Deepika, Deepika, Deepika……God there is no way to stop her
now…..!!! I will be damned if she does not get all the awards this year..!!!
Experience Bhansali’s way of
living a story – larger than life canvas, strong women, vulnerably in love men,
grandeur sets, very stout side characters and ostentation just pouring out off
everything!!!
Bhansali never leaves any stone
unturned in satisfying his own artistic self and he always does that. Once I read
somewhere that during the filming of Black, Ram Gopal Verma gave him idea of
taking the background of Jhuggies but Bhansali outright rejected it and
allegedly said that he wants the incapability also to be projected in a grand
manner so that people just not pity it but could appreciate the pride and
attitude of protagonist. Similarly he made Ethan’s life also impressive even
though he was totally out of money and full of pity but audience always felt a
sense of pride in the character. Man he does the same with his Ram & Leela
!!! He goes one step ahead in making them even bolder than his previous
characters. Though he has never been shy in portraying sexuality as one of the vital
facet of life but this time he uses the sexual attraction to build the love.
The story is set in one imaginary
town of Gujraat where alcohol, bullet, guns, weed, smuggling, porn…nothing is
prohibited. Only thing admonished in the town is rendezvous of two prominent
families of the town. Ram (Ranveer Singh) is a flamboyant Casanova who wants to
resolve all the issues with love or Sex or his hairless bare chest while Leela (Deepika
Padukone) is an extraordinarily audacious and vivacious girl wearing her attitude
on the sleeves of her back-less, deep-neck blouses. Both fall for each other’s
courage and sexuality. Since the story is ostensibly inspired by Shakespeare’s
Romeo and Juliet, Communication Gap, assumptions and confusion play the significant
part. The protagonists come together but separated by their own friends and family
members and the distance creates animosity between them. As usual there is a villain
who wants to take advantage of the situation for authority and the leads not
being rational enough falls prey to the circumstances.
Deepika and Ranveer are exceptionally
worthy of the characters. Deepika has given the right amount of grace, poise, boldness,
cheerfulness, sensuality, pride, attitude, gloominess and vulnerability. Her eyes
say it all. Similarly Ranveer has also worked hard not only on his physical appearance
but also on his acting skills. He is remarkably good in one of the scene when
he is drunk and is talking to his friends about Leela. The portrayal of drunkenness
looks highly acceptable and not over the top like usual Hindi cinema. Special
mention of Supriya Pathak, She has portrayed a very strong God motherly
character with such an ease. Richa Chaddha looks extremely beautiful but she
could have done much better.
The treatment of the movie is
typical Bhansali Style which is bizarre. Production Design, Cinematography,
costume, make up take center stage and an immaculately detailed work is being carried out by all
these departments. No doubt when it comes to Bhansali he does not leave
anything blindly onto anyone else and ensures his signature in every nook and
corner. That is why he started wearing most of the hats by himself e.g. Music
is taken care by Bhansali but no kudos to him on this. There is no variety in
the music. Dialogues are earthy and catchy but screenplay seriously fumbles in
the second half and director’s grip looks loose. Actors try to carry the
movie on their shoulders but second half looks very cluttered and waiting for
obvious. Movie could have been a masterpiece but slight misses makes it another
just Good movie. The grandeur alone could not make it memorable craft.
