Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani: A Modern Indian Classic
or getting in the right mood for love the old fashioned way...
How many kinds of love exist in movies and how many can one discover? well no other time to explore than the month of love itself. Starting off to a strong start, here's my review of the 2023 indian movie, Rocky aur Rani ki prem kahani starting Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh.
Synopsis
The Randhawas are a loud and traditional Punjabi family, while the Chatterjees are a sophisticated and intellectual Bengali family. Rocky and Rani's love story begins when they try to reunite their respective grandparents, who had an affair in 1978. However, their contrasting backgrounds create a lot of friction, and they decide to switch households to understand each other better.
Long live Ranveer Singh because this man has brought me back to my Bollywood days with the same heat as SRK back in the day, and my transient period with Varun Dhawan. I could smell the greatness and the classic replay value of rocky aur Rani from the first monologue and the first dance number and I wasn't disappointed at all.
Thoughts on the movie
21st century living course 201 makes its stop by at Bollywood with this movie, especially with great ushers like Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh. The invocation of nostalgia is also strong with references i noticed from classics like Devdas, KKHH,Student of the Year,KKKG etc. Somehow all these references manage to blend together beautifully into not only a celebration of love but also of romance in indian cinema.
Rocky played by Ranveer Singh exudes that charming himbo aura that the actor delivers so well. Alia Bhatt’s Rani kept me glued with her sharp wits, soft heart and those stereotype defying gorgeous saree (every single one of which she slayed in).
Favourite character
This was so hard to pick because every character really did their part but Prof. Chatterjee with that scrumptious bob was everything.
Favourite thing about the movie
It has everything fans of classic Bollywood love: Yay monologues. Love me some classic monologues. 2. Humorous mesh of old and new 3. Refreshing take on the modern Indian woman 4. Dramatic love lines that do not skip any generation: from the oldies enticing each other with old love poems to the youngins catching feelings in a cliche situationship 5. Director Karan Johar’s trademark wedding and funeral scenes are still as beautiful as ever.
Most memorable moment/scene
- Dhindora Bajre Dance number.
Firstly, the male performance ode to Devdas alone makes this entire film for me. I was the target audience of whatever message or nostalgic induction that was supposed to evoke; which is why I will always see Karan Johar as the legend that he is.
The dance number that then follows is another beautiful ode to the love between the two leads and how it frees them both. It is an uncompromisingly vivacious scene that delivers a sharp antithesis to the constricting aspects of the scene and the film up to that point. This is very well highlighted as well by the choice of the bold, almost overwhelming, red costume and set design. The climax of the film comes right after this dance number as well as it does the job to heighten tensions and further deepen the uncomfortable energy of the people who didn't join in.
Overall thoughts on the movie
Imagine having a cherished memory of a your young self eating a heartful serving of all your favourites at a past family party and having a reenactment of that party as an adult with your favourites still being as good as you remember. This is Rocky aur Rani in a nutshell.
It was well packed with all the tropes and things Bollywood fans love about Indian cinema with a nice infusion of modern progressive elements. I couldn’t have chosen a better re-introduction to healthier, more refined tastes where Indian storytelling is concerned.