Film Review: Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani [Rocky & Rani’s Love Story]

Starring: Alia Bhatt, Ranveer Singh, Dharmendra, Jaya Bachchan, Shabana Azmi, Aamir Bashir, Namit Das

Director: Karan Johar

So, is this it – the kind of era defining sensitive love story that has been long-overdue from Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions camp? Before we get to the answer, it is fair to acknowledge that there was a lot riding on the filmmaker’s latest outing after a bit of a gap since his last mega Bollywood release ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’.

Rocky (Singh) is a spoilt, brash rich brat from a patriarchal Punjabi clan resident at the palatial Randhawa Paradise in Delhi’s traditional shopping hub of Karol Bagh. It is only his special bond with his disabled and poetic grandfather Kanwal (Dharmendra) that offers a glimpse of the warm-hearted nature of this iron-pumping self-absorbed hunk.

Rani (Bhatt) is a sophisticated and well-educated journalist, known for her fiery reputation for holding corrupt and sexist politicians to account live on air. This stylish career woman lives at the very liberal-minded Chatterjees’ less extravagant abode in the Bengali hub of Chittaranjan Park in Delhi.

The sensibilities, worldview and upbringing of these two Delhiites could not be more contrasting. And, under normal circumstances, their chances of mingling in similar social circles would have been close to nil. However, when Rocky chances upon his grandfather’s long-forgotten love story with a lady named Jaimini (Azmi), the worlds of the Randhawas and Chatterjees collide in the most dramatic of ways.

Rani is as keen as Rocky to reunite her widowed grandmother Jaimini with her soulmate Kanwal, but there is a big hurdle in the way in the form of Rocky’s domineering grandmother (Bachchan) and somewhat fearsome father (Bashir). But as the pair plot secret rendezvous for Jaimini and Kanwal, their own attraction begins to play out in parallel – complete with a background track of some of Bollywood’s most iconic melodies from yesteryears.

While Rani believes their frolicking falls very firmly in the category of “a fling, just a thing”, her grandmother is the first to point out that there may be more depth to the emotions. When, against her better judgment, Rani does eventually acknowledge her true feelings for Rocky, their unlikely love story is finally forced to confront the vast chasm that divides their families. With the prospect of “adjusting” into the suffocating patriarchal norms of the Randhawa household out of the question, the lovebirds decide to swap places with each other for three months in an attempt to mould their family homes to be better suited for future marital bliss. Will this experiment prove successful in the end, or is Rocky and Rani’s love story doomed to an unhappy ending?

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Now, coming back to the question at the very start of this review – the answer is quite definitively yes! Karan Johar has delivered a Bollywood ballad that is befitting for the modern day, tackling stark issues from cancel culture and women’s rights to fat shaming and class divides along the way. It is undoubtedly his most mature outing as a filmmaker.

The sheer powerhouse of acting talent at his disposal certainly made things as easy, breezy as some of the hilarious one-liners this film is packed with. RARKPM, as the acronym goes for this new Bollywood saga, is packed to the brim with all the classic KJo tropes – classy and vibrant outfits by Manish Malhotra, opulent sets in a deceptively polished Delhi, picture-perfect shots of snow-capped mountains and foot-tapping musical numbers. But each one of the tropes hit the right spot, especially the ode to some of Indian cinema’s classic love songs and the nod to the legendary king of romance Yash Chopra’s iconic filmmaking style.

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The wait was worth it because after a long hiatus there is finally an all-out Bollywood musical family entertainer, complete with two weddings and a funeral, that will make you laugh, cry and groove along to the very end.