Film Review: Goliyon Ki Raasleela: RAM-LEELA

Ranveer-Deepika scorch the screen!

Venkat was not keen to see the film as we are never sure what to expect from Sanjay Leela Bhansali. But Vinny and I were quite impressed by the promos and decided to go. We went for the mid-morning show at PVR in Phoenix Market City on Sunday. The theatre was packed as the film has had consistently good reviews.

THE STORY

The film is loosely based on Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet. It’s set in Gujarat and is all about the enmity between The Rajadis and Sanedas. Ram (Ranveer Singh) is the younger son of the Rajadi house and wishes for peace. It’s love at first sight for him and Leela Saneda (Deepika Padukone), the laadli of the Saneda female head (Supriya Pathak Kapur). Leela’s wedding is fixed with an NRI from London. Only the lady chooses to run away with her lover. Things don’t work out and the two return to their respective families. Anger and battles are interspersed with goliyon ki baarish and people die on both sides. Will their love survive?

MY PERCEPTION

As I mentioned, the story is loosely based on Romeo Juliet – in that it is a tragic love story. In the Shakespeare tragedy, the hero and heroine were immature youngsters. Not so in Ram-Leela.

Both Ram and Leela are extremely mature and know what they are about. The characters were superbly etched and both the actors have played them so well. I have seen Ranveer Singh in Band Baaja Baaraat and Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl. In both films his roles had been light and fun. I was quite impressed by the actor’s dialogue delivery. In Ram-Leela, Ranveer Singh has many opportunities to emote and does he squeeze your heart! He was excellent. He looks so good too! I used to think that he did not have the ‘pizzazz’ to compete with the Bollywood Biggies and I am glad he has proved me wrong. Excellent Performance, Ranveer Singh! Keep up the great work!

Deepika Padukone has slowly but surely grown up from her partying girl avatars to more mature roles. She looks gorgeous and has acted so well. She blazes across the dance floors with Ranveer Singh and their chemistry scorches the screen. Her overnight transformation from a laughing young woman to the serious head of Sanedas when her mother is injured is nothing short of amazing. Superb, Deepika Padukone! Way to go!

Gulshan Devaiah

I just love the riot of colours, the exotic backgrounds and stunning costumes along with the elaborate song and dance sequences of some of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s films. While not a great fan of the producer-director’s works, I especially loved Devdas. This movie is simply amazing and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The music and dance was awesome in the film and they fitted so well, not taking away from the story. I did not much care for the violence, but then that was very much part of the story and one cannot do away with it.

All the other actors have also performed very well. A special mention for 2-film-old Gulshan Devaiah and Richa Chadda!

Supriya Pathak Kapur’s performance as the head of Sanedas is striking. She looks the personification of evil and does an amazing job of her role. Kudos!

VERDICT: It most definitely worth a see!

RATING: ****Snazzy

* Silly
** Shaky
*** Smart
**** Snazzy
***** Super