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Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani Movie Review: We all need a Karan Johar fix from time to time, just like we need a Rohit Shetty film or a Sanjay Leela Bhansali extravaganza. That's what defines being a Hindi cinephile these days. It doesn't matter whether you like the film or not, their movies help in maintaining the essence of what Hindi cinema used to mean for the mainstream audience. And to be fair, I would prefer the OTT opulence of a Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani over the vile nature of certain 'Files' and 'Story' any day. It's just that Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani might be Karan Johar at his most grandiose, but it is not one of his most assured. Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani Review: Early Reactions to Alia Bhatt-Ranveer Singh's Family Entertainer Are Positive!
As the title suggests, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani is about the love story of Rocky (Ranveer Singh) and Rani (Alia Bhatt). Rocky comes from the Punjabi, ultra-wealthy Randhawa family who own a white palatial mansion right in the heart of Delhi, because that's how the ultra-rich roll in a KJo universe- just check with the Raichands. Rocky's family earns its big bucks from their sweet-making business, headed by his traditionalist grandmother Dhanlakshmi (Jaya Bachchan) who keeps her son Tijori (Aamir Bashir), daughter-in-law Poonam (Kshitee Jog), grandson Rocky and granddaughter Gayatri (Anjali Anand) under her thumb. Her husband Kanwal (Dharmendra) is incapacitated after an accident and suffers from memory lapses. Rocky loves ostentation and is quite unashamed about displaying his body. If you want to learn about the "female gaze" in cinema, check out how the camera is in love with Ranveer's body here.
On the other end of the spectrum is Rani and her Chatterjee family. They might not be as wealthy as the Randhawas, but they live in a haveli of their own. The middle class doesn't exist in a KJo universe, and he is quite unapologetic about it. The Chatterjee's might not be ultra-rich, but they consider themselves intellectually rich and more modernist in their outlook. Rani's father Chandon (Tota Roy Chowdhury) is a Kathak dancer, her mother Anjali (Churni Ganguly) speaks in sophisticated English that not many can understand, and her grandmother Jamini (Shabana Azmi) has one quality: she is genial. Rani is a forward-thinking, popular news anchor who has no qualms in taking down politicians who shame women. I guess IT raids also don't exist in this universe.
Despite belonging to two very different worlds, Rocky and Rani are attracted to each other while trying to reunite two former lovers in their own families. The attraction turns into a passionate romance that leads to a proposal of marriage. However, since Karan Johar's films are all about "Loving Your Families," the couple realises that in order to be together in marriage, they need to make their families fall in love with them, which is no easy task.
Watch the Trailer of RARKPK here:
Say what you will about the filmmaker, Karan Johar definitely knows how to make a film that is visually appealing. Every frame feels rich, whether it is filled with people or props or colours, and he gets amazing support from DOP Manush Nandan to make them look stunning. There are also perfunctory cameos and lovely locales. One thing I will admit that Karan Johar surprised me nicely with is that he manages to create a crackling chemistry between Ranveer and Alia, which I didn't see in their last film together, Gully Boy (one of that film's rare flaws), or even in the trailers for RARKPK. Ranveer and Alia look really good together, which is an essential ingredient for their 2 States-inspired love story.
But more than just making them look good together, Karan Johar also allows them to impress as performers. There are long (okay, acceptably long) tracking shots where the actors get to show off their histrionics and make ordinary, dialogue-heavy scenes engaging, such as when Rani gets her family-switcheroo idea while walking and talking with Rocky. Alia and Ranveer are talented actors, and they easily win hearts with their performances here; Alia with her graceful and composed demeanor that occasionally turns to anguished outbursts, and Ranveer is exemplary when it comes to owning the screen with his exuberance and also in his vulnerability. Among the veterans, Shabana Azmi shines, although her character doesn't develop beyond the sweetness of the writing. Dharmendra is okay- his age now catching up with his body language, although he is likely to get whistles in a scene where he starts singing "Abhi Na Jaaon Chodke" to a certain character. Jaya Bachchan does justice to the role of the strict matriarch, but the role doesn't do justice to her. More on this later.
Even the supporting actors, such as Tota Roy Chowdhury, Kshitee Jog, Churni Ganguly, Aamir Bashir, and Anjali Anand, have opportunities to impress us with their fine performances.
So where does the Prem Kahaani stumble? In many reviews of Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, you will keep hearing the term "gender-defying." Interestingly, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani comes a week after Barbie, which actually gave this term much larger fame worldwide. Basically, both films question the traditional approach of a society while smashing the patriarchy that comes along with it. However, Barbie occasionally stumbles with its verbose approach when doing so, and Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani does even more stumbling. Ranveer Singh Serves Eclectic Fashion Vibes in a Classic White Suit, ‘Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani’ Actor Shares Pics on Insta.
First of all, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani not only feels like a mash-up of some of Karan Johar's earlier hits, it even feels like an updated version of Hrishikesh Mukherjee's classic Khubsoorat, starring Rekha and Rakesh Roshan (which itself was remade as Sonam Kapoor and Fawad Khan's film by the same name, but with a different spelling). There may be a (stereotypical) clash of cultures and clichés when the couple switch families, but more focus is given to how Rani tries to amend the flaws of the Randhawa's, like Manju does in the 1980 film. When Manju made her sister's sister-in-law embrace her dancing skills there, here Rani makes her future mother-in-law return to her singing roots. But Rani has a harder task at hand here, as she not only has to smash the disciplinarian nature of her in-laws, but also exorcise toxic masculinity (even in Rocky), the male gaze, traditionalism, fat-shaming, flawed parenting and much more. It's like the catchphrase used in the film, "soch nayi, swad vahi" (new thinking, same taste).
The thing is, Karan Johar often takes a heavy-handed approach in doing so, which is equivalent to shaking someone's shoulders very hard to make them see your point. For example, a stern lecture from Rani was enough for the suppressed women in the Randhawa family to see the light. Sometimes, the messaging feels forced. For example, when Anjali takes Rocky lingerie shopping, which after trying to seek humor by putting a bra on Rocky, turns into a lecture on why men should feel awkward around lingerie.
And sometimes, a good scene is ruined by another scene of sermonising. I was moved when Rani's father talks about taking up a profession that is not seen as "masculine" by the narrow-minded after a humiliating experience caused by Rocky's family. Tota Roy Chowdhury is fabulous here. But that scene feels shortchanged when Rocky immediately goes on a rant about cancel culture and wokeism that felt very out of place, even if a couple of points he raises, such as intellectual elitism, made sense. It felt like the director's voice coming through him, but the opportunity to do so was misplaced. The preaching gets a bit too much.
However, the biggest victim of the film's traditionalism-bashing is Dhanlakshmi. Jaya Bachchan gets to do what Amitabh Bachchan did in K3G - even getting to say his line "Keh diya... bas keh diya..." - but she doesn't get to have his swag or his redemption. As the prelude to her story shows, Dhanlakshmi is herself a victim of traditionalism and patriarchy, but that exploration of how she is the way she is, is ignored in order to give more prominence to what she turned her son into. She is simply turned into a punching bag here.
Still, for all its faults, I am glad that Karan Johar used his film as a platform to challenge gender norms while speaking to the audience. This is particularly notable in the "Dola Re Dola" performance in the Durga Puja sequence near the climax (I wish the pre-release promotions hadn't had to ruin this enjoyable twist). There were applause in my cinema (I had avoided the press show and gone to the regular one) and most of them were from men.
Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani also feels overdrawn and overlong, particularly the dialogue-heavy third act, and the first half, while it has its moments of light-hearted sparkle, meanders after a point. The film uses old songs to endear itself to the audience, which after a point becomes annoying, although there are two scenes where the usage stands out. One is the aforementioned "Dola Re Dola" scene, the other is where Rocky's mother finally finds her voice after being silenced by her husband and saas. Although the presence of these wonderful nostalgic ditties also impresses upon the fact that Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani's own soundtrack is merely passable, save for the "Tum Kya Mile" song.
Final Thoughts
Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani impresses in parts thanks to Karan Johar's dependable direction, a larger-than-life approach (that feels a rarity in these times) and fantastic performances from the cast, led by Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh. It is also a film where the the director uses his film as a platform to question traditionalism and elitism, but while that approach is laudable, the movie also stumbles big time when doing so often with its superficial writing, preachy nature and stretched runtime.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 28, 2023 03:34 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
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