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]   

ISSAQ: Leave this unintentionally funny love-story of epic fail alone! [1.5/5]

When, in the very first half, people of all ages sitting around you in a multiplex auditorium start giggling, chattering, commenting, questioning and mocking on the relativity of the film & the sensibility of the filmmaker, one must learn that there is something that has gone wrong while trying to create something impressive.

Manish Tiwary’s ISSAQ- a modern day adaptation of Shakespearean love-story Romeo & Juliet, is one such shameful effort that scrawls and struggles to be ambitiously epic romantic thriller set in Banaras. But thanks to the brigade of most horrible performers in the cast, tacky screenplay and the immature-uncontrolled-abandoned direction that submerges all the potentials and promises to make it an unintentionally funny outing for cinema-lovers.

First of all, the Banaras shown here is not the likeable-lovable-pleasingly colourful Banaras of ‘Raanjhanaa’ but more of a bloody violent-fiercely infuriated & uncivilized rustic one that breathes into an air filled with the smell of gunpowder & explosives of all kind. Rahul & Bachchi [played by Prateik & Amyra] falls in love despite all the warnings to stay away from each other as they belong to families of blood-thirsty rivals. And, they only look at it as just another reason to keep the war alive to establish one’s supremacy.

Unexpectedly ISSAQ has some of the best talents in its ensemble supporting cast like Prashant Narayanan as menacing naxal leader, Neena Gupta as the old confidante & caretaker, Rajeshwari Sachdev as manipulative young wife to Sudhir Pandey- another respected name and Makrand Deshpande as witty babaji with chillum…but for one or another reasons, they all look wasted and quite out of the place in their acting skills probably because of the bumpy- patchy messy plot-subplot labyrinth. Pratiek needs serious lessons in acting including voice modulations. Amyra impresses especially in a scene where she had to recite excerpts from Jayshankar Prasad’s Kamayani in the classroom. Ravi Kishan knows his limits and decides better not to break them. Vineet Singh sure had a longer canvas to milk his potential but not the better one.

In a scene when Makrand sees his devotees getting bored and feeling drowsy over his divine gyaan, he immediately switches to perform a miraculous gimmick to keep them attentive. Unfortunately, Manish Tiwari didn’t have even such gimmicks to make viewers indulged and devoted to the film.  Language being too colloquial-too slangish, editing being weirdly abrupt at places and the uncleaned visual effects are just a few put-offs to name. Only positives are the cinematography and detailing in the art & setting department. You can look out for the real Banaras but only in corners of the frame and in the backdrop, mostly out of focus!

All in all, this mocking love-story that doesn't even spare itself to laugh at, is nothing but a complete waste of nearly 2 & half hours and your hard earned money! Leave it alone…and better look out for other options of entertainment, this weekend! [1.5/5]