Movie Review : Tanu Weds Manu Returns (2015)

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Rating : 3.5/5
Genre : Romantic Drama
Year : 2015
Running time : 2 hours 8 minutes
Director : Aanand L. Rai
Cast : Madhavan, Kangana Ranaut, Jimmy Shergill, Deepak Dobriyal, Swara Bhaskar, Eijaz Khan, Rajendra Gupta, Navni Parihar
Kidwise Rating: PG-13

It is the age of the sequel and so it is that Tanu Weds Manu “returns”. You do know that I quite liked Part 1? That one was quite a sleeper hit, and in anticipation I expected big things from this – which I got, in a manner of speaking.

“Tanu Weds Manu Returns” deals with what happens after “happily ever after”. The lovers have united after fighting their way through fierce obstacles, but till when does the harmony last? Not very long apparently, since at the beginning of this film Tanu, i.e.; Tanuja Trivedi Sharma, has returned to India leaving husband Manu, i.e.; Manoj Sharma, in dire straits in the UK. Manu follows her but finds her distant. Then he meets Kusum, a young college-going girl who is almost Tanu’s twin in physical respects. Manu finds himself falling for the much more pliable Kusum. Tanu meanwhile starts longing for Manu again . . .

If you are rolling your eyes at that story, know that you are not alone. I am a little befuddled when the director tries to bring in the “judwa/look-alike” concept, especially in this realistic genre. The story itself is shaky and not so believable. The whole beginning scene in the UK with the disturbed Manu being led away just seemed false. The characters in TWMR have changed, and not in a good way. This hurts because the characters enthralled us so in the previous film. Manu, ever-so-constant in his love, seems dithering here. Raja Awasthi, that hot-blooded rogue has been tamed down to beyond recognition. And Tanu herself seemed rebellious, but here she also seems flighty and selfish.

The film had a shaky start but seemed to settle down. It does have genuine moments of humor, but largely it seemed like the director was trying very hard to play to the gallery. While that is good in moderation, I watch a film for the director’s vision, not his interpretation of what he thinks I want to see! Originiality is king, and what made the first TWM the film it was. TWMR seems a weaker commercialized wanna-be when compared to it.

Kangana Ranaut carries this film. She is marvelous as both Tanu and Kusum (Dhatto), portraying each one believably with a difference of manner and accent. Madhavan is referred to as an “adrak” (ginger) in the film, because his character seems to grow in every direction. And that is true, he is spreading fast! His charm, of course, is inversely proportional to his corpulence (remember him in Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein?). Jimmy Shergill looks like he did in TWM and does as well as one could with such a weakly written character. The rest of the cast like the magnificent Dobriyal, Bhaskar, Gupta et. al. remains as dependable as before.

Aanand Rai hasn’t totally lost his touch because the settings and the supporting characters still seem genuine. And there is an emotional pull-and-tug behind it all. However I am disinclined to give it more than 3.5 stars because, IMO, the sanguine charm of the previous film has degraded down to the “massy” appeal of this one. Nothing wrong with massy appeal of course, unless it’s massively contrived, which it is here. The lead characters, the ones in whom we have been invested have changed to the point where I’m not sure I care that much. I actually felt more for Kusum and Raja than Tanu-Manu; maybe Rai should follow up with a sequel about them. Given Rai’s obvious talent, would it have been so hard to actually make a film that stuck to the true and narrow?

Kidwise: Pretty clean, although there is some language.