Ram-leela (Review) – The latest offering by Sanjay Leela Bhansali comes from his own factory. The caption of the movie 'Goliyon ki Raasleela' is very apt to the story. Ram-leela as claimed by the filmmaker is inspired by William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The screen adaptation of the same has 2 families the Saneda's and the Rajaadi's in the town of Ranjar in Gujarat. These two familes rule the place. The 2 families have a 500 year old feud and hatred between them. Ranjar is a town where every individual moves around with rifles and knives and firing bullets at the snap of the fingers and there is nothing that the law keepers can do about it.
The two protagonists Ram and Leela played by Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone are members of either families. Ram, a member of the Rajaadi's is now back with the family after a long hiatus in Ahmedabad and runs a video parlour. He however differs from the attitude of his family and does not believe in violence. He along with his friends visit the Saneda's on the occasaion of Holi in an attempt to make friendship with the women of the community assuming that no one would recognize them amongst all the colours. As expected, Ram sees Leela and they instantly get along like a house on fire. They fall in love with each other. Ram starts visiting Leela secretly and vice versa. They both have an intention of breaking the rivalry between the two families. When turn of events add fuel to the burning rivalry between the families, Ram and Leela elope and get married only to be tracked down overnight and brought back. This forms an entertaining, engaging and an elongated first half. What happens later? Will the families break the ice and unite? Will Ram and Leela be able to play foil in bringing the families together? The answers to these form the engaging second half and climax.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali who is known for making movies with serious drama promised another movie in the same genre with the trailers and teasers of Ram-leela. He has also managed to pull it off as the screenplay of 2hrs and 35 mins which seems more than its duration never makes you feel restless and also keeps you engaged. The setting, the costumes and the look of the movie are sure to take you into another world. They all look picture perfect. The performances by all the artists are worth appreciating. Supriya Pathak who plays the head of the Saneda family pulls off her character with elan. Ranveer Singh in a particular scene where he interacts with Supriya Pathak is brilliant. Deepika Padukone not just looks beautiful, but also portrays her character to perfection. Music by Sanjay Leela Bhansali fits in brilliantly to the movie. The first half may have the songs frequenting but you can forgive Sanjay Leela Bhansali for that. 'Mor Bani Thangat Kare' and 'Laal Ishq' come with the start and end credits respectively. 'Tattad Tattad' is for the front benchers. 'Ang laga de' has been picturised beautifully. The most popular track 'Nagada Sang Dhol' is a treat to watch on the big screen not just for the song but also for its brilliant choreography and mannerisms by the actors.
There are few filmmakers like Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Tigmanshu Dhulia who can give you dramas like this which satisfy the appetite of both the class and mass. Watch Ram-leela for it will give you a satisfaction of having witnessed two and a half hours of good story telling. My verdict - 7/10
