Sunday, April 17, 2011

Tanu Weds Manu - And we have to endure it!!!!!


Only if every man was Manu, and no girl on this planet had even a hint of Tanu!’ Director Anand L Rai’s romantic comedy Tanu weds Manu celebrates ‘Arranged Marriages’ and so undoubtedly it will be liked. Because Indians love weddings and everything associated with weddings; the pomp, the show, the confusion, the emotions, jewellery, shopping, gaana bajana, basically the entire paraphernalia.
So, the story is not exclusive. In fact it’s a story written and told ever since movies were being made.
We will break it down in easy steps for you –
1. Boy – Shy, reserved, educated, docile, loner meets girl for arranged marriage falls in love
2. Girl – Brash, loud, extrovert, rebellious carefree loves another man asks the boy to buzz off
3. Boy – Continues to love her and bumps into her at a friends wedding
4. Girl – Starts liking the boy too but still loves the other man
5. Boy- Dejected, waits, waits and waits
6. Girl – Finally realizes she loves the boy, dumps the other man
7. Other man – Villain who in the end displays his humane side
8. Boy weds Girl and both live happily ever after
The End
Cliché? Well no one promised it would be any different. But there is something that sets Tanu weds Manu apart from the others of the same genre and that is the treatment of the film, the dialogues and some good performances. Despite some extremely melodramatic scenes the movie does manage to capture your interest till the end.
Madhavan as Manu, the shy introvert doctor from London is endearing tad over weight, yet that slight chubbiness makes his character seem more real. A normal middle class Indian male is seldom your quintessential ‘Greek God’, and therefore it is easier to relate Madhavan, to Manu your archetypal Indian good boy. Deepak Dobriyal who plays the role of Pappi, Manu’s best friend is outstanding. He is every bit the typical lad from western U.P, loud, brash, loyal and comical. Manu and Pappi together have given some extremely funny scenes. Tanu aka Kangan Ranaut is a fine actress but in urgent need of speech therapy, diction classes or simply tongue transplant! Despite her vivacity, her performance as the young, wild, rebellious Tanu fails to leave a mark. On the contrary, Swara Bhaskar who plays the role of her best friend, delivers a far better performance. She plays the role of a level headed Bihari girl with conviction, even getting the accent right. Jimmy Shergill as the pseudo villain Raja is passé, the hit and miss role did not demand the performance of a life time as it is. Though it is sad to see a talent like him gone waste.
In a nut shell Tanu weds Manu is a light film, with no social message or impact what so ever. There is nothing different about the film, in fact some scenes are so over the top that they end up being a little difficult to digest, if these little hitches are ignored, it still makes for an enjoyable experience. Watch it if you have a weekend to kill and are in mood for some mindless light entertainment.
 

3 comments:

  1. U 4got y peepul really njoy weddings....Freeloaders...Can take the criticism since it's from one so gifted, pun unintended though do feel the underlying!@#$%

    ReplyDelete
  2. No havent been to Dharmsala(HP or Down South?)

    ReplyDelete
  3. lol... pun unintended :).... Dharamsala is up north closer to Tibet

    ReplyDelete