TANU
WEDS MANU RETURNS
While
returning, even if we take the same path, chances are that the things will be
different around. A lot is different in Tanu weds Manu Returns. The characters
have grown, relationships have changed and new equations have emerged. TWMR is
again a journey that the Writer Himanshu Sharma and Director Aanand Rai decide
to take you on and succeed in giving you a wonderful experience.
The
film starts where TWM ended. Tanu and Manu getting married. Four years later,
they can’t stand each other. Tanu leaves for Kanpur and Manu reaches Delhi.
Tanu revisits her past while Manu sees his future in Kusum Sangwan aka Datto
from Jajjhar who is studying in DU and aspires to make it as a National level
athelete. Love blossoms between Manu and Kusum till Tanu realizes that Manu is
and will remain her love. Will Manu realize whether his future lies with Tanu
or Kusum, forms the rest of the story.
Tanu
and Kusum are as different as chalk and cheese. So much so that you forget they
are being played by the same actress. The credit goes to Kangana Ranaut who has
again given a clap-worthy performance. Her mannerisms as Tanu and as Kusum are
so distinct that you can’t help but appreciate the detailing that has gone
behind creating these characters. Watch out for the freckles on Kusum’s nose
and mole on Tanu’s neck. That is what we call detailing. Madhavan as the forty
year old Manu is as loveable as the first part. You feel for him. He manages to
evoke sympathy for his character even though he is the one who is marrying
again.
Writer
Himanshu Sharma has created a believable world, even though the story this time
is slightly in the unbelievable zone. In one of the scenes, Tanuja Trivedi is
compared to Batman whose legends do the rounds but is never seen. Story-wise,
TWM was more real than TWMR. But what goes really in the favour of TWMR is that
it’s crisp. After a long time, I have watched a film where I looked at my watch
when the intermission slate came and I said – its interval already? Funny,
witty, one-liners are again the strong points of TWMR. The whole hall was in
splits when Pappiji asks Manu – Aap koi salman khan ho rakhe ho jo commitment
nahi chhod sakte?
Supporting
cast is bang on. All characters reprise their roles from TWM, except may be for
Manu’s mother. She looked different. The character of Manu’s father played by
KK Raina is quite different from TWMR and it does make you cringe. The new character
added, that of Chintu, played by Mohammed Jeeshaan Ayub, is nice but also seems
unnecessary at few places. The Jassi-Payal story is a nice sub-plot while the
sub-plot where Pappiji tries to woo Jassi’s cousin Komal is funny as well as it
takes the story ahead. Eijaz Khan and Swara Bhaskar are first rate as ever and
Deepak Dobriyal is crazier than the first part. Watch out for the scene where
he suspects that Manu is thinking about Kusum. Rajesh Sharma as Kusum’s brother
shines in the scene where he blasts people of his jaat community.
Finally,
the person who deserves all the accolades, the captain of the ship, the
director Aanand Rai. Frankly speaking, I hadn’t like Raanjhana. For me it was
glorified story of a stalker. But with TWMR, Aanand Rai delivers just the right
notes. Each and every close-up, each and every camera movement means something.
It conveys what the characters are going through and makes you feel for them.
So when Manu’s father talks about how marriages last, or when Payal talks about
how she got pregnant, or when Manu mistakenly calls Kusum as Tanu, or when Tanu
tells her father – abhi aur jaleel honaa hai, your heart goes out for them.
For
me, the music was not as good as TWM. I missed the soulful Piya na rahe
manbasiya, or Kitni dafe dil ne kahaa and the evergreen Rangrez mere. This time
we have Ghani Bawari and Banno tera swagger and Mat jaa re. But they fail to
leave mark as much as their predecessors.
But
all said and done, with all its little flaws included, TWMR is a film worth
watching, not just once but at least twice. Second time, to experience the
magic of nuances that you might have missed the first time. Tanu and Kusum are
two different faces of modern woman – one is a rebel, a bohemian who is not
answerable to anybody, while the other is a self made woman who is proud of the
position she has earned for herself. To choose between the two is indeed a
difficult choice. No wonder, Manu finds himself torn between the two. You will
too.
Rating: 4 stars out of 5.
