The Cinemawala

In the death of the night, on a lonely stretch of road, Rumi is waiting with a bag. Apart from her belongings, that bag also contains her dreams and her insecurities. She’s at a crossroad of her life, where she has left everything behind and looking at an uncertain future. As she looks towards the road, a pair of car headlights glow behind her, eventually retreat to darkness. After a long wait, Rumi retreats to the same darkness, inside her heart.

Driving on a highway, Vicky Sandhu aka DJ Sandz receives a message. It says ‘Slept with Him!’. In a moment, he relives countless moments of love and passion that they had shared. A deep searing pain throbs his self as tears start flowing from his eyes. Screaming his lungs out, he pushes the pedal on the gas, on his route to self-destruction.

Witnessing his wife and her paramour in a tight embrace breaks Robbie from the inside. Whatever trust and belief which had been growing between him and his wife, turns into a smoke of dust. Heartbroken and deceived, he loses himself in liquor and music, where amidst the noise of the world, he desperately tries to hide his inadequacies about his life.

Ladies and Gentlemen welcome to the world of Anurag Kashyap, where relationships and life, both are chaotic and complicated. Here, love and lust are more than a mere four letter word. And everything is run, by the whimsies and fancies of the heart. 

Man Ki Marziyaan!!

Anurag Kashyap’s films often hold up a mirror to the society. ‘Manmarziyaan’ opens up with a shot of a young man, jumping over roofs, to answer a bootie call, made by her girlfriend. They are hopelessly in love and being physical is just a mere way of expressing themselves. Everyone in the town knows about them but they literally give a fuck! Kashyap’s leading ladies are often out of their inhibitions. Rumi tops them all. A firebrand who loves like there’s no tomorrow, doesn’t think twice about getting an abortion for an unwanted pregnancy, chides her man for being a wuss about getting married yet runs back to him when he’s on his knees, asking her to reconsider – Rumi’s the face of the changing times of contemporary India. And Taapsee just slays as Rumi. She is a revelation. What an actor!

The men are conceptualized fundamentally weaker than women. Kashyap’s leading men here are also similarly etched. Vicky loves Rumi yet he’s not ready to get married. Robbie marries Rumi though he understands Rumi may not have fully recovered from her past relationship. Vicky is flawed, his coloured and streaked hair, his flair for music creates an aura of a bad boy. Yet he goes weak in the knees for Rumi. Robbie is a banker and everything that Vicky isn’t or perhaps would never be. But when he sees Rumi, a perplexing thought keeps crossing his mind and he finds himself drawn towards her, despite knowing her to be committed to another man. Vicky Kaushal as Vicky breaks your heart, as a confused young man, who doesn’t understand responsibilities yet is crazy about Rumi. Both Kaushal and Tapsee share a sizzling chemistry that’s so evident in their scenes together.

A word about Mr Abhishek Bachchan. That man could have been born to any man in this whole world. He could have been Abhishek Kumar, Kapoor or Malhotra. Being a Bachchan is his privilege that at times, has become his curse, his bane. A string of failures, yet he remains unshaken. This time, the man delivers and is simply exceptional. As a man, torn between his own heart and what’s right, he is fabulous as Robbie. At times, you need the right director to inspire the actor inside and Kashyap is that man for Abhishek Bachchan. 

Music plays an influential role in the film. Amit Trivedi, the pied piper is responsible for the wonderful music and the background music. The film has 14 songs and each one of them, suits the mood, the moment and the sequences. F for Fyaar, Darya, Grey Wala Shade, Dhyaanchand, Halla are the pick of the album and will remain with you, even after the film gets over.

True to Kashyap’s style, we get to see an amazing pair of twin sisters (Poonam and Priyanka), in every dance sequence and at times, in some scenes as well. The twin sisters represent the two ways of Rumi’s life, her choices of men, the crossroads of her life. The ensemble cast is fabulous, especially Sukhdev Sachdeva as Kakaji. These characters are created by the wonderful writing of Kanika Dhillon, who has also written the screenplay and the dialogues. The city of Amritsar plays a mute spectator to the hullabaloo that these characters create, which has been shot exquisitely by Sylvester Fonseca. The film ends on a note that’s reminiscent of the Richard Linklater’s Before Series and fills your heart with joy.

‘Manmarziyaan’ is Kashyap’s finest. Go for it.

The Cinemawala Rating: 4.5/5