I stumbled upon this blog post I had written two years back just after watching one of my most favorite movies of all time Tanu Weds Manu Returns. I never published it though. Now since I have started this new blog #WhimsAndQuirks, I would like to publish it today. My very first Movie Review. Please have a read.
I am writing a post after quite a while. But I had to do it. Yesterday I experienced one of the most beautiful cinematic experiences of my life. Yesterday I had my tryst with Tanu and Manu! And there was a Payal, a Jassi, a Raja Awasthi, a PappiJi all set to impress me each time they delivered a dialogue. And on top of that, I was introduced to this beautiful n endearing character – Kusum aka Datto! Before coming back to these fantastically sketched characters let me take you all back to 2011! Yes, this very year the first installment of this fun franchise released and enthralled me!
2011 was the year I had just entered my college! Most of my time went in surfing online about TV and films! One very fine day Taran Adarsh (I am not sure but it was most probably him), the film critic shared the poster of Tanu weds Manu on twitter! It was the same poster with Kangana in the green bridal attire sleeping on Madhavan on their wedding! The moment I saw the poster two things came to my mind
1)The lead couple is so unusually cast. I had never imagined Kangana and Madhavan as romantic leads for some reason back then.
2) What a lovely title (Band Baja Baraat had released a few months back and I loved that movie) and even lovelier Poster! So innovative and creative it was!
But not many good posters translate into a good movie. So I waited for the trailer. The trailer was even better and I was now eagerly awaiting the movie. And the moment I saw the movie I fell in love with each and every character in the film. That was the triumph of the movie. The plot was nothing extraordinary. It was a love triangle that we all as Bollywood lovers are quite familiar with. What made Tanu weds Manu special and outstanding were the characters, the dialogues, and the screenplay.
The movie started with the physical assault on the pure soul Manoj Sharma aka Manu. Manu is the noble, innocent and righteous person who has never hurt a single person even in his wildest dreams. On the other hand, Tanuja Trivedi is a wild dream personified. She is reckless, rude, and moody. She is everything that Manu is not. But still, Manu falls in love with her in their very first meeting and even kisses her in her unconscious state. Their wedding is fixed but Tanu refuses as she loves Raja Awasthi. The movie for me becomes, even more, fun when Payal and Jassi are introduced. Their wedding is the place where Tanu and Manu fall for each other.
I hear people and critics saying that the sequel is a notch above the first part but I disagree. The simple reason being that the sequel is totally dependent on the 1st part as it is a sequel in the truest form. The characters are what they are because of the 1st part. The dialogues are what they are because of the 1st part. So one can never say that the 1st part was inferior in comparison. Yes Tanu weds Manu returns is brilliant but Tanu weds Manu was equally magnificent.
Coming to the 2nd part, i.e., Tanu Weds Manu Returns, it starts where the 1st part ended, i.e., at Tanu and Manu’s wedding. The introduction sequence shot as a north Indian wedding cassette is brilliantly executed. The detailing is perfect. Anyone who has seen those Wedding Cassettes will identify with the sequence. I simply loved it. Without wasting any time Anand L. Rai takes us four years into the future where the much in love couple has fallen out of love so much so that they can’t stand each other. They are now seeking help from marriage counselors but things get worse when they meet one. This entire sequence is hilarious. The dialogues are damn funny. Kangana and Madhavan’s comic timing is just perfect. In this very scene, Madhavan is thought to be mentally unstable and is put into the mental asylum. Kangana doesn’t even try to stop the doctors and just leaves. Soon she feels bored and returns to India leaving Pappiji a message to help Madhavan. The fun ride begins once Tanu and Manu return to India.
Now coming to the performances, the lead pair is again so lovable. The best part is both Kangana and Madhavan have portrayed the characters being true to Tanu and Manu from the 1st part. They are the same Tanuja Trivedi and Manoj Sharma. Madhavan has shown his capability as an actor yet again. He is brilliant as Manu. People say that post-Queen Kangana will overshadow Madhavan in the movie but they can’t be more wrong. Yes, Kangana is fantastic but let us not forget that it is Madhavan’s character that the audience sympathizes with in the 1st part as well in the 2nd.Madhavan is the protagonist the audience feels for and to make that connect with the audience you need to be a really good actor. Coming to Kangana, once again she has proven that she is way better than most of her contemporaries. I guess only Vidya Balan is someone who if not better is equally good. Kangana is terrific as Tanu and fantastic as Datto. The scene where she walks after dancing on the road in someone’s Baaraat is terrific. The Haryanvi accent is also brilliant. She deserves all the awards this year too. Her comic timing is also impeccable. She plays two different characters that are so well played that you actually never realize they are played by the same actor. In the climax where Kangana’s Datto breaks down shows Kangana’s range as an actress! Bravo!
The supporting cast cannot get better. Jimmy Sheirgill is effortlessly cute and lovable as Raja Awasthi. He looks charming in every frame and at the end, you feel that Kusum should marry Raja Awasthi. The character has grown so much in these four years. Raja Awasthi has become so mature. Jimmy is so endearing that Raja Awasthi can have a spin-off of his own. (Raja weds Kusum may be).
Deepak Dobriyal as PappiJi is damn funny. His dialogues are brilliantly written and he executes them in an even better manner. He plays to the gallery each time he gets a dialogue. Same goes for Swara Bhaskar aka Payal and Eijaz Khan aka Jassi. Swara has limited scenes but is terrific as the guilt-ridden wife. Her comic timing is praiseworthy. Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub as Chintu and Rajesh Sharma as Datto’s brother deserve special mention. The rest of the cast is adequate and each one stands out.
The direction, the screenplay, the dialogues are all first-rate. Anand L. Rai and Himanshu Malhotra are a deadly combination and deserve all the success for their exemplary work.
The music blends well with the narrative and doesn’t seem forced. ‘Banno’, ‘Ghani Bawari’ and ‘Move On’ are my favorite tracks. Saroj Khan’s choreography for Ghani Bawari is brilliant and Kangana Ranaut dances like a dream. Her expressions particularly are terrific in the song.
All in all, Tanu weds Manu is a delight. I wish Anand L Rai comes up with the third installment ASAP.
Authored By – Abinash Gupta
Whims and Quirks 