This is how sequels should be made. But before I go on and wax lyrical on how well Aanand L Rai has told the story right from where he’d left it off in the original, pop quiz time – Have you seen the original? You see I wasn’t as impressed as the world was with Tanu weds Manu (in fact, it gave me a headache when I saw it in a flight on the laptop) but at least I’d seen it. The trouble is, if you haven’t seen it, you won’t connect with the sequel as much. And the original movie isn’t that great. If you ask me, a visit to the plot section of Tanu weds Manu on Wikipedia is very much warranted.
For Tanu weds Manu returns is every bit worth the sequel it is – clearly better than the original in my opinion. A large measure of the praise goes to the reigning queen of Bollywood, Kangana Ranaut – who is in sublime form and there’s twice of her this time. The Harayanvi act is particularly impressive and she manages to give a plain looking girl a ‘swagger’ of her own and will have you rooting for her. Kangana carries the film on her shoulders and puts up a near flawless double performance. There isn’t much room for anyone else in this well crafted plot.
That’s not to say the others haven’t done a great job because they surely have. Madhavan looks a little out of sorts in the hilarious opening, but becomes his familiar self as the movie progresses. Deepak Dobriyal provides much comic relief and while he is a bit over the top, his lines are well written and provide much laughter. The new additions are welcome ones as well in the form of Swara Bhaskar and Zeeshan, old cohorts of the Aanand L Rai stable. Almost missed mentioning Jimmy Shergill and while there isn’t much room for him to perform, his character is quite pivotal to the whole storyline and he does his usual, dependable job.
Writing was a very strong point in Ranjhanaa, Aanand L Rai’s best so far, and Returns..again features some good writing. The second half is a little extra dramatized with an extended climax that can make you weary and wonder why the director is spoiling things after doing such a good job so far. Clocking at around two and a half hours, the movie exceeds its acceptable runtime somewhat and could’ve easily done without some melodrama and a few songs. That said, the second half also brings some monologues on important social issues, delivered with panache.
Making a good sequel itself is a tough act. First, the main characters have already been established by the original and told a story of their own. There is quite a tightrope to walk between that and bringing in new characters and storyline as well as maintaining connect with all that had happened previously. Aanand L Rai does this to near perfection and joins the rather short list of dependable directors in Bollywood. He had already demonstrated his ability to tell a good story with Ranjhanaa, but with this one he cements his place.
Oh and don’t leave your seats till the end credits. The last scene is sure to have you in splits and wishing there was more of this. Nice way to do it Mr. Rai if you ever wanna plan a ‘re-returns’'
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