R. Madhavan falls in love with Kangana Ranaut at first sight, but she is not interested. Madhavan can’t forget her. The two meet again after some days at a wedding. Does Kangana reciprocate Madhavan’s feelings this time? Read the review of Tanu Weds Manu for more.
Business rating: 3.5 stars
Star cast: R. Madhavan, Kangana Ranaut, Deepak Dobriyal, Eijaz Khan, Swara Bhaskar, Jimmy Shergill.
What’s Good: The fast-paced screenplay; the humour; the music; the performances.
What’s Bad: Nothing really.
Verdict: Tanu Weds Manu is a fun film which will rock at the ticket windows.
Loo break: None really!
Watch or Not? Definitely!
Sanjay Singh Films, Soundarya Production and Paramhans Creations’ Tanu Weds Manu (UA) is a cute romantic film. Manu Sharma (R. Madhavan) is a doctor working in London. He is in India to finalise his life partner, for which he, his father (K.K. Raina), mother (Dipti Sharma) and bosom pal, Pappi (Deepak Dobriyal), are bride-hunting. The first girl he sees as a prospective bride is Tanuja Trivedi alias Tanu (Kangana Ranaut) from Kanpur. He sees her under unusual circumstances but falls in love with her at first sight. As pre-decided, the two families embark on a train journey to Vaishno Devi the very next day to celebrate the impending union. To Manu’s shock, Tanu tells him, she is not willing to marry him as she already has a boyfriend. To Manu’s further shock, Tanu smokes cigarettes, consumes alcohol, uses four-letter words at the drop of a hat and is a total rebel. In short, she is the kind of girl he or his parents were definitely not looking for, but yet, Manu has lost his heart to her.
Being the simple, straightforward and sweet guy he is, Manu takes the blame on his head to call off the marriage, thereby saving Tanu’s skin. Aware of her wayward ways, Tanu’s parents accept Manu’s rejection. But Manu is not able to forget Tanu. As fate would have it, he doesn’t find any of the other girls he sees, suitable for himself. Again, as fate would have it, Manu meets Tanu at Kapurthala in Punjab where he goes with Pappi to attend the marriage of their best friend, Jaspreet Singh Shergill alias Jassi (Eijaz Khan). Tanu comes to attend the same wedding as she is the best friend of Payal (Swara Bhaskar), the bride-to-be. Manu, pressurised by Jassi and Pappi, gets closer to Tanu who is now more well-behaved towards him but still smokes, drinks and abuses and is still rebellious in nature. Somehow, the families of Tanu and Manu also land at Kapurthala under the mistaken belief that Tanu and Manu have decided to marry one another.
Manu soon realises, he stands no chance when Tanu invites him for her own marriage with her boyfriend, Raja Awasthi (Jimmy Shergill). Manu knows Raja as an acquaintance but is unaware that Tanu’s to-be husband is Raja or that Raja Awasthi is to be married to Tanu. What happens thereafter? Does Manu win Tanu? Or does he sacrifice his love to ensure that Tanu marries her lover, Raja? Does Tanu ever realise that Manu loved her even after she rejected him?
Story and Screenplay
Himanshu Sharma’s story and screenplay are fresh and very engaging. The best part of the screenplay is that it progresses smoothly and quite logically so that the drama doesn’t bore or dip anywhere. Also, the characters are so interesting and the ambience – whether of Kanpur or Kapurthala – so real that the audience gets the feeling of watching a real and authentic drama unfold on the screen.
The drama has doses of inherent humour, comedy, romance, tension and even emotions in the last part. The characters, especially of Manu, Tanu, Pappi, Jassi and Payal are so endearing that you can’t help but fall in love with them. Manu’s simplicity easily makes him the person whom the audience roots for because his honesty and straightforwardness win them over completely. Tanu’s brashness and the way she makes fun of Manu, whom she keeps referring to as Sharmaji, are endearing, to say the least. There are scenes which are emotional and heartwarming and instances of these are when Manu first announces in Tanu’s house that he approves of Tanu; when he tells Tanu that his falling in love with her was not in his control; when Tanu asks Manu whether he had a pen in the marriage registrar’s court; when the rebellious Tanu announces her verdict in the pre-climax; when Tanu tells Raja Awasthi about her nature, in the climax. All in all, Himanshu Sharma’s story and screenplay are wonderful. His dialogues are gems and add so much weight to the drama. The light-hearted dialogues are very funny and evoke laughter at many places.
Probably, the biggest victory of the writer is that his script comes across as a very honest and straight-from-the-heart attempt, which will not be lost on the viewers.
Star Performances
R. Madhavan does a brilliant job and plays the character of Manu to perfection. He remains in character so wonderfully because of which the entire sympathy of the viewer goes to him. Had he gone overboard in even a few scenes, the impact would never have been the same. Kangana Ranaut is superb as the fiery and foul-mouthed Tanu. She gives a memorable and endearing performance. Deepak Dobriyal is terrific and evokes laughter in a number of comic scenes. He is also superb in emotional and dramatic scenes. Eijaz Khan leaves a mark with his acting. He looks very handsome. Swara Bhaskar deserves distinction marks for her performance. Her diction and dialogue delivery are wonderful. Jimmy Shergill shines as Raja Awasthi. He acts with a rare confidence. Rajendra Gupta excels. Navni Parihar is good. K.K. Raina leaves a mark. Dipti Sharma acts ably. Ravi Kishan does what is required of him in a special appearance. He ought to have been given more scope. Deepak Tokas (as Payal’s brother), Deepak Chaddha (as the marriage registrar), Dr. Rizvi (as Jimmy Shergill’s father), Gurmeet Kaur (as Komal, the girl at Kapurthala, whom Pappi falls in love with) and Archana Shukla (as Tanu’s aunt) lend able support.
Direction, Music and Camerawork
Aanand L. Rai’s direction does the fullest justice to Himanshu Sharma’s script. He has done a swell job of the narration and has also extracted excellent performances from out of his cast members. Krsna’s music is a big asset of the film. Saddi galli, Jugni and Manu bhaiya are excellent songs which have lovely tunes. The Rangrez song has great lyrical value (Raj Shekhar) and has superb melody. Kitne dafe dil ne kaha is another wonderful number. Piya na rahe man basiya is also an entertaining song. Picturisation of the songs by Saroj Khan are interesting; Pony Verma’s choreography of the Manu bhaiya number is cute. The old Kajra mohabbatwala song has been beautifully used in the film. Chirantan Das’ camerawork is lovely. Hemal Kothari’s editing is crisp. Wasiq Khan’s art direction is splendid. Namrata Jani’s costumes deserve special mention.
The Last Word
On the whole, Tanu Weds Manu is a family entertainer which will hit the bull’s eye. It may be a slow starter but it will pick up phenomenally by positive word of mouth and ultimately go on to become a hit.
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