Movie Review : Ram-Leela

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Rating : Average (3.2/5)
Genre : Romance
Year : 2013
Running time : 2 hours 35 minutes
Director : Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Cast : Deepika Padukone, Ranvir Singh, Supriya Pathak Kapur, Gulshan Devaiah, Richa Chaddha
Kidwise : PG-15

“Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam” remains one of my all time favorites. With that path-breaking (at the time) film Bhansali established himself as a director to be watched out for. Unfortunately his last two films failed to move. And it’s not like I haven’t tried to watch Saawariya and Guzaarish (Guzaarish on Netflix) – I have; only I doze off every time. Still the heart-twanging memory of HDDCS lingers, and with a pair as charismatic as Deepika and Ranvir gracing the screen, I had to go see RamLeela despite lukewarm reviews.

In Bhansali’s fantastical world, live two communities always on the brink of armed conflict – the Sanera and Rajadi. Leela is the daughter of Dhankor, the headwoman of the Saneras and Ram is the son of the Rajadis. When they set eyes on each other, sparks fly, only to be matched by the bullets that will fly later. The story is predictable; it is Romeo and Juliet – ethnic, rural and vernacular. So there aren’t any surprises here, it’s just waiting and watching to see how Bhansali will fit the elements of the Bard’s romance into the Rann of Kutch.

He does it well too. As befits his reputation for aesthetics, his characters, sets and locales are splendid looking – the streets are clean, the gardens are green and verdant with cooing peacocks, the people are lithe and well-dressed, and the clothes are colorful and deep-hued. The cinematography is beautiful; the desert landscape in the background makes for a pretty picture. If Ram-Leela was judged purely on its “prettiness”, this would be the biggest blockbuster ever. However, there is the narrative aspect – this is a film after all, not a giant toothpaste ad with guns (which is what it feels like) – and on that count, RamLeela falters.

Bhansali is a poet, a painter rather, etching his genius on the big screen for us to view. It is a pity then that along with that genius comes self-indulgence – an inability to edit out the unnecessary elements that stretch out this film to almost 3 hours. RamLeela has a surfeit of songs and music. In the first half, one song follows another, to the point where I’m wondering if these folk ever do anything else except make merry. Even in the second half when the pace has quickened, the songs persist – there is even one totally unnecessary “item number” by Priyanka Chopra.

The cast does well. Deepika looks luminous and performs gorgeously as well. Ranvir Singh is 6-pack sporting, oil-slicked (like they dipped him in a vat of oil before every bare-chested scene) macho male, and does well as swagger-filled Ram. The two have remarkable chemistry, and ignite the screen in the romantic scenes. These two also kiss like they mean it – none of that I-might-get-your-germs Bollywoodian pecking thing for them. Supriya Pathak, a lumpy ominous figure shrouded in many veils and heavy jewelery, is fantastic as Dhankor. Richa Chaddha does well enough as Leela’s bhabhi.

Bhansali’s Romeo and Juliet are well-etched – she a fearless, gutsy woman not afraid to show her true feelings, and he a philandering lover-boy brought to heel by Leela. I’ve always liked Bhansali heroes; they come packaged with a vulnerability underneath all that bravado, and they’re not afraid to show it. The other characters are a little inconsistent; Bhansali adds to and subtracts from their characters at will making them seem a little eccentric. Even his fantastical world is surreal – a mix of the modern and old-worldy, and vaguely exotic. There are modern cell-phones, but no modern cars; the ancient Ambassador is apparently is vogue there. The village has no cows but is overrun by peacocks. The men and women wear almost traditional clothing – ghagras and dhotis. No one save Ram has heard of jeans apparently, and he teams up his dhotis with snazzy boots and sun-glasses. When Leela flicked a switch, I was surprised to see that they had electricity; I wondered about the indoor plumbing.

Ram-Leela gets an average rating because it fails to balance out the picturesque superficialities with the plot – too much dancing and not enough substance. Frills and fripperies are all right but when they start to drown out the narrative, there’s something wrong. Well-edited and at least an hour shorter this would have been a strong film. In it’s current over-indulgent avatar, this is more an experience than a film.

Kid-wise : Ram-Leela has some violence with knives, swords and guns. The romance is pretty intense and sexualized for a Bollywood film. The dances feature the lead pair in fairly low-slung dhotis/ghagras, and backless cholis. Too many pelvic thrusts to count. Priyanka’s “Ram Chahe Leela” and Ranveer’s “Tattad Tattad” numbers leave very little to the imagination.