Love gets complicated
All the successful actors of the Punjabi industry cast together can’t ensure a film’s entertainment quotient, proves Rangeelay, this week’s release. As most love stories go, the movie is about falling in love at first sight (with a golgappa-popping Neha Dhupia aka Simmi), the girl playing hard to get (until much after the interval) and some villain-bashing before the lovers unite for a happily ever after. Lovedeep Kaur Sidhu writes
As most love stories go, Rangeelay is about falling in love at first sight (with a golgappa-popping Neha Dhupia aka Simmi), the girl playing hard to get (until much after the interval) and some villain-bashing before the lovers unite for a happily ever after.
Simultaneously, there is buffoonery by the standard Punjabi comedian troupe comprising Jaswinder Bhalla, Binnu Dhillon and Rana Ranbir, which is perhaps the only part Punjabi films-loving audiences look forward to. Strangely though, the comedians seem jaded in Rangeelay, as if they need a vacation before they return with genuinely rib-tickling humour that made them famous in the first place.
Rangeelay is the third film that sees Jimmy Sheirgill as the producer after Dharti and Taur Mittran Di. Perhaps he makes better choices as an actor, or maybe Dheeraj Rattan, who has written the story, needs a vacation as well (he last directed the debacle Sadi Love Story, for which he wrote the story and screenplay). In fact, it is hard to believe that the film stars the same Jimmy who looked almost picture perfect in Hindi film Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster and its sequel.
Looking haggard, he plays a lousy recovery agent who can’t get his eyes off the permanently-scowl-faced Simmi. Neha Dhupia, who must be credited for donning some trendy salwar suits, has clearly tried hard to gel with viewers in her maiden Punjabi film, but failed terribly.
Excessively loud and unjustifiably angry, she just doesn’t seem to warm up to her suitor’s efforts. They could be friends off screen, but Neha and Jimmy need to learn what works on screen.
There are sub-plots, in which fit Angad Bedi, BN Sharma and others, while the director has left it to audiences to make sense of disjointed sequences. Music by Jaidev Kumar is peppy, a saving grace.
A bhangra item in the second half has impressive tonal quality and great moves by Jimmy, one of the reasons the actor’s fans can go watch the film. Just when you think the film is finally nearing its end, there is absolutely unnecessary Salman Khan-inspired action, while Angad Bedi’s twin story goes unexplained.
Final verdict: We miss Saheb.