![]() ![]() I couldn’t stop considering a gender reversal there and imagine the reactions. What was the need to need to de-intellectualize Rocky so much? What factor in him appealed to a celebrity TV host like Rani? Lastly, to prove the point that it’s okay to speak to women about lingerie, the film takes Rocky to a store and even makes him wear a bra for no reason. The writing of the leading man especially is so odd that it’s impossible to believe that a rich, well-brought-up youngster like Rocky has no clue about the ways of the world apart from protein shakes and workout routines. The writing is so juvenile that at one point, the characters turn on the television and later start singing – all in the middle of a heated, life-altering argument. The film is anti-body shaming but I wish it had it also had a message about obesity and eating disorders. ![]() Through a kathak-loving male character, Johar schools us why it is okay for men to learn classical dance forms. The film says, “You go, girl” to every repressed female character. It’s as if Johar and his writers (Ishita Moitra, Shashank Khaitan, Sumit Roy) sat down with a list of social vices and plastered one each to a key player’s forehead. The second half of Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani turns into a massive check-box ticking exercise. If Rocky was so terrified of his parents that he never dared to dance in front of them, didn’t they ever object to his bizarre (and vulgar) sartorial sense? While I enjoyed the foundation of their romance, the grandfather getting up from the wheelchair to break into a sweeping song-and-dance routine is as dated as Dhanalakshmi Sweets’ advertising strategy which gets magically fixed when Rani intervenes. Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani is also about contradictions in writing. The humor oscillates between classic Karan Johar (the Stevia and Sugar Free reference made me chuckle) and plain cringe (the grandfather’s surname is Lund). If the decision was to give the film an edge of a queer or female gaze, it doesn’t work. Johar throws in copious footage of Singh’s bronzed cleavage even at places it wasn’t required. Putting the Saregama Carvaan product placement aside, the first two acts ride high on familiarity. The first half of Johar’s film is joyous – thanks to the filmmaker’s penchant for nostalgia and vintage music. Making it worse is the camaraderie between the veterans who make up for the lack of sizzle between Singh and Bhatt. For a film that looks down upon new-age love that is planned and manufactured, nothing convinces us of its central romance. The duo makes their respective grandparents meet, sing and dance to a bunch of vintage songs and, bam, they are in love. For someone who is an active advocate of women’s rights, the well-educated Rani surprisingly isn’t averse to Rocky’s demeanor which tiptoes on the tightrope of flirtation and violation. Yet, getting access to her desk isn’t a hard task – even for our rather shady-looking leading man and his similarly styled trainer-friend. From the looks of it, the woman is an emerging Barkha Dutt. For something that could have been an email, Rocky drops into Rani’s office. Rocky discovers the tale of his grandfather Kanwal’s (Dharmendra) lost love Jamini (Shabana Azmi), who happens to be Rani’s grandmother. Set in New Delhi, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani is about two diversely rich families. Unfortunately, the central love story does not work in the film that is named after its leads – Rocky (Ranveer Singh) and Rani (Alia Bhatt). ![]() While the film lacks Johar’s trademark NRI aesthetics, with oodles of mainstream formula pressed in, the film emerges as a passable entertainer. In the filmmaker’s 25 th year, he brings out a pleasant family drama titled Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani. ![]() Rather, it’s become a lot like, ‘It’s all about schooling your parents’. 22 years later, nothing much has changed. “It’s all about loving your parents,” read the tagline of Karan Johar’s Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. ![]()
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