Picture copyright and credits: Eros International

Venue: Movietime, Raja Garden
29 May, 2015

Tanu and Manu, during their first visit to theatres, failed to impress. We could not watch Tanu weds Manu beyond half an hour.  Now they have come back with a new character – Datto (Kangana’s double role) who is definitely entertaining and manages to make us sit through the movie.  Tanu and Manu in their “Return” start where they had left off in the previous version.  The couple is married and finally rubber meets the road.  They can see they have major compatibility issues. In comes Datto, Tanu lookalike, who sweeps Manu off his feet one more time.  Along with Datto come hundred one-liners that the dialogue writer produced in bulk in between the original and the sequel. The film starts faltering here.  Real people don’t speak in one-liners or throw punches when they are sad or heartbroken.

While you are battling one-liners, some supporting character appears with his/her own plot. Consequently the film meanders away from the story line so much so that it starts dragging in the second half.  At the same time it becomes totally unbelievable.

Talking of supporting roles, the film has the same assembly of actors as the earlier version – Jimmy Shergill – Raja (completely wasted), Swara Bhaskar – Payal (she deserves better), Deepak Dobriyal – Pappi (trying too hard) etc.

The only saving grace is Kangana Ranaut’s acting, which is getting better with every other film. She is mind blowing as the Haryanvi Datto, especially in the scene where she returns the earrings to Manu and turned down his proposal. Given that the audience had lumps in their throat and goosebumps on their skin, it shows that Kangana has come a long distance as an actor.  She is the reason one can watch this film and not regret paying for the tickets.  After this film Kangana is a claimant for the title ‘Queen of Bollywood’.  We hope she sticks to quality films without bothering too much about titles.

The music is average except for the impressive song “Old School Girl” (English lyrics in Haryanvi accent). This experiment went right in every way.

Video Cover Pic Credits: Youtube.com

From the first scene at the mental asylum to the wedding in the end, the film has a lot of crest and troughs with viewers vacillating between “oh what a nice film” to “where’s my popcorn” (read “boredom”).  Notwithstanding the caveats, Tanu Weds Manu Returns is going all guns at the box office and it is difficult to get a seat even on a week evening.  Akin to PK, we assume that the producers are laughing their way to the bank.

The basic plot, as many couples may agree, is relatable, but the treatment is so very frivolous. Sigh!