Tanu Weds Manu Returns - It has Swagger & Kangana is the Queen

#TanuWedsManuReturns :Jodi Picoult in her celebrated novel “My Sister’s Keeper” defines imperfection beautifully. “You don't love someone because they're perfect. You love them in spite of the fact that they're not.” Anand L. Rai once again goes back to his familiar territory of small town India with his familiar actors and a familiar topic “Love” and the futility of finding perfection in Love. And in spite of several flaws at script level “Tanu Weds Manu returns” forces you to fall in love with its imperfections with some superb acting, quirky dialogues and a story-line that starts where a normal bollywood film ends.

If pace, rather lack of it, was a concern in the 2011 Tanu Weds Manu , the sequel starts with a fierce vindictive pace . The first half just breezes past with an exciting story line, lots of promise, some inspired acting and the gumption of the director to stay away from the beaten track. Four years into the marriage Tanuja Trivedi & Manoj Sharma, two diabolically opposite individual, land up in a mental asylum to seek marriage counselling. While the idea, opposites attract, has been much romanticized, can they survive and continue living together is still a question mankind has no definite answer to. Leaving Manu at the mental asylum our “Desi Batman” returns to her root in Kanpur to continue from where she left.

Rarely, very rarely in the history of hindi cinema a leading lady has played a double role where the only similarity is their look. Kangana as Tanu and Datto has created two distinctly different characters. They are as different as cheese and chalk. It is an ode to not only her enormous acting prowess but also to the extraordinary effort. Deepak Dobriyal as Manu’s friend Pappi improvises from where he left in 2011. His timing is superb and he has stolen almost every scene where he is present.

It is the last thirty minutes where the film loses its plot. The director who had been maverick in the first 90 minutes challenging convention, suddenly decided to play for the audience and convenience. And this is where the story becomes predictable and a bit boring. How I wish instead of following the “they lived happily ever after” path director Anand and script writer Himanshu would have chosen instead to trust an evolving Indian audience!

In spite of its flaws Tanu Weds Manu Returns is hilarious film celebrating the finer nuances of small city life and the confusion in Love in a society in flux. It has the swagger and mark my words Kangana continues to be the Queen. I will go out with 3.5 out of 5. This comedy sure will bring the temperature down.

Piku..

#Piku : Long ago ,before noise became the norm,  there was a Hrishikesh Mukherjee & Basu Chatterjee school of cinema that taught life lessons through simple stories , beautiful narrations , believable acting & mellifluous music .  Almost half a century later director Shoojit Sircar & writer Juhi Chaturvedi decides to revisit the old school. And they make their intentions amply clear with a simple Title “Piku”. It is a simple story of relationships told with lots of heart and humour. It is a story that unfolds in every house hold with an old parent or grandparent. It is a story you & I have been witness to all along.

The Narration:

A cantankerous hypochondriac old man, his thirty odd year old daughter and a single businessman who comes in touch with the father-daughter duo. Sounds familiar? What if the story revolves around the old man’s eccentricity and constipated bowel movement?  Eh! Sounds like a shitty story? This is where writer Juhi Chturvedi & Director Shoojit Sircar’s genius elevates a simple everyday poop story to deliver the philosophy of life, to depict real yet beautiful human relationship, celebrates feminism , makes you laugh and weep and ends up making an endearing film. Mind it, Piku is an extremely difficult film to make at screen play and direction level precisely because of the simplicity yet absurdity of the subject. It could have so easily ended up being crass and boring .Yet walking on a tight rope the screen play – director duo manages to pull it off and how ! The beauty of Piku lies not in the story but the way it has been narrated.

Light, Camera, Action

More than four decades after immortalizing Bhaskar Banerjee in Anand, Bachchan embraces the same name albeit with an “O”. As an aging, selfish, whimsical, annoying yet adorable Bhaskor Banerjee, ever concerned about his health, Amitabh Bachchan is simply magnificent. His comic timing and body language is jaw dropping. Mark my words; you would search for those old parents or grandparents of yours in Bhaskor Babu. With a Bravura performance, Bachchan reiterates why he is the ultimate thespian in Hindi film industry.  

Deepika as Piku is astounding. If in Ramleela she marked her arrival as an actress, with Piku she has consolidated her position as one of the finest actresses of our generation. With each release her acting prowess is growing by leaps and bounds.  As a modern girl  who is strong yet fallible, who is independent yet longs for support, as a girl who feels driving liberates her yet she enjoys being just a co passenger her eyes speak louder than her words. She doesn’t act, she just reacts the way you and I do. Do I need to explain any further!

Irfan is the final cog in a casting coup. He is superb as usual. He is a perfect foil to an eccentric Bhaskor and moody Piku. Moushumi Chatterjee & Jisshu Sengupta plays their parts well.

And the Background Score

When was the last time you watched the black and white opening credits roll with a sitar & sarod playing in the background? Anupam Roy’s music is distinctive.  It has a sense of calmness and equanimity around it. It integrates so beautifully with the story and becomes a part of the narration.

The Father- Daughter relationship in Piku makes you fall in love with the eccentricity and simplicity of life .It touches your heart through the bowel. After all emotion is all about motion!  Alright then ,do yourself a favour this weekend, take your folks out to watch Piku , watch them as they discover the Bhaskor Banerjee in them , cherish those  moments with smiles on their lips and moist eyes and as you walk out of the theatre give them a tight hug. And for those asking for stars, I bet you will come out celebrating life.