First things first- I wasn’t at all looking forward to watch ‘Tanu Weds Manu: Returns’. The first gave me a migraine and I also thought this would be a pointless sequel simply trying to cash in on the success of the original. But while I didn’t like the director’s ‘Tanu Weds Manu’, ‘Raanjhanaa’ impressed me with a solid plot and deft direction. Also, Kangana is back post that gem called ‘Queen’ (never mind ‘Revolver Rani’ ) and she is a great actress though I have never been able to be a fan.
Four years after Tanu (Kangana Ranaut) and Manu (R. Madhavan) tie the knot; they both find themselves standing in front of a mental asylum in London. Completely opposite to each other, they have had a rocky marriage. While Manu is left there for some days to his utter dismay, Tanu returns home to Kanpur only to be herself- the bohemian spoilt child of her parents. She is also up to a little mischief hanging out with her ex Raja (Jimmy Shergill) and also flirting a bit with her new tenant (Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub). In the meantime… Manu is brought back to Delhi by his best buddy Pappi (Deepak Dobriyal) and just when he begins brooding all day and night, Manu chances upon Kusum (again played by Kangana Ranaut). Kusum, a lookalike of Tanu is a Haryanvi girl studying in Delhi and an athlete. Call it the four-year itch in this case but our ‘boring’ doctor falls for the girl and probably because she looks like his wife yet to be divorced. All hell breaks loose when it is revealed Kusum is supposed to get arranged to Raja.
Director Anand L. Rai soaks a lot of humour in ‘Tanu Weds Manu: Returns’ and that is a major reason it works for most of the time. Not to forget a superb double role by Kangana Ranaut; more on it later. The first half will have you in splits and just when you expect the same in the second half, you are disappointed. I also thought it was quite pointless making this sequel. There wasn’t a need and even the characters aren’t too endearing; I didn’t recall most of them from the first movie. Also, a predictable climax was expected but why could it not be cliché this time? This is a bad marriage we are looking at. The guy is a loser. The girl is shameless and wrong. I’d have liked it if Manu and Kusum ended up together. The importance of marriage… yet again… eh! The last twenty minutes are a drag and Tanu waiting to see her hubby getting married to someone else is stretched. Kusum’s sacrifice while doing the rounds is again so obvious. There were glimpses of a smart script somewhere in the first half but it all ends up too routine; nothing wrong in that too if the melodrama could have been avoided. I just didn’t feel for Tanu and Manu while they shed their tears. Music is okay.
Kangana Ranaut is brilliant as Kusum. Speaking in a strong Haryanvi accent with the correct body language, she makes you feel for the character. It is so different from herself as Tanu that you sometimes forget it’s the same person enacting both the roles. This is a very fine double role and the best seen in recent times. R. Madhavan plays Manu like he is supposed to. That also means he is boring while he gives a restrained performance. Jimmy Shergill is okay in a role he seems to play quite often these days. He brings about the frustration of not getting married in quite a funny way. Deepak Dobriyal is hilarious at times and gets the best one-liners. Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub is proving to be a supporting actor to look out for. Swara Bhaskar and Rajesh Sharma are good.
Watch it or not: Yes; only for Kangana Ranaut and the humour.
At the Box Office: Hit.
My Verdict
3
If I found myself married to a woman like Tanu, I’d call for immediate psychiatric help. Talk about Men Empowerment… someone! It will be equally pointless to continue this series but if they do, I hope they include Kusum probably beating the shit out of Tanu and Manu. 2.5 plus and extra half for Kangana as Kusum…
