Raanjhana Ki Aashiqui2

2013 sees a revival in the almost-forgotten Bollywood genre of love and romance. There was a time when you could call every movie a love story (remember Gadar bhi ek prem katha thi), but between Salman Khan block buster action movies, Rohit Shetty’s mind-numbing laugh riots, Farhan Akhtar’s identity sagas and Aamir Khan’s clever escapades, we’ve gone through the last few years without really a love story movie (unless you call Rockstar a love-story, which it isn’t really, see my review http://www.books-booze-boxoffice.blogspot.in/2011/12/rockstar-2011.html or Jab Tak Hai Jaan, which I haven’t cared to watch yet because it has SRK)

But, 2013 finds itself declaring ‘love is in the air’, with a slew of movies revolving around romance - from Yeh Jawaani Hai Diwani, to Shuddh Desi Romance (which just released & I will be reviewing it next). But, this review is about 2 specific movies that came out this year (as you would have guessed from the title) - Raanjhana and Aashiqui2. I was struck by the uniqueness and uncanny similarities between the two movies and it felt  only appropriate to write about them together as well.                                                                      

I suppose the story of Raanjhana shouldn’t come as a surprise. After all, Dhanush had already made the story popular through his viral music number that made him famous in the first place. Essentially, Raanjhana is “Why This Kolaveri Di” in 2.5 hours. “white skin girl-u girl-u... eyes eyes meet-u meet-u... my future dark-u.... eyes full of tear-u... empty life, girl come, life reverse gear-u... god, i am dying now-u, she is happy how-u... this song for soup boys-u, we don’t have choice-u”... these words are an apt summary of the movie.

The story is set against the back-drop of small-but-iconic city of Benares, where Kundan (Dhanush) falls in love with Zoya (Sonam) in school (they are dressed in school uniforms to make sure you don’t miss that) - puppy teen romance. With the family disapproving of Zoya’s school love affair, she is sent to study in Lucknow, & after that to JNU, Delhi, where she finds her true ‘adult’ love Akram ne Jasjeet (Abhay Deol). Unfortunately for Kundan, while Zoya has moved on with her life, Kundan has not & after trying really hard to win Zoya back, finally gives into his broken heart & concedes victory to Akram, who he thinks has the ‘religion’ advantage to wed Zoya. But, the story takes a turn, when on the day of the wedding, he finds out himself & reveals to Zoya’s family that Akram is actually a Hindu (Jasjeet), after which Jasjeet gets beaten to death by Zoya’s relatives & biradri-waaley. What ensues is Zoya’s hatred for Kundan, who finds his way back into her life, as part of the college political theatre in Delhi, that was Jasjeet’s legacy, and actually starts making amends by progressing Jasjeet’s political agenda, and in a much better way than Zoya herself. But Zoya is a tough nut to crack and it is only till the very end that Zoya doesn’t melt, and Kundan has to finally give his life amidst a political riot to finally make her realise how much he loved her.

Complicated, and long winded, did I hear you say? Yup. The movie was a lot of hard work, I must say, both for Kundan and the audience. But, if complicated & hard-work is not your cup of tea, then sample the other end of the spectrum, Aashiqui 2, which is amazingly simple & linear. 

Aashiqui 2 is the story of super-famous rock-star singer Rahul (Aditya Roy Kapoor), who after peaking in his career, has become a bad-tempered alcoholic (no one really knows why!). He bumps into Arohi (Shraddha Kapoor) drunk after a concert, also sees her singing & falls in love head-over-heels with her. He decides to take upon himself the task of making the world see her talent & adopts her as his protege, training her as well as moving mountains with his contacts to make sure she gets a break. He gets deeper & deeper in love with her, as she rises to become a super-star singer herself. What follows is a series of hi-intensity ups & downs in their relationship attributed to the conflict between his deep love for Arohi & insecurity & envy of her career growth, which is only made lethal because of his alcohol addiction. Finally, ofcourse love wins & the lovers lose, as Rahul, realising his helplessness with his addiction, gives up his life to liberate Arohi, who had declared to him that she would chose her self-destruction with him rather than being (happy) without him.

Both movies are actually quite well-made and are very watchable. The stories are well told, that keep you engaged through the movie. In Raanjhana, because so much is happening and in Aashiqui2, because there is nothing happening (they fight, they cry, they hug, they can’t live without each other, they get back, they cry). Both movies have beautiful moments between the lead pair, that make you feel their passionate (in case of Aashiqui) & pure (in case of Raanjhana) love. Both movies put selflessness right at the heart of what it means to love, and romances the idea of loving someone without asking for anything in return. And therefore, both movies have a quirky nostalgia value that romances the idea of romance itself, and that’s why they work. Both movies ask you, as the viewer, to invest a little bit of your own emotions into the story and the characters. That’s also why they leave you feeling cheated at the end when it doesn’t end in a happy-ever-after.

But, watching both movies also makes you realise why we’d forgotten about making love stories for a while. Because both movies remind us that you can’t be happy if you’re following your heart and chasing your true love. And despite the sane advice the world is giving you (embodied in the hero’s friend & his don’t-chase-that-girl-or-she-will-be-your-end advice in both movies), if you do choose to stick to your pig-headed obsession with the girl, you have only yourself to blame for the pain and the eventual death you have brought upon yourself. And if after all that hard work (for three long hours), if it’s only going to end up in the bliss of the other-life (which both movies again seem to romance), then is there any point to it all?

Both movies also give us some really good performances. Dhanush, as Kundan, gives an endearing & impactful performance. Despite his heavy Southie accent, you easily believe that he is a local Benarsi (may be his Tamil parents moved to Benares when he was young). He is soft, angry, cheeky, innocent, helpless, pathetic, loud, passive-aggressive, desi, funny, street-smart through the movie, and he moves effortlessly through these many emotions. A good Bollywood start for Dhanush. Whether he will be able to play any other kind of role, though remains to be seen. 

Also convincing performances by Swara Bhaskar as Bindiya (who is in love with Kundan since childhood & again selflessly loves him one-sided through the movie, and possibly the only one who grieves the most in the end), Mohd Zeeshan Ayoob, as Murari, Kundan’s childhood best friend, with well-meaning advice that is never heeded to. Even Shilpi Marwah as Rashmi (Jasjeet’s grieving sister) gives a subtle-yet-intense performance. Abhay Deol is fine too. The only one that doesn’t really fire, unfortunately, is the reason why the entire movie happens - Sonam Kapoor, as Zoya. After seeing her in Milkha and now in Raanjhana, I think it’s safe to say that she really can’t act, and may be should find her calling in the fashion industry. She looks cute, but emotes unconvincingly when she’s not-in-love with Kundan & when she is angry with him, and when she is giving him lectures & platitudes, and even when finally he dies. Pity!

Aashiqui 2 also gives intense and powerful performances. Aditya Roy Kapur as Rahul has done a decent job, though there is an element of a hamming dialogue delivery that gets a bit annoying at times, when he comes home drunk yet again. Shraddha Kapoor, as Arohi, is a pleasant surprise. Her under-stated dialogues and emotions cut through quite well, and gives a promising start in Bollywood. Never-mind the fact, that we are no longer used to seeing women lead characters playing door-mat lover to the hero (which does get a bit annoying at times, when you feel like standing up and say ‘stand up woman, don’t take this shit from him’). Shaad Randhawa as Rahul's friend Vivek looks like a bumbling idiot, but does a decent job of playing the role of a friend trying desperately to save Rahul from himself. There was also a potentially powerful performance that we kept waiting for to happen, but doesn’t - which is Rahul’s dad. There are many phone calls through the movie that Rahul makes to his dad about how he is lost, miserable, unhappy (and once happy) & we hear his dad saying, ‘I’m coming’ and he never does. May be we have to wait for Aashiqui 3 for that.

But, Raanjhana & Aashiqui2 are different in two important ways. The one big difference is the music. The haunting music by newcomers Mithoon, Jeet & Ankit lifts the movie many-fold and gives the movie a lasting quality that haunts you weeks after you have seen the movie. The music gives you the feeling of Rahul’s ‘after-life’, which reminds you of the story of the movie, as you hear it again & again in Arijit Singh’s melancholy voice. The music captures the essence of the film, with every nuance of the pathos captured - the euphoric highs of love and depressive lows of love. The movie wouldn’t be half as impactful, if it wasn’t for the music. Raanjhana’s music, despite being A R Rahman, disappoints & doesn’t last at all. As a result, you forget the movie much faster. 

The other big difference between the 2 movies, is in their portrayal of the centre-piece: the woman. While the hero is a helpless lover in both movies, the women couldn’t be more different. Zoya is an independent, strong-minded woman who believes in love as not only a blind meeting of hearts, but a convergence of common interests, passions & beliefs. For her love is as much about the mind as it is about the heart and she seeks an equal relationship with a man. And that’s why she could never have been with Kundan. By contrast, Arohi is a woman of the 80s (like Jaya Bhaduri in Abhimaan, though that was 1973), who believes in blind love over-powering the mind, who has the talent & the temperament to be successful, but puts her man before everything else. As the movie ends, we know that Zoya will recover from her losses (& even from her guilt for sending Kundan to his death) & move on, but we are not sure if Arohi will ever recover & move on to a better life. And therein lies the biggest difference between the two. 

All in all, you may like the stories in these movies or not. You may like the characters or they may irritate the shit out of you. You may like the music or get put off by them. You may wonder why the names of the movies were what they were (Don’t Heer & Raanjha BOTH die in the legend? And what was common with Aashiqui 1 except for the producers & the kissing-under-the-coat poster) But, for all the hopeless romantics out there (I am one of them), both these movies speak to that part of you that still is in love with the idea of love, and for that reason alone, these movies must be seen, because if we stop believing in love, what can we believe in?