lovely always and superstar Dharmendra whorsquos finally being given his due respect in a film that hersquod frittered away a lot of with random roles in the rsquo90sBut this is like so much of 90s Bollywood itself a movie with pre and postinterval parts that shifts tone so muchmdashfrom pure comedy to a grand chandeliered conversational piecemdashyou almost fear for the infamous lsquocurse of the second halfrsquo The latter involves excessive mainstream messaging Hugely wellmeaning no doubt rightly subversive as wellmdashthe movie still risks coming across as a prolonged preachy feminist manifesto with a point or two made on supposed wokeism Itrsquos when they go for the fun first half that the film is all the way a frickinrsquo rideEither way therersquos something so unapologetic unabashedly unsubtle about it all that it keeps you engaged in the hall throughoutmdashwhile the laughs land and loud dialogues get the applauseIf the supremely selfaware filmmaker Karan Johar was to remake Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham 2001 in 2023 it would be this Or it is this in fact Only they havenrsquot cracked a dardbhara emo tunemdashof the same level as Kal Ho Naa Ho 2003 or Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna 2006mdashfor the running background scoreTheyrsquove done well to exploit the full SaregamaHMV library for the musical Amped up the young romance placed the track lsquoLoverrsquo by Diljit Dosanjh on woofers at midpoint turned on the sexual heat with much garam masalaMore than simply a pic I think Rocky Rani is a top of the popculture momentmdashto be lovedshared as memes reels clips cooler talk and kitty party chatter Boxoffice wallahs might rightly say ldquoKilled it Karanrdquo Itrsquos Bollywood as the gorgeous genre the director knows better than any

Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani review: Just hand Ranveer an Oscar, someone!

Rocky Aur Rani ki Prem Kahaani
Director: Karan Johar
Actors: Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt
Rating: 3.5/5

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Home / Entertainment / Bollywood News / Article / Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani review: Just hand Ranveer an Oscar, someone!

Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani review: Just hand Ranveer an Oscar, someone!

Rocky Aur Rani ki Prem KahaaniDirector: Karan JoharActors: Ranveer Singh, Alia BhattRating: 3.5/5

Trending Stories

Latest Photos

Latest Videos

Latest Web Stories

Mid-Day Fast

Rocky Aur Rani ki Prem Kahaani
Director: Karan Johar
Actors: Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt
Rating: 3.5/5