RAM-LEELA Updates Thread #3, Index pg1 - Page 64

Does 'Ram Leela' live up to the hype? City 1016 RJ Lokesh Dharmani gives his review

Directed by: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Supriya Pathak, Richa Chadda
Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5

Aave ni aave Juliet ben ne Romeo bhai ke liye dhoklo banva che - Ram Leela

Let's start with understanding the difference between a normal Hindi film and a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film. In a normal Hindi film, if a woman has to walk out of the house, she just walks out of the house. In a Bhansali musical, there are no houses, only hawelis. The woman runs down a spiral staircase, 90 yards of fabric trailing behind her, sweeping the floor getting stuck in 79 chandeliers, 84 doors and 71 windows. She gets hysterical without a reason and pulls down a few curtains (adding more fabric), tumbles over candles, so her dupatta catches fire, it's doused in the verandah's fountain and finally she reaches the wrought iron gate of the haweli to... haggle with the sabziwala.

Amidst all these visually appealing shots, do we have a story? HELL YEAH! A story never heard before that will blow your mind away; a story of two peace-loving individuals belonging to two warring clans (oooh sooo sad!!) who fall in love with each other (really??!) and can't be together because mummy, papa, didi, bhaiya, Pinky aunty and Chadhdha uncle won't agree (tough life I tell you). If names like Romeo Juliet, Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, Ek Duje Ke Liye and most recently Ishaqzaade don't ring a bell in your head, then clearly sarcasm is wasted on some people.

The songs in the film have a simple story in between. The movie begins with a market scene where it's established that Rajaadis (Ram's family) are at loggerheads with Saneras (Leela's family). And a song is inserted. We meet Ram's family . We meet Leela's family . Then Ram meets Leela, followed by a song. They fall in love instantly. Why? Gosh, how dare you ask for some logic in a Hindi film! They are about to run away but their family members are murdered in a fun let's-play-a-point-and-shoot-game in the market. Why? Dude, you are way too demanding! Despite moaning families, Ram and Leela run away. Now it's been a full seven minutes and they haven't inserted a song. Damn. There is a song for every occasion in the film, sorry correction, every moment, every action and every eyebrow lift in the film!

The actors in this costume drama have performed pretty well. Supriya Pathak as Leela's mother is menacing. The only problem is the Hansa hang over (from Khichdi). One could almost hear at the end of her sentences- "Prafulll, what isss...khana kha ke jana haan."

Cheap, loud, raw and rambunctious define Ram's characters and Ranveer pretty much lives it like he is on home territory. The lines between the character and him don't blur, they simply merge. He has got the Gujarati accent down pretty well and his histrionics are worthy of a Sanjay Leela Bhansali's opulence. The only thing I couldn't bear was his oil massaged bare body that flashed every second and the hideous rupee sign tattoo on his arm.

Deepika Padukone has finally got something different' to play. After playing a strong-headed girl based in Australia ('Bachchna Ae Haseenon') to playing a strong-headed girl based in England ('Love Aaj Kal') to playing a strong-headed girl based in London ('Cocktail') finally gets to play - hold your breath for this one - a strong-headed girl based in Gujarat in 'Ram Leela'. Tada! And you thought strong-headed girls only lived in phoren lands. But it doesn't take away from her performance. There is a certain sense of ease and confidence that one sees in her act.

In one of the scenes Ram makes it to Leela's bedroom (alarmingly, exactly 6 minutes after their meeting, India shining I tell you!), happily spread across her bed and she looks at his chest and is surprised to see no hair. Madam, please look up. You haven't focused on his face. There's one full Gir forest, the kind that would give Pritamda a run for his money.

Pritam brings me to the music of the film. It's not enough these days to say- "great music" unless you word it in fancy words. Sanjay Leela Bhansali has composed culturally nourished songs dipped in Rajasthani flavor blending in with Gujarati folk in soulful renditions of a myriad of new singers' soulful voices. Pause. Do you really need great music when you have Deepika and Priyanka on the big screen? They could be dancing to Twinkle Twinkle and it would be a numero uno!

To give the film due credit, it looks beautiful. Bhansali is an artist and manages to capture stunning visuals in his lens. The cinematographer Ravi Varman (of 'Barfi' fame) has done a fine job too. However, Sanjay makes a big mistake in shifting from his sister Bela Sehgal to Rajesh G Pandey as the editor of the film. The film is painfully long and abounds with clichs, misunderstandings, cheap family politics, disrespecting women and my favorite - I-am-an-absolute-duffer-and-I-shall-sign-these-papers-because-I-trust-you!

Brevity is definitely not our filmmaker's virtue. The film is like Deepika Padukone - sundar hain par bahut LAMBI hain. In a desperate attempt to show passion, some of the scenes are so badly written that it makes you laugh rather than evoke empathy. In an intense scene where Leela has an argument with her sister-in-law, giving logic as to why she should be with Ram. "Namkeen nani, Nanu naam ka, Leela ki maang mein Sindoor Ram ka." This was the moment when I thought I had had enough. The GPS of my mind was then locating a medical store in the mall.

At the end of the film I thought to myself - which idiot would choose a film like 'Ram Leela' over Sachin's historic match at Wankhede. That WOULD BE ME!!!!!