Raanjhnaa: - A movie that will truly touch your heart

The heart of this story, a witty little kid Kundan is the son of a Tamil priest living in Varanasi. It was love at first sight when he saw the angelic little Muslim girl Zoya, the daughter of a professor. The love grows as the little boy turns into the Banarasi Babu Kundan (Dhanush). The teenage school love never seemed so endearing as it does portrayed by Kundan. One fateful day, under the influence of the movie Saajan, Kundan gathers some bro-couragement from his friend Murari (Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub) to approach Zoya (Sonam Kapoor) and then gets slapped. 15 times. She finally caves in to meet him as his "consistency" impressed her. As she falls for him, the family of the girl finds out and sends her off to Aligarh. Kundan is shocked and promises Zoya that he will wait for her. 8 years pass. Zoya gets into JNU and life changes for her. Kundan is still the same small town boy still waiting for his childhood love despite of the advances of his childhood friend Bindiya (Swara Bhaskar). Bindiya is madly in love with Kundan and has an eternal hope of marrying him. When Zoya returns back to Varanasi, Kundan gets the rude shock that Zoya is in love with a student leader Akram (Abhay Deol). Kundan swears to get over Zoya and get married to Bindiya on the same day as Akram marries her. Then, with a dramatic twist, life changes for everybody and the love turns deplorable. 

The story is very fresh and yet has an old world charm to it. A realistic love story after ages, if I may say. The film is written by Himanshu Sharma, the writer of Tanu Weds Manu, another simple and warm film. This film is much evolved than Tanu Weds Manu, both directed by Anand L. Rai. The film touches your heart in every way possible. It has some gem of dialogues that will have claps from the front seats to the last ones. Very difficult to achieve. The music isn't again thrown in but blends with the movie. A. R. Rahman has fused in soulful tracks with Banarasi flavor in it. The film is slightly sluggish towards the end but makes up to the viewers with some intense performances. Sonam Kapoor looks ethereal and gives one of her best performances till date. I guess no other contemporary of her could have managed to give such an intense yet effortless performance. I am personally a critic turned fan now. Dhanush shines through the movie. His comic timing, intensity and sheer effortlessness with an endearing South Indian accent is the highlight of this film. I wouldn't say he has an amazing depth but he has a lot conviction in what he doesn. Abhay Deol with very little to do still manages to carve a niche as he always does. The supporting cast also has done a wonderful job. 

Move over cotton candy romance. This film is made from the heart and pierces right through the viewer's. I eat my words and not ashamed of it, this movie is a must watch.

Rating: - 3.5/5 

Chapter 3: - The First Lie

Back to Chapter 2: - The Long Red Bindi     


       The fort game was the one thing Piya looked forward too. That was Geeta's quality time with Piya. Piya that day had carefully arranged her toys, tied up dupattas and kept her tiny utensils in place. She was waiting for Geeta. The only difference was that Piya had a guilty conscience that day. Piya knew she did something wrong. Piya knew she might get punished that day. Piya was grew anxious. It was something she did. She did repeatedly. She had lied. For the very first time. It all started a few days ago.

        It was an accepted fact that Piya hated school. The reason however was not known. She was good in studies and was promoted to the first grade by skipping the senior year kindergarten. She was the only student in her class who could read newspaper headings and sub-headings. Teachers pampered her. Her classmates loved her. Still, Piya would every day cry for the first couple of hours when Geeta left her in the school. Geeta would stand outside her classroom to make sure Piya was okay. Geeta would get late for work every day by at least 3 hours. The teachers explained to Geeta that her waiting outside the classroom would spoil Piya even more. Geeta was asked not to leave Piya to school everyday to ensure the separation was easier. So, Geeta arranged an auto for Piya that would pick and drop her to school along with a couple of more kids from the same locality. Piya was terribly upset for a week or so but due to the lack of familiarity with the auto driver, she threw no tantrums for school. Everyone in the family was relieved that Piya was disciplined to some extent.

      Like everyday, Piya was waiting for her auto to come and pick her up. Teary eyed, she looked back at the window where Amma stood to wave goodbye to her. Amma very well understood that Piya had no intentions of going to school and there was no way she is going to fall for her puppy face. The auto arrived at 12.15 pm to pick up little sad Piya. Piya waved goodbye to Amma and sat inside the auto on her favorite corner seat. There was something cooking in Piya's mind that day. There is no way I will attend school today. Piya had a plan. A plan that was going to get her into trouble.

          As the auto arrived at the school gate, all the kids in the auto gathered their school bags, water bottles and got out of the auto except, well Piya. Piya refused to budge. The auto driver asked her to get down and go inside the school premises. Piya refused. The auto driver was startled as he had no clue that a child over 5 years could be so adamant. He decided to ask the Sports Instructor of the school to help him out. Every child in the school was petrified of Jadhav Sir except for little Piya. Not that she was a brave heart, it was a sheer example of how ignorance could be a bliss. Jadhav Sir intervened and asked Piya to step out of the auto. He even blew his whistle to scare her. Piya looked away and said No. Jadhav sir gently held Piya's hand and tried to yank her out of the auto. Little Piya caught hold of the seat in the auto and refused to budge. Jadhav Sir was left with no choice but to scoop Piya in his arms and carry her inside the school premises. He did exactly the same and asked the auto driver to leave. He let Piya down and told her to straight go and sit in the classroom. Piya was fuming. Tears trickled down her chubby cheeks. Tears of shame and disappointment they were. That was a one of a kind incident in that school. At least one of a kind for a child as old as Piya. Jadhav Sir was surprisingly amused and decided not to report the incident to Piya's mom. Piya still had a chance.

        Next day, Piya silently got ready for school. She didn't threw any tantrums to skip school. Amma was a little surprised with Piya's improvement. Something is wrong for sure, she thought. Piya got dressed, had her favorite lunch and left home smiling at Amma. She went downstairs and stood waiting for her auto. She  hopped playfully and had a mischievous grin. The auto arrived and Piya sat inside. She started mentally rehearsing her new plan of action. This will definitely work. Piya smiled. The auto arrived at the gate and Piya started coughing. She told the auto driver she was extremely unwell and asked him to take her back. The auto driver had no choice but to take Piya back home. On the way back home, Piya felt an air of freedom. The same journey that used to make her sad seemed so blissful then. She was continuously wheezing and coughing to ensure that the auto driver didn't suspect her.

      Once Piya reached her door step, she had a complete monologue prepared. The moment Amma opened the door, Piya began her performance. Evading eye contact, Piya chirped "Amma, see no, the school has holiday today. They didn't write in the calender also. I had to go and come back. I will tell teacher tomorrow, this is not correct." "Very bad, alle Amma?"  Amma was puzzled. She didn't know whether to believe Piya or not. In spite of being suspicious, Amma bought the huge cooked up story served by Piya. Not that Amma was gullible, she trusted Piya a lot. Everyone in the family did. They knew very well that Piya can never lie even if she wanted too. She was a terrible lair. So, Amma told Piya to change into her PJs and go to sleep. Those words sounded like honey to Piya. Yayyyyyyyyyyy!!!!! She gave herself a mental high five and went inside her room to change. Piya was careful and didn't let her gleeful squeak out. She didn't want Amma to suspect her. After all this was one plan that worked. Piya decided she is going to do this every time she didn't feel like going to school. The only issue was that she did this for the consecutive two days.

        On the third day of Piya's "No School Day", Amma grew suspicious. She called up Geeta and asked her to give Piya's class teacher a call. Geeta did. Geeta didn't like what she heard. Piya has started lying. This was the first time Geeta was furious over Piya. Geeta had a terrible temper. Everyone in the family had been a victim to it. Her brothers were scared for Piya. They stood guarded for little Piya that evening as they knew Geeta has no control over her temper. Geeta at her work place was growing impatient. She decided to go home early that day. Piya has had it now. But how am I going to punish her? Geeta decided to be strong. I have to discipline her. She was fuming with rage. She could be waiting for me to play the fort game. No. I have to be strong. 

What was going to happen next? It will be revealed in the next chapter. :)

Chapter 2: - The Long Red Bindi

Back to Chapter 1:-The Endearing Dilemma

Sleep and sadness took over Piya’s eyes. She didn’t want to say goodbye to Geeta. She held back her tears in her big almond shaped eyes and bid adieu to Geeta. It was late and time for Piya to sleep. Though Piya had a penchant for movies, she was not allowed to stay up late since Amma wanted her early to bed and early to rise. There was a Hindi movie going on television that night, a rare sight in the typical South Indian household. Piya made her puppy face and asked “Amma, Salman picture”. "Illya" (No) said Amma sternly. That was curtains down for Piya. Piya was a very different child who never sought answers, argued or even asked anything for the second time, no matter how badly she wanted it. A rare combination of understanding and ego stood out in her personality. She was a surprisingly matured person for her age. So, little Piya dressed in her favourite white PJs with hair plaited neatly crawled on the bed next to Amma and held her hand. Piya couldn’t fall asleep without holding Amma’s hand. After a long hard day at work Amma’s arms again, had no rest. The television was switched off after the daily dose of news and lights went off after the daily dose of funny anecdotes from Milind. Piya hasn’t fallen asleep. The room was silent. Piya slowly freed herself from Amma’s protective hand around her and looked out of the window over to the dimly lit road. It was silent and serene. She could hear the leaves swaying with regular gushes of wind. It was a slightly cold and breezy weather. Something caught Piya’s attention. The building right in front of her had a home where people are awake and watching, oh yes! Salman Picture. Piya was overjoyed and though she could barely decipher what was going on in the movie, she made sure she still looked attentively over without squeaking. After about 10-15 minutes, the obvious happened, Piya got bored. She then came back to bed and started thinking, her favourite past time. She was wondering what Geeta could be doing at this time. Would Geeta had let me watch Salman picture? Maybe yes.

Geeta was in her late 20s, ambitious, charming, funny, head strong and deeply devoted to her parents. Geeta was Piya’s mother. So who was Amma then? Amma was Geeta’s mother, Piya’s Grandmother, Saraswati. The only person in the world Geeta could trust who could take care of her little bundle of joy, Piya. Piya was oblivious of the situation her parents were going through. They wanted to make sure their careers didn’t hamper Piya’s childhood in any way. So Piya became Amma and Acha, Geeta’s Father Ravi’s 4^th child. The most pampered and most loved of all. With Geeta being an ultimate prankster and a tomboy all through her life, having little angelic Piya was a welcome gift from life for Amma. She always wanted Piya to be very different from Geeta. And how she succeeded in the feat is a different story altogether.

Back in her apartment, Geeta was flipping channels and looking for something interesting to watch. She comes across a Salman Khan movie and clapped with excitement. He was Geeta’s favourite. She misses Piya. No I am not going to watch any movie without my Piya. Geeta switches off the television with a heavy heart and picks up the newspaper. Not one, not two but four different newspapers. Not that they carried different stories or events across the city, but Geeta’s love for reading knew no bounds. Once she finished reading her newspaper, she picked up her bible, The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, and curled up in her bed.  She reads, reads and reads. She read till her eyes were heavy with sleep. She can’t help but miss little Piya by her side. She wished Piya was there to chirp endlessly, which Piya did every waking minute of her life. Avoiding thinking about Piya, Geeta went to sleep.

Geeta was a disciplined early riser. It didn’t really matter what time she went to bed, she would religiously be up by 6 in the morning. And the couple of early morning hours were very precious to Geeta. She called it her thinking time. With a sweet and strong cup of piping hot tea, Geeta was standing in her veranda, gazing at birds chirping, clouds moving, trees swaying and oh, I am late for work. Geeta was perennially late, fashionably though. She took a quick shower, skipped breakfast like every day and packed her handbag with the newspapers and books. Kohl lined eyes and a big long red bindi were indispensible part of Geeta’s personality, she looked every inch an Indian dusky beauty. Geeta rushed out of the building and called out for an auto to reach the station making sure she didn’t share the ride with anyone. On the way she gets about 5-6 calls which enquired what time she would be reaching office. Geeta cleverly dodged her excuses for being late and kept saying that she will be there soon. Geeta finally reached station and stood waiting for her train to arrive. She had a definite spot where she stood every day since she knew that is one way to ensure she rushes in the First class compartment first and grabs her window seat. She accomplished this feat every day! In Mumbai! She stood near a snacks stall and an elderly feeble woman approached her. Geeta was appalled at the sight of an elderly lady begging for a living. Instead of giving money, Geeta took the old woman to the stall and asked her to eat something. She paid the stall guy and made sure the old lady got a cup of tea and pack of biscuits. Geeta held back her tears and went back to her spot when the train was just about to arrive. The train arrived and whoosh, with one swift movement, Geeta was in the train. She sat comfortably in her favourite window seat with a smile of accomplishment and embarked the journey to work. Looking out of the window was a familial hobby. Geeta saw trees, huge buildings; slums, offices and people pass by when the trained speedily moved through Central Suburban Lines of Mumbai.

Geeta reached office and gave a warm smile to everyone. Her pearly sparkling smile with an unbeatable charm made people forget that she was almost an hour late for work. Everyone at work loved Geeta’s sense of humour and her dynamic personality. Always the leader of the pack, Geeta had a history of quarrelling crazy with her seniors and yet getting away by making her point clear and heard. Geeta worked dedicatedly without really caring about the number of hours she was actually supposed to put in. She over committed and over delivered. Adored by her colleagues and revered by the juniors, Geeta was a born star.

As the evening approached, Geeta was wondering if she could get home early and spend some time with Piya. She wanted to surprise Piya by playing her favourite game, The Fort game. This game was nothing but building a fort of curtains and putting all of Piya’s toys in one place and letting her play on her own. Maybe I can get home early today. Wonder what Piya must be doing. Geeta was sitting in her cabin looking at Piya's picture in her purse.

:)

Next Chapter 3: - The First Lie