Bhangra Paa Le Movie Review: Sunny Kaushal and Rukshar Dhillon's Dance Film Puts Up A Passable Performance

Bhangra Paa Le Movie Review: Jaggi (Sunny Kaushal), an excellent Bhangra dancer, is desperate to go to the World Bhangra competition in London, along with his Khalsa College team. But there is a cute roadblock in his way in the form of Simi (Rukshar Dhillon) from the rival GNDU (snicker, snicker) college. While sparks fly between the two, the competitiveness keeps them apart. After Simi's team qualifies to go for London, beating Jaggi's, the latter is left licking his wounds and finding other ways to enter the competition and beat Simi in the process. Raanjhan Song from Bhangra Paa Le: Sunny Kausha's Amazing Bhangra Moves Clubbed With Old-School Romance Makes This Track Magical (Watch Video).

Bhangra Paa Le, taking its title from a popular song from Karan Arjun, is just like its name - unoriginal and inspired. The basic plot is something we have seen in quite a few movies, and is also to be seen in the upcoming Street Dancer 3D. There is also a very Love Aaj Kal-like parallel story of Jaggi's grandfather Kaptaan (Sunny Singh), who in his younger days, impressed both the British generals in his army and the village belle Nimmo (Shriya Pilgaonkar) with his Bhangra moves and drum beats. In the second half, the movie also takes a page out of Madhuri Dixit's Aaja Nachle, as Jaggi goes recruiting his new team.

Rehashed plotlines aren't really the problem with Bhangra Paa Le. It is how the movie goes through the motions without any of the energy we see in Sunny and Rukshar's dance moves. This is a movie where a British officer plays a drum to lift the spirits of an Indian soldier. So expected a bit more zaniness in the script. Instead, Bhangra Paa Le moves in a very predictable cliched manner that offers little surprises. At least, the first half that focussed on Jaggi and Simmi's budding intimacy has its moments. Even their first face-off for the qualifiers had some modicum of interest.

However, the second half suffers from plain writing. The ease with which Jaggi manages to get a new team and also the funds to go to London has 'laziness' written all over it. The final dance-off too disappoints, as the film tilts the balance too much to one side in its attempt to get a happy ending. The Love Aaj Kal-inspired mashup of timelines doesn't hold strongly, even though both the stories have their moments.

Also wondering why the need to set a dance competition on Bhangra in London, and not in India, where it originates. Maybe it is to draw parallels to Kaptaan's story where he is a part of the British-led Indian army. Or is it a satirical take on how Punjabis are taking over the Queen's own land? I would have guessed the latter if the writing wasn't so ordinary. ‘Bhangra Paa Le’ Stars Sunny Kaushal, Rukshar Dhillon Get Arrested Outside Salman and Shah Rukh’s Houses for This Reason. 

Watch The Trailer of Bhangra Paa Le:

What makes Bhangra Paa Le somewhat appealing are the energetic dance choreography, the production values, the earnestness of the cast and the cinematography. The music relies on remixes of two popular '90s songs to sail it through.

The Performances

Sunny Kaushal, the younger brother of Vicky Kaushal, has made a confident impression last year with Gold. Speaking of Bhangra Paa Le, he is very decent in his third feature film and impresses in the dance sequences. But there is a bit stiffness in the emotional scenes, especially during closeups. The pretty Rukshar Dhillon in her debut is very impressive. Shriya Pilgaonkar is good in the flashback portions.

Yay!

- The Lead's Chemistry

- Some Stray Good Moments Here and There

- The Production Values Are Decent

- Dance Choreography

Nay!

- Unoriginal, Unenergetic Narrative

- Misses Good Original Songs

- Predictable Storytelling

Final Thoughts

Bhangra Paa Le could pass off as a decent entertainer, but lacks the energy to make us sway to the Bhangra beats. More than often, it comes across as a Punjabi film packaged as a Bollywood one.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 03, 2020 10:44 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).