Having finished watching ‘Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani’, I have to confess I am conflicted: do I turn my back on this brand new film from Karan Johar because it’s loud and melodramatic in the way mainstream Hindi family dramas used to be and still determinedly are, refusing to budge from broad-brush-stroke-y conventions, 2023 be damned; or do I cherry pick some of the better, braver parts of the film which go big because of the film platforms them so large, and be happy about that in the at-least-it-has-these-bits-too way?
Rocky Randhawa (Ranveer Singh) from Karol Bagh is the kind of over-the-top Punjabi lunk that Ranveer Singh can do, and has done, in his sleep. Singh’s endearing energy is never to be denied, but we’ve seen this template oh-so-many-times before. The scion of a multi-millionaire mithai-wala, Rocky is accessorised with straining ‘dole sholey’, a personal trainer cum BFF, protein shakes, facial hair, and a fleet of fancy SUVs which match his outfit-of-the-day. His English is ‘tooti-phooti’, but he is good-at-heart. Rani Chatterji (Alia Bhatt) is an ‘ekdum mishti’ Bengali girl who has gone the LSR-American liberal arts college route, and is now a bleeding heart liberal media professional, who loves pulling up dodgy netas indulging in whataboutery around women’s safety.
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Rocky lives in a palace, which looks like a set, with his sweet Dadaji (Dharmendra) who lives in a world of his own, an ultra-stern Dadiji (Jaya Bachchan), Daddyji (Aamir Bashir), mummyji (Ksh*tee Jog) and choti behen (Anjali Anand). Where in madly crowded West Delhi could that sprawling house exist? Silly question. Rani’s family consists of an English-spouting mommy (Churni Ganguly), an unconventional father (Tota Roy Choudhury) who is a Kathak dancer-cum-teacher, and a ‘thakuma’ (Shabana Azmi) who has once loved and lost. What kind of TV channel allows feisty truth-seeking anchors a free rein these days? What did I say about silly questions?
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Rocky and Rani fall in love. You know, first sight and all. And while they are at it, we are given a very ‘Kabhie Kabhi’ vibe in Kashmir where there is snow, and swirling chiffons and songs. This segment seems to exist only because the movie wanted a song-in-Kashmir, not because the plot has any use for it. The two Rs may ostensibly be chalk and cheese, but their hearts are one. But their families differ wildly in culture and values, and scowl and demean each other: so very ‘Two States’, right? Cliches abound. Bengalis love roshogolla and Rabindra Nath Tagore, do adda, and are scornful of uncultured Punjabis. Talk about stereotypes. Punjabis, especially the kind that the Randhawas represent, believe in squashing their women, and throwing their weight around. Finally, you lose count of Johar’s own films, as well as the much-loved Yashraj romances, and a zillion other family dramas, which keep getting referenced, with characters bursting into old Hindi film songs to keep us doused in nostalgia.
In between this mesh of how to pour palatable wine in bottles which should appear new, but not startlingly so, the film keeps wanting to throw a surprise or two. And this is where it scores, even if it has to do in a severely explanatory manner: Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani has no place for nuance, or subtlety; it’s the kind of film where every note is hammered in. The harried, bullied women of the Randhawa household finally find their voice (follow your heart!), the overbearing grandma (women can also be patriarchal!) discovers the error of her ways, and the men (both Singh and Bashir!) learn that respecting the elders is one thing, but no one has the right to be nasty to the ladies. Down with misogyny and patriarchy. Up with feminism. But wrap them all in on-the-nose dialogues. It’s same old, same old: romance between the rebellious young, but loving their families, and everyone living happily after.
One of the most striking sequences is shared by Ranveer Singh and Tota Roy Choudhuri whirling about on ‘Dola Re’ at a Durga puja pandal: the subversion involved in men being flagrantly sexually fluid is smack in-your-face, but is effective. Another one features Ranveer and Churni Ganguly in a lingerie shop, where a bra becomes a hook to hang a feminist lecture. You can look at it as a great progressive step, or a huge gimmick; it is, at least, different. But couldn’t it have been done without getting into lecture mode? And those are about the only things we can celebrate in this film, which has too much drama, and whose beats we thought we were done and dusted with.
Meanwhile, Alia Bhatt, sparkling, eyes lined in dark kohl, owns this film, the irrepressible Ranveer giving her good company. But where’s the jumping-your-bones-spark despite the kissy-kissy scenes? Certainly not enough to overlook the tired saas-bahu games being played out in the Randhawa parlour. Jaya Bachchan gets a lot of screen space, but is given, unforgivably, not even one chance to relax her frown and un-purse her lips. Dharmendra, playing a man who has lost his memory (of course Rocky has to pronounce it as ‘mammary’), is made to spend too much time looking spaced out. I really enjoyed Shabana’s against-type casting, and her instantly sinking into an old-style heroine who has fortified herself with a brief interlude with a handsome poet when she, and he, were young. And both Roy Choudhury and Ganguly leave an impact.
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Karan Johar has always worked with the adage that describes a typical Bollywood potboiler– ‘iss film mein emotion hai, colour hai, aur bahut saara loud background music hai’– but in his better outings, he has managed to fuse those elements in his own individual stamp– an unapologetic cheesy aesthetic which goes hand-in-hand with moments of real heart, designed to make us melt. But in Rocky and Rani, that Johar is seen too rarely. You want big sets? Here, take ginormous. You want shine? Naach-gaana? Pretty funerals? Overdressed mansions? It’s all there. And you want originality? That’s asking for too much.
Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani
Director – Karan Johar
Cast – Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Dharmendra, Jaya Bachchan, Shabana Azmi, Aamir Bashir, Tota Roy Choudhury, Churni Ganguly, Ksh*tee Jog, Anjali Anand
Rating – 2/5
