Anjaana Anjaani: Movie Review

An article by Himanshu Khanna    12 Comments

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Anjaana Anjaani: Movie Review

First things first, it’s not a sequel to Inception!

The makers didn’t promise any path breaking cinema here. Infact, as I see it, the promos promised nothing, to an extent I felt that one might enter a cinema hall with no expectations at all. It is supposed to be a romantic comedy!

The plotline

Taking clue from the recent US stock market crash, the story takes off on a fairly bitter note. With a huge loan to repay and countless questions to answer, Akash (Ranbir Kapoor) decides to commit suicide by jumping off a bridge. Here he runs into Kiara (Priyanka Chopra), who is also wishing to end her life, owing to a failed relationship. Numerous attempts to end their lives later, they choose to believe that something is not letting them die. Eventually, they decide to fulfil their unfinished wishes in the coming days and end their lives on the New Year’s Eve.

Siddharth Anand (Salaam Namaste, Ta ra rum pum, Bachna ae haseeno) has always been at an ease with rom-coms. However this time, he has gone ahead with a plot that many would think twice before attempting. In bare words, Anjaana Anjaani is a film that starts with suicide attempts, with just two main characters and has no sub plots to talk of. Let us try naming one Bollywood commercial outing that has dared to do that, can we?

Finally, does the film work? Of course, it does. Even with such a seemingly negative plot base, not once do you feel depressed through the film. This attempt needs to be lauded, not only for being gutsy enough, but for making it equally entertaining and refreshing.

This film does take time to grow on you, for two prime reasons.  First, given the fact that it is a romantic film, it doesn’t have a stereotypical start. Second, the story unfolds at its own relaxed pace. One thing that will hit you instantly, in a nice way, is the electrifying chemistry between the lead pair. Even with the worst of the scenes, with no great dialogues, that very chemistry will make you smile.

For instance the car theft scene had nothing great about it, but Ranbir and Priyanka kept it lively no matter what. Or notice their first encounter on the bridge. You can’t help but giggle everytime Priyanka throws her line! The sea and the stripping sequence in the second half of the movie is sure to have everyone in splits. The graph of interesting moments keeps varying from scene to scene, probably as it does in real life.

At no point of time in the movie, does the movie touch an extreme. No loud lectures, no depressing interjections. It displays subtle emotions all through, with smile coming back to your face, every now and then.

Mamta Anand, with help from her husband (Siddharth), has managed to sketch a decent screenplay. Dialogues are fantastic and witty, where required. It is Siddharth Anand’s excellent direction that takes the film to new heights. He is well supported and complimented by the DoP (Ravi K. Chandran). The locations of America (New York, San Francisco and Las Vegas) have a slick look throughout. Visual appeal adds a lot to the freshness of this film. With arrival of winter, costumes should set new trends.

Vishal-Shekhar have done a terrific job once again. Music is another highlight of the film. “Tu na jaane aas paas hai khuda” is a brilliantly composed track. Background score by Salim-Sulaiman adds to the romantic quotient of the film all through.

Ranbir and Priyanka, as I said before, are in terrific form this time! The beauty of an actor is to underplay his character effectively whenever required and Ranbir does the same. Every major moment in the film clearly shows his arrogance and confusion as Akash. This can easily be counted as one of the best performances of Priyanka Chopra. Her emotional outbursts and exuberance have just the right blend required for this character. Surprisingly, even Zayed Khan does a pleasant job. Character actors were decent.

Final Words

Amazing music, superb performances and impressive direction: it is a terrific new-age romantic flick, with freshness and simplicity in abundance.

Entertainment: 4/5

Technical: 4/5

Overall: 4/5

P.S. This movie has an amazing message subtly infused. Try noticing and make use of it. Cheers!