One thing that Indian cinema is very good at is feel good stories - boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, boy overcomes obstacles to finally get and marry girl. Its a basic premise that probably forms the basis of 80% of Indian films. That's not to say its a bad thing either - we all need feel good stories to entertain and take us out of our often problematic lives.
One thing that Indian cinema is not very good at is finding a new way to present a feel good story. In this regard they are not any worse than Hollywood to be sure but far too many times they simply rehash without even making an effort.
Tanu Weds Manu is one of those rare exceptions where some new approach was found and as a result the film ends up being a lot better than you were expecting.
Straight out though - why the title? It gives the whole film away, no matter how refreshingly different the journey to the conclusion is. Couldn't they have used a far more intriguing title like simply "Tanu Weds?".
From the start, this is not your average retelling of the common story. The whole setup is very different, quite funny, perhaps a little unbelievable but nonetheless a very good setup for a very entertaining film. As the first hour unfolds, it becomes clear that Tanu is a very different female character than we are used to seeing in Indian rom-coms (although I still don't see the need for the smoking). She definitely is one that will do things her way! Great news for film watchers, not perhaps great news for Manu as he tries to marry!
Aside from the story, which to be honest does not quite hold out at a high level all the way to the end even as it tries to avoid the clichéd route, this film rests on the performances of the actors. Collectively they do an excellent job. Madhavan is great in a wonderfully understated performance that leaves no doubt as to his feelings, even when buried. Deepak Dobriyal is the spine of the film though as he ends up in just about scene as the devoted side kick: perhaps the role was a tad underwritten but he made the most of it. If anything Kangana Ranaut was the weak link of the cast and it would have been interesting to see what an Anushka Sharma would have done with the role: despite that, Kangana does a fair job and aside from not having the emotional range that the role perhaps needed hardly puts a foot wrong.
The direction was just about spot on, the cinematography can hardly be faulted and the use of music and dance to push the story forward was a nice change.
It is not often that I watch a film twice back to back but I did with this one. That does make for a refreshing change in Indian film. It's not a mind-blowing experience but as far as Indian rom-coms go, this is well ahead of most of them. A refreshing change and well worth a visit or two.
One thing that Indian cinema is not very good at is finding a new way to present a feel good story. In this regard they are not any worse than Hollywood to be sure but far too many times they simply rehash without even making an effort.
Tanu Weds Manu is one of those rare exceptions where some new approach was found and as a result the film ends up being a lot better than you were expecting.
Straight out though - why the title? It gives the whole film away, no matter how refreshingly different the journey to the conclusion is. Couldn't they have used a far more intriguing title like simply "Tanu Weds?".
From the start, this is not your average retelling of the common story. The whole setup is very different, quite funny, perhaps a little unbelievable but nonetheless a very good setup for a very entertaining film. As the first hour unfolds, it becomes clear that Tanu is a very different female character than we are used to seeing in Indian rom-coms (although I still don't see the need for the smoking). She definitely is one that will do things her way! Great news for film watchers, not perhaps great news for Manu as he tries to marry!
Aside from the story, which to be honest does not quite hold out at a high level all the way to the end even as it tries to avoid the clichéd route, this film rests on the performances of the actors. Collectively they do an excellent job. Madhavan is great in a wonderfully understated performance that leaves no doubt as to his feelings, even when buried. Deepak Dobriyal is the spine of the film though as he ends up in just about scene as the devoted side kick: perhaps the role was a tad underwritten but he made the most of it. If anything Kangana Ranaut was the weak link of the cast and it would have been interesting to see what an Anushka Sharma would have done with the role: despite that, Kangana does a fair job and aside from not having the emotional range that the role perhaps needed hardly puts a foot wrong.
The direction was just about spot on, the cinematography can hardly be faulted and the use of music and dance to push the story forward was a nice change.
It is not often that I watch a film twice back to back but I did with this one. That does make for a refreshing change in Indian film. It's not a mind-blowing experience but as far as Indian rom-coms go, this is well ahead of most of them. A refreshing change and well worth a visit or two.