Plot Summary – Flamboyant Punjabi Rocky and intellectual Bengali journalist Rani fall in love despite their differences. After facing family opposition, they decide to live with each other’s families for three months before getting married.

Original Title – रॉकी और रानी की प्रेम कहानी

Original Language – Hindi

★★★★½ 

Watched 07 Aug 2023

They say your praise has to be as loud as your criticisms, and I’ve been largely critical of Bollywood as I felt that lately, the entire industry lacked the originality and creativity that the rest of Indian cinema was displaying. That is why I’m very happy to say that this film is actually pretty great. It is almost Oppenheimer length and actually manages not to drag and is pretty well-paced. The story is very conventional in structure but extremely unconventional in the twists and turns it takes. It is surprisingly progressive and forward-thinking and takes some zags that I was so impressed by.

This is largely thanks to the brilliant script written by Ishita Moitra and Shashank Khaitan. The script is not only very well-written with actually hilarious bits and genuine emotional weight but also transgressive in a lot of places. Yet, it doesn’t feel preachy or like it’s trying to push its agenda. The events are quite matter-of-fact. I think I felt a little bit of friction in the placement of the music. A lot of times characters will break into song, and I wasn’t too impressed with the music but that could be due to the language barrier and because my Hindi isn’t as strong as it could be. Karan Johar’s directing sensibilities come through here and the color palette of the film is really visually interesting, and for someone who set the template for the Bollywood rom-com since the 90s, he’s done a really good job of flipping almost every conventional trope on its head.

This would be impossible to execute if not for the brilliant performances across the board. Especially Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh in the lead roles. They have so much chemistry and completely transform into their roles. Dharmendra and Jaya Bachchan are also really great at portraying their roles and add a sense of edge and depth to the film. As to the accuracy of the representation of Bengalis and Punjabis, I really can’t weigh in on that, but I was really amused by both. I think they played into every Bengali stereotype other than fish eating, and it made the movie a delight for me. I think that this film is a progressive, forward-thinking, intelligent rom-com that takes classic tropes and pushes them into the 21st century. A huge W for Bollywood, I recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good rom-com in the cinema.