We may not always see it, over-tinged as they are with gloss, privilege and a tendency towards flippancy, but in his films, Karan Johar has often, if not always, tried to say something about the man-woman relationship, within the larger framework of the family.
We have seen that in the form of the timeless pull of first love in his debut film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai or the question of what do you do if you find your soulmate when being married to someone else in Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. Even in his extremely problematic Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, the film-maker plunged into decoding platonic relationships through the painful and relatable prism of ‘ek tarfa pyaar’. He may not always be able to pull it off, but Karan, with the DNA of an out-and-out commercial film-maker, portrays, discusses and dissects the complexities and nuances of relationships on an accessible, entertaining canvas.
His latest, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahani, is perhaps his most rounded and effective effort in that direction. Karan brings in his trademark elements of drama, laughter, tears, romance, conflict and resolution and marries it to a format which imparts important life lessons by critiquing prevalent social ills like patriarchy, misogyny, gender bias, othering, body shaming, cancel culture, toxic masculinity and restrictive societal roles, but packages it all in a glossy exterior which, in true commercial Hindi cinema parlance, screams: ‘Entertainment, entertainment, entertainment.’
Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahani is a wholesome culmination of many of Karan’s previous films. There is forbidden love that compels one to step outside the boundaries of marriage as in KANK; the larger-than-life presence of the family, in this case, two extremely polar-opposite families, as in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham; and the tackling of social bias and lack of inclusivity as in My Name is Khan.
In fact, Two States, from Karan’s own banner Dharma Productions and the adaptation of Chetan Bhagat’s eponymous bestseller, walked so that Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahani could run. In that film, too, which you will see even in the trailer of Rocky... a young couple in love but hailing from ‘two states’ pull out all the stops to win over each others’ families. Their reasoning? “Rishte ki steering wheel bhalei apne haath mein ho, backseat driving family hi karti hain.”
And you root for this love story and for this couple that sparkles and sizzles from the get-go. Rocky Randhawa (Ranveer Singh in full Duracell mode, albeit, in a very good way) is the Punjabi scion of mithai giant Dhanlakshmi Group. Rocky is clad from top to toe in Louis Vuitton but can barely spell it. Driving around in a flashy red Ferrari, Rocky is a typical Delhi boy whose shirt buttons are divorced from their respective buttonholes, with his designer wear barely clinging to his lower torso, and his heavage in full oily display.
A college dropout, Rocky swigs protein shakes with abandon and dances his heart out at ‘Punjabi of the Year’ dos, but doesn’t have the guts to do so (for future CEOs don’t dance in public, is what the Randhawas believe) in front of his dad, very tellingly named Tijori (Aamir Bashir) and his overbearing grandmother (played by Jaya Bachchan), who upholds ‘parampara, pratishtha, anushasan’ above everything else, just without the Bachchan baritone. Women in the Randhawa household, save for the matriarch Dhanlakshmi, have no say or agency, and equally helpless is Rocky’s wheelchair-ridden granddad (played by Dharmendra).
It is, however, a turn of the page — quite literally — in granddad Randhawa’s life that not only brings back a sweet, unfulfilled love story from the past but also segues into a new romance. Sparks fly as soon as Rocky sets his eyes on the spunky Rani Chatterjee (Alia Bhatt), a Bongshell (couldn’t resist that one) who is an aberration in today’s times — she works at a news channel but doesn’t scream her lungs out. Rani’s kohl-lined eyes do all the talking — let’s just ignore the rap: “Rani, Rani, aami ki boli aami jaani” that plays out every time she walks the talk. And Rocky falls hard.
These are two extremely different people with different family backgrounds. The Chatterjees, comprising Rani’s Thakuma (Shabana Azmi) and parents (Tota Roy Choudhury and Churni Ganguly), host ‘culture clubs’ and dine with wine every evening, are inclusive and treat women with respect and dignity. Rocky and Rani fall in love after a series of initial hiccups — Columbia grad Rani, whose former boyfriends include doctors and engineers and one even researching a cure for cancer, resists the charms of the rakish Rocky at first, but falls for him because despite being a “dumchalla” and “chep” (her words, not ours), “uska dil saaf hain”. But that’s the first of many hurdles crossed for the couple who now have to not only win over the others’ family, but also set more than a few things right in the process.
It is this DDLJ-meets-Two-States-meets Vicky Donor turn in the plot that gives Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahani its humour, heft and heart. We witness a series of laugh-out-loud incidents — mostly involving Rocky and his tryst with the Chatterjees. It is the Chatterjees through which Johar seeks to drive in the messages in his film, if not in a very nuanced manner. Rocky’s lingerie shopping run with mommy Chatterjee results in a scene where his embarrassment is called out for something which is so natural to women.
One of the best scenes of the film involves a subversion of Devdas’ Dola re dola where Rocky and Papa Chatterjee dance their hearts out in a gender-fluid Kathak act against the majestic backdrop of Durga Puja celebrations. It is a sequence, one of the most rousing depictions of masculinity in Hindi cinema, which is as impactful as it is entertaining. Rocky’s years of conditioning start taking a backseat, even as Rani eggs on the women of the Randhawa household — Rocky’s mom (Kshitee Jog) and sister (Anjali Anand) — to find their own voice, one more literally than the other.
In true Karan Johar tradition, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahani makes a tonal shift to melodrama, especially in its penultimate moments, which robs the film of some of its woke clarity, but still keeps it engaging. Also, the film is 20 minutes too long and needed some snipping, especially towards the middle when things get a little ho-hum. But the inflated runtime in no way can be blamed on Pritam’s mellifluous score, which doesn’t just function by itself. It plays out alongside some of the most evocative retro gems of Hindi film music — from Yeh shaam mastani to Aaj mausam bada beimaan hain, which Johar and the film’s writers Ishita Moitra, Shashank Khaitan and Sumit Roy, use as a narrative technique to take the story forward. It’s a beautiful plot device and one which will surely bring a smile to your lips. Pritam complements it by fashioning his own score in a similar retro vein, his What jhumka? proving to be a semi-companion piece to the iconic Jhumka gira re from Mera Saaya.
Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahani has enough moments to make you break into a loud guffaw or bring on a lump in your throat and while that comes largely from the writing, it is the spot-on performances that lift the film by several notches. Both Ranveer and Alia are in supreme form, playing off each other and also holding their own. Their chemistry is sizzling yet has a comfortable familiarity to it. Both Tota and Churni are superlative, handling some of the best lines and trickiest scenes with ease and excelling in both the light and intense moments. The “hunar ka koi gender nahi hota” exchange between Ranveer and Tota is one of the most tender moments in the film, while Churni has impeccable comic timing.
While there is a genuine effort from Alia to speak Bangla, it does come off as stilted at times, but no complaints against Shabana Azmi’s command over the language. Azmi is a radiant presence in the film and her rendition of Aami chini go chini tomare is sublime (Ranveer also pitches in with a sweet and sincere recital of Ekla cholo re).
Jaya Bachchan, however, is given short shrift, barely being able to shake off her one-note body language. Her expressions are already fodder for meme fests galore on the Internet and in the film, the veteran actor has a perpetual frown, which makes you believe she’s just spotted paparazzo Viral Bhayani around the corner.
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