Friday, 15 November 2013

RAM-LEELA: Grand, vibrant & unapologetically sexy but not far from being formulaic! Ranveer & Deepika save the Day! [3.5/5]

As told twice in the film, “Besharam, badtameez, khudgarz hota hai…par pyaar toh aisa hi hota hai (Shameless, insolent & self-centered…but then, that’s what love is all about)”, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Magnum Opus RAM-LEELA clearly sticks to the same in its attitude and in content too. A film that is unapologetically sexy, passionate and bold in nature! A film that celebrates love and life through the most vibrant colours one can throw! A film that portrays cinema as a broad canvas to paint picturesque strokes of human emotions freely and at large.

In his commercial adaptation of Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo & Juliet’, Sanjay Leela Bhansali creates a fictional territory somewhere near the deserted Runn of Kutch where bullets and guns are more feasible than roses. In the midst of blood & gore rivalry between two communities flourishes the love in the most violent way. Flamboyant Ram (Played by Ranveer Singh) meets even more flashy & intrepid Leela (Played by Deepika Padukone) and the physical attraction at first takes it from there as a thoroughly fiery & flaming passionate love between the two. Now we all have seen ‘Romeo & Juliet’ adaptations of all kinds ranging from the finest (Aamir-Juhi starrer QAYAMAT SE QAYAMAT TAK could be one) to the worst (this year’s ISSAQ); so if you are really asking or looking here for newness and novelty in the storyline you would be fooling yourself big time. But if you have an eagle-eye for the detailing in art & craft, this is undoubtedly the most evolved adaptation till date.

The driving force in the film that really sets screen on fire, is the splendid chemistry between Ranveer & Deepika. When was the last time you actually noticed a Bollywood couple acting adult while making love on screen? When was the last time you could truly sense the gravity of passion between the two while enjoying a fervent kiss? And that too without having any pinch of hesitation or some kind of apprehension in the air! Ranveer rules as a typical hero material that can carry certain oomph to drive his entire female fan following crazy and also in chorus to the same, can make your heart bleed with an emotional flair in his piece of act. Deepika is nothing less than a live magic on screen. She mesmerizes you with her confident-poised look & vividly poignant portrayal of a character that is never a regular in Bollywood. Bravura performance! Supriya Pathak Kapoor as Ba is a treat to watch and the best among some interesting & competent names in the list of supporting cast i.e Richa Chaddha, Sharad Kelkar, Gulshan Devaiah (of Shaitan), Abhimanyu Singh & Jameel Khan (Gangs of Wasseypur fame).
                                                                                                                                
& how can we really not talk about the grandeur in art design, the vibrancy in costumes with joie de vivre & the superlative cinematography setting each and every frame equivalent to a painting on the wall! The teams responsible for these make sure you can’t let your eyes off the screen even for once but is it not obvious when we are for a SLB film? So, what are the things that can make you uncomfortable in a put-off situation?? Well, too much of dead predictable twists in the second half, confusing sub-plots to create melodramatic tension between the lovers, dragged duration of long 2 hours 35 min, a large amount of ‘not-needed’ gunfire acts are sure some of the demerits film holds to restrict itself from being called as a masterstroke from a class filmmaker!

My suggestion! Watch it on the big screen to make the celebration of grandness bigger & better and for the sparkling chemistry between Ranveer & Deepika! They alone will save your money & the day. [3.5/5]   

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