Did you ever wonder what it would be like if Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali attempted a typical commercial movie to please the masses? If you haven’t, you might have wondered what if a bad movie was directed by a good director. You will get your answers in this week’s big release – ‘Ram-Leela’ (now renamed ‘Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela’, more firmly after the recent controversy over its title). It seems Bhansali 
learnt it the hard way after dishing out two commercial duds – ‘Saawariya’ and ‘Guzaarish’. How else would you then explain him getting into co-production with an out-and-out commercial ‘Rowdy Rathore’? Nothing wrong in that though. He must have made money. What isn’t quite right is a director of his calibre compromising on his vision and style to a large extent in order to pull the crowd. ‘Ram-Leela’ is a yet another Indian adaptation of Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’. There have been many in the past – some worked (‘Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak’ or the more recent ‘Ishaqzaade’), most didn’t (the very recent ‘Issaq’ and many other equally terrible disastrous attempts). But this is Bhansali’s movie. It is his world. His movies have always been special. Someone who understands art and creativity should consider Bhansali a genius. Unfortunately, the genius fails at a creative level this time.
Set in a village in Gujarat (Remember ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’?), Ram (Ranveer Singh) and Leela (Deepika Padukone) belong to two warring families and we have no clue why they have been doing so. We are just told that they are enemies since 500 years (that’s quite some time… eh!). Over-smart but famous Ram sneaks into his enemies’ house to play Holi and bumps into Leela. Of course, sparks fly between them and they end up falling in love that day itself. But as luck (or the story) would have it, they have no choice but to elope and all in
vain. The poor lovers are forced to come back to their respective places and confront each other as enemies.
To start with, the script just does not work. Even if it is simple, it is shoddy. Direction by the creative story-teller is plain average this time. There are instances when you feel he wanted to compromise and make it more commercially appealing. There is even one scene where the hero walks into the enemies’ house and single-handedly bashes people and then resorts to some dialogue-baazi. Even the climax seems to be a straight lift from the one in ‘Ishaqzaade’. Bhansali still relies heavily on his craft using colours and technique. He seems to return to colour red (‘Khamoshi’, ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’, ‘Devdas’) after black, blue and grey in ‘Black’, ‘Saawariya’ and ‘Guzaarish’. No – I wasn’t being sarcastic. I was only trying to understand the man’s psyche. He seems to 
regain positivity with this one. Good. This might do well commercially. Good. It doesn’t match up to his standards. Not good. In addition, he has also composed the music (like in ‘Guzaarish’) and at best, it is average. There are too many songs in the movie and as expected, choreographed and directed really well. My pick of the lot is ‘Nagada Sang Dol’. The others are quite forgettable (also the one with Priyanka Chopra – silly lyrics). I also couldn’t help but laugh out loud at one of these songs. It went something like ‘Ishqyaun Dhishkaun’ and was filmed funnily enough to make me wonder if Bhansali really directed it and wanted it to be a part of his creativity. To save the day, the performances are good. Ranveer Singh seems to enjoy his role and brings to it a certain amount of energy. Where he falters is perhaps, when he tries too hard to be charming. It is his fourth movie and he does well but I don’t see him outshining himself in ‘Band Baaja Baaraat’ very soon. This is Deepika Padukone’s year – ‘Race-2’, ‘Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani’, ‘Chennai Express’ and this one. The former three are among the 200 crore and 100 crore Domestic Clubs. This might be the fourth one looking at the hype and controversies. But apart from that, she is evolving into one of the finest actresses with each step. Deepika is perhaps the only reason you might want to watch ‘Ram-Leela’. So mesmerizing that you can’t take your eyes off her and add to that, an equally 
mesmerizing performance yet again. Both Ranveer and Deepika share a spell-binding on-screen chemistry (off-screen too… but who can keep a count on Deepika and her number of flings and relationships). Supriya Pathak is good but the role doesn’t really shape up too well. The supporting cast is competent.
Watch it or not: Yes; a one-time watch if you really want to visit Bhansali’s new make-believe world. I am disappointed with it. His first movie ‘Khamoshi’ (irrespective of its box-office performance) remains my pick, followed by ‘Devdas’.
At the Box-Office: I do see it hitting a ton or so; now that Bhansali has compromised and made his vision and creativity more commercially appealing. Reviews and word-of mouth will range from poor to excellent. Commercially, it won’t be a losing proposition even in the worst-case scenario.
My Verdict
My Rating
Shakespeare must be turning in his grave. A creative genius like Bhansali could not do justice to his Romeo and Juliet. ‘Ram-Leela’ is more of an adaptation from ‘Ishaqzaade’.
