MapsofIndia.com/MyIndia.in Rating: 3.5/5
Director: Karan Johar
Plot
The movie starts with our protagonist, Rocky Randhawa, played by the Rambo of Bollywood, Ranveer Singh. Rocky belongs to one of the wealthiest families in not only Delhi but the entire India. The Randhawa Family owns the biggest sweets franchise in Delhi, Dhanalakshmi Sweets. Dhanalakshmi is also the name of Jaya Bacchan’s character in this film, who is Rocky’s grandmother, and she practically built the entire company. Rocky’s grandfather, though, played by Dharmendra, lost his memories and ability to walk in an accident during the 70s.
Since then, Dharmendra’s character in the film has been shunned by Dhanalakshmi and his son, Rocky’s father, who Aamir Bashir plays. Fast Forward to 2023, in a function, Rocky’s grandfather mistakes a woman for someone called “Jamini” and kisses her. After some events, Rocky tries to find the real Jamini for him, and Jamini turns out to be the grandmother (Shabana Azmi) of Rani (Alia Bhatt).
As Rocky and Rani make the two old lovers close to each other, they fall in love with each other too. And from here, the quest for love begins because Rocky and Rani’s family are from two very distinct worlds. Rocky belongs to a rigid, patriarchal family, whereas Rani’s family is modern and intellectual. They both decide that they will live in each other’s households to win the hearts of both families. The rest of the film revolves around Rocky and Rani trying to fit in with each other’s family.
Performance
The film has a fantastic star cast, which all nailed their roles. Ranveer Singh is the most entertaining of them all. Some might not like his character initially because of some narcissistic traits, but his character develops the most. Ranveer’s Rocky steals the show from a macho man to a guy who is trying his best to fit in in a new environment!
Alia did a fine job, but her character resembles her other roles, like in the movie Badrinath ki Dulhania. She brings nothing new to offer. The other actors did fantastic work, especially Jaya Bachchan. She played the classic narrow-minded evil woman of the house perfectly.
Analysis
The film is more than “trying to impress each other’s family.” The filmmakers wanted to deliver various social messages with the help of this idea and to do that. They decided to use the country’s two most distinct types of people; Rocky’s family is a traditional Punjabi family, and Rani’s is a Modern Bengali one, which was a great decision.
The dialogues are funny and catchy, especially Ranveer’s. Although we have seen poor English spoken in many Bollywood movies for comedy purposes, this movie nailed it! Jaya’s dialogues are brilliant as she plays the evil Indian serial type of woman everyone loves to hate. The emotional and intellectual monologues are done amazingly too, and every main character gets their chance to shine.
The film’s Cinematography helps a lot in telling the story. The use of numerous shots, angles, and lighting techniques adds a lot to setting the tone and mood of the scenes. For music, the filmmakers decided to use many old Bollywood classics like ‘Abhi Na Jao Chhod Ke’, which many would love. There are many easter eggs from other Bollywood classics like Devdas and Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham that the audience can look forward to watching.
Verdict
The film offers something more than a romantic comedy to its audience. It covers numerous societal issues like the Indian patriarchal system, women empowerment, and false traditions. From men doing Kathak to shopping for Bras, the film creatively breaks the so-called “appropriate social norms.” The central theme of the film is covered incredibly too. It tried its best to explain the age-old saying that weddings happen between two individuals and two families, and it delivered. Karan Johar returned as a director magnificently, and the audience could tell he didn’t miss his touch.
