So let me begin by asking a simple question - Dude, what's with the name? I mean had it been a little more self- explanatory, it would have come with a video tutorial. I understand the general obsession with length (specially among men), but movie title is really not the place to fight that competition. As in an ad, when you say too much, it mostly means two things: 1. You can't make up your mind about what to say, 2. You think that every darn thing which comes out of your mouth is gold! I am digressing... so coming back to the point : DUUUDDE whats with the name!!??
You know, as it might have appeared in the lines above, Ram Leela isn't really that bad. If a new up-coming director or Rohit Shetty had made this movie, I would have really thought highly of that person (even Rohit Shetty). But when the movie comes from someone like Sanjay Leela Bhansali, then you are left wondering- what was he smoking ??
Coming to the movie itself, set in a town in Gujarat, which is torn between warring clans of Rajadi and Sanedas; is inspired from Romeo & Juliet (says, some "people"). The movie in itself has several positives. Sets are grand; colors are rich and plenty; cinematography is excellent. The use of contrasting colors (like red and blue in Holi scene) or single color themed sets (like the song sequence with Deepika in red) is truly a work of art. Its a total visual pleasure (While I can't say the same for the extremely chiseled out Ranveer Singh who refused to wear a shirt; some women might differ). Even in acting department, though a little overdone at times, the movie is pretty decent (Supriya Pathak really stands out). I think, personally, where SLB really out did himself was in his efforts to set a wild wild west kind of a gun slinging society in the heart of Gujarat (with an extra shot of Haryana thrown in between). It was quite bold in efforts, and to certain extent I think he succeeded in doing it.
However when you come to the heart of the movie - the story, is when you wonder for the second , and the third, and the fourth time - what was he smoking? Story telling was massively shoddy; characters were rarely built; there was no flow or logic to events. How do you pick up a girl by looking at her for 30 seconds with all lustful eyes; or cut your hand which heals by the time you reach your village that afternoon; or make the person who ran away during a Rajadi- Saneda World War -6, the "Don of Clan"; or turn from a pathological "Rajadi-hater" to mother Teresa in just 1 jadoo ki jhappi; are questions which trouble me when I sleep. I am not averse to fiction as a genre, however I find it easier to imagine that in 1 year the world will be ruled by "Skynet", than to believe that guy after marriage can dare not to pick up his wife's call, especially after he had an all night long drinking session with his buddies. But hey, that's just me!
To conclude, I think I had mentioned earlier (on FB) that for guilt free watching, please to spend less than Rs 200, I think after second thoughts I would say Rs 150 is the limit.
P.S:
Also, a genuine request to everyone who had compared this with Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet : please get a copy of the original (its cost less than the ticket at PVR).
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