Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani review: Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt shine in a predictable, fun family film

Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani review: Let's agree to this once and for all. Karan Johar makes the best family dramas in Bollywood. At the onset, his latest film, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani may look like a love story but it is actually a story of two families from very diverse backgrounds coming together and adjusting to each other as their children fall in love. In his previous films, Johar talked about dysfunctional families, adultery, unrequited love and loving parents. All these films have had family dramas as the backdrop. His latest is an amalgamation of all these but unlike his previous films, Rocky AurRani also put in relevant messages on patriarchy, misogyny, sexism and much more in the nearly three-hour-long film.

The plot of Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani

Billed as a big-budget multi-starrer summer entertainer, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani is quintessentially Bollywood in every sense of the term. Amid all the showsha, dialogue baazi lies a story of two very different people falling for each other. The lead pair is as different as chalk and cheese. He is a loud Punjabi boy from a conservative business family in Delhi while she is a successful TV journalist from a liberal, creative and modern-thinking Bengali family. One would never expect the two to fall in love and yet they do. Rocky (Ranveer Singh) reaches out to Rani Chatterjee (Alia Bhatt) to help his grandfather (veteran actor Dharmendra) reconnect with his old flame, Rani's grandmother (Shabana Azmi). Rocky and Rani end up meeting regularly on the pretext of making their grandparents meet and fall in love.

Rocky falls first while Rani keeps calling it a fling as she can't fathom why would her heart yearn for a man who doesn't match her intellectual levels and doesn't know where West Bengal is located on the India map (he says in the West, obvio!). Yet, the heart does what the heart wants. The problem starts when they, after accepting their feelings for each other, realise that their families are very different and would never agree to their alliance. And so they decide to swap their homes. Rani goes to stay at the Randhawa Palace, where Dhanlakshmi Randhawa (Jaya Bachchan), Rocky's authoritative grandmother rules the household and Rocky goes to stay at the Chatterjee Villa where the gender roles are not so clearly defined. Rani's father (Tota Roychoudhury) is a dancer and mother (Churni Ganguly) is an English professor .

The writing

Johar's families and their homes are always larger than life. Rocky Aur Rani in that sense is no different but writers Ishita Moitra, Shashank Khaitan and Sudip Roy include conversations on mysogny, feminism, racism, body positivity and patriarchy within the two families. These make the film rather a hatke Johar film which is refreshing in every possible way. It helps that the dialogues, written by Moitra, are pretty on point and take ample jibes at both communities.

There is a lot of cultural appropriation in the film and both Punjabis and Bengalis are shown with a generic lens. But the director and writers call out both communities fairly, the Punjabis for their lack of awareness and the Bengalis for their unnecessarystiff upper lip. The dialogues land on most occasions, but there are the occasional slips. A scene on how women should be treated equally is done in the most bizarre way at a lingerie shop which seems so out of place. Then there is a scene where Rani takes the higher moral ground and in a very elaborate way makes the Randhawas understand the concept of gender equality.

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A decade ago, Shoojit Sircar's Vicky Donor had a similar premise- a Punjabi boy falling for a Bengali girl and their respective families taking their time to adjust to their cultural differences. The film's scenes were far more realisticand hence impactful. Rocky Aur Rani does not create the same impact because the premise may be similar but it has got Johar's opulence and unrealism written all over it.

The cast of Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani

Ranveer and Alia, the lead pair salvage a predictable script credibly. Alia looks stunning and plays the confidant, perfect Rani very well who is feisty and is the voice for those who need one. It is not a very complex role, especially for the incredibly talented Alia. She shines irrespective of the role, she owns Rani like it's an extension of herself.

Ranveer on the other hand sinks his teeth and flexes his muscles as Rocky Randhawa. Ranveer had made splashing debut years back as the Delhi boy in Band Baaja Baraat- he was so good that most thought he actually belonged to Delhi. Ranveer gets to play a richer version of his debut role in Rocky Aur Rani and owns his part. I feel Ranveer's role was more difficult to play on screen than ALia's but the actor, known for his versatality, nails it. Rocky is over the top in the beginning but has layers to his character where he wants to adapt to Rani's culture and unlearn a few things on the way just to be accepted by her family. Yet, he is also clear about his own culture and his roots. The buffonnery, the maturity to adapt and accept and some graceful Kathak movements make Rocky a lovable guy.

Because it’s a Karan Johar film, he gets stalwarts like Dharmendra, Shabana Azmi and Jaya Bachchan in supporting cast. Bachchan has collaborated with Johar in films like Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham and Kal Ho Naa Ho where she has played docile, submissive characters. In Rocky Aur Rani she is strikingly different and authoritative with shades of grey added. Bachchan soars in her role as an angry old woman- a tag that she has attained from media in real life as well.

It's refreshing to see Shabana Azmi and Dharmendra romancing each other. They even indulge in PDA on screen - a rarity for Hindi cinema, and their scenes have old classics playing in the background, which make the sequences extra special.

Amir Bashir, Kshitee Jog, Tota Roy Chowdhury, Churni Ganguly play the parents. All well-known faces and credible actors, they are cast perfectly and do justice to their roles. Watch out for the Durga Puja scene where Johar gives a hat tip to Sanjay Leela Bhansali's famous "Dola Re Dola" song from Devdas in his own style.

The length of the film

The film is tad too long. At two hours 48 minutes, it stretches on a bit too much with unnecessary scenes in the first half and a few melodramatic ones in the second half. It also is ultimately a very predictable story. The stereotypes, the way in which the story unfolds, and even the climax have a sense of familiarity. Some of the shots will remind you of Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham- Johar's other big budget, multi-starrer family drama.

Despite the predictability and its duration, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani is a wholesome family movie. It touches upon relevant topics but doesn't delve deeper and keeps entertainment as its primary focus. It's light, fun and just the kind of film that you would want to watch with your entire family. Go for it!