Tanu Weds Manu

Tackling the idea of marriage after the success of Band Baja Baraat was supposed to be a tricky issue, but Tanu weds Manu seems to have emerged a w... read more

Tackling the idea of marriage after the success of Band Baja Baraat was supposed to be a tricky issue, but Tanu weds Manu seems to have emerged a winner in its attempt. It could be a similar boy meets girl for marriage and rest some filmy songs thrown in Bollywood celluloid, but its thoda hatke. We dont get to see all groomed up, small town girl but a total opposite smoking drinking and vituperative Tanu Trivedi aka Kangna Ranaut. She's far from the Desi mage that people may have of a Kanpur girl in their mind and "biklul gaye (cow)hai humari Tanu" dialogue by her mother is a far cry from the reality. But the serious and more suppressive part is played by R Madhavan as Dr Manu Sharma. He is a NRI ( a potential catch for our desi bride) and very soft-spoken as well. Suppressed and emotionally blackmailed by his family he had to return and marry a girl of his parents choice just to make them happy ( as he was too busy making career abroad to even make a girlfriend on his own, whom he could eventually marry). Next, scene we get to meet loads of characters like friend and advisor Swara Bhaskar playing the role of Payal, who provides us with her doses of philosophical insight of the world.
Tucked away from the world and coddled Tanu's parents think that their girl is very sensitive typical Indian girl with no idea about the big bad world outside, but sadly it is all wrong as we get to see the bride to be in all her actual colors. On meeting her potential groom, she rejects Manu and tries her best to squiggle out of the arranged marriage fasaad in order to elope with her boyfriend Jimmy Sheirgill. The film portrays the typical Punjabi wedding to our likeness and few funny hiccups in between the movie is strung with some good foot tapping numbers like Jugni by Mika, Saddi Gali by Lehmber HUssainpuri and Yun Hi by Mohit Chauhan and Ujjaini.
Thought character of Jimmy Shergill the muscle flexing, rustic boyfriend of our Tanu could have been given more screen space, but sadly wasn't. Yet, Swara Bhaskar is refreshingly good in her characters shoes and plays the role to the tee. Another best character was that of Dobriyal, who gives all the comic punches in the movie with ease and not to mention the main characters are likeable and give an appreciable attempt. The cities of Lucknow and Kanpur are shown in a refreshingly new light. All in all a good watch for the weekend.
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Manu is perfect marriage material. Tanu is heavily screwed up. And yet, in some wacky, filmy sort of way, they are made for each other.Welcome to t... read more

Manu is perfect marriage material. Tanu is heavily screwed up. And yet, in some wacky, filmy sort of way, they are made for each other.

Welcome to this fun filled caper where one of them finds true love, and the other discovers new love. 'Tanu Weds Manu' offers you the maximum in terms of enjoyment that can be bought in the price of one cinema ticket. For even more, you might as well decide to get hitched yourself.

The story is awesome from the word Go: The setting is a rustic household in ChamanGanj, Kanpur (which is incidentally a Muslim majority area, and the effect is apparent on a Brahmin household where the girl wears chunky jewellery with red and green suits), where the unsuspecting, London-return docile boy comes to see his prospective bride. Girl in question has swallowed sleeping pills with booze and is sleeping while he sizes her up, and makes good use of his camera phone for future use. The mood is already set with this ribtickling start (where a young girl is doing the naagin dance for prospective jeejaji), and the makers don't disappoint till the very end.

What makes this film an absolute treat (even though it is strikingly similar to Namaste London - it can be called NL2.0, and still it packs enough punch not to be written of as a remake) is the entire gamut of side characters, all of which have well etched out roles - Pappi, Jassi, Raja, Payal all of them do justice to their characters and ethnicities. The Delhites, Lucknawis, Kanpuriyas, Biharis and Punjus all exude realism by their accents and personalities. To top them all, Kangana Ranaut redefines the 'Jabraat' babe and Madhavan delights with his loveable, teddy bear act.

My only grouse is the somewhat weak climax, and the unrealistic transformation of the bride. But to borrow from the film: Thoda sa raita fail bhee jaaye to chalta hae: aakhirkaar Mannu bhaiya ne kar hi dikhaaya !!

A word of caution: Are you really going to take my word for TWM? I share a name and state with Madhavan, and am currently camping out in Kanpur. I simply cannot find fault with this flick !!! :-) :-) view less

Any trade magazine or senile market researcher will tell you that I belong to the core 54.63% of the 'Target Demographic' of Indian cinema, 32.85% ... read more

Any trade magazine or senile market researcher will tell you that I belong to the core 54.63% of the 'Target Demographic' of Indian cinema, 32.85% of which lies between 22 and 30, 15% of which is always stoned, and the rest of which always wants to be a Roadie.

Meanwhile, almost 100% of our films are furiously written, re-written and manipulated to cater to this demographic.

But the trade magazines also don't know that we know they don't REALLY know what we want.

Which is exactly why 'Tanu Weds Manu' isn't quite a marriage made in heaven. It appears to be a by-product of the current trend of weaving love stories around the UP-Delhi-Punjab belt, playing on the unique wit, accents and dialects of northern India. But it doesn't work here, because it only copies the end, not the means, and ends up being soulless.

Its a bit like expecting a pick up line to work just because it worked for someone else.

Manu(Madhavan) is a London based doctor:nerdy, 'well-settled', unattractive and hence, unsurprisingly single. Parental pressure forces him into agreeing to seeing girls for an arranged marriage, with Tanu(Kangana Ranaut) being the one who leaves him smitten the most.

Tanu manages to lead a happy, high life in the humble environs of Kanpur, and lives a life that most U.P. bad boys would trade places for: alcohol-bingeing, cigarette-smoking and casual sex-having.

So obviously, she isn't quite a Manu supporter. Manu is duly rejected, and only has his sidekick- Pappi(Deepak Dobriyal) for solace.

Lots of girl interviews follow, which go nowhere except giving him an acquaintance in Raja(Jimmy Shergill). But Manu is smitten and spineless: exactly the combination that gets a Bollywood hero his girl. He bumps into her at a friend's wedding(Jassi, played by Eijaz Khan), and tries to woo her (within his limitations). It doesn't work. Instead, he ends up being a witness when she decides to marry her boyfriend in court, convinces her dad to marry her off to someone else, etc....all before waking up, gathering his cajones and finally marrying her himself.

About the performances, Kangana Ranaut is the most complex. What she gains from her physical ease and fluidity, she fritters away with a horrible diction. Madhavan, for the restrained actor that he is, is restricted by the writer/director who probably thinks of nerdy doctors as one-dimensional, robotic people sans emotions. Deepak Dobriyal, Eijaz Khan and Jimmy Shergill are good, and keep the game going the best way they can.

The makers also need to be told that when they show a spineless male character get a girl who he never had any chemistry with and who was clearly not interested, they do the society a great disservice. Because if at all life imitates cinema, they only help create Facebook stalkers and Gurgaon rapists.

And when they make a female character swear and expect us to find it cool, they're mistaken. Bringing back the mindless demographic statistics they believe in- 45% of urban women swear in schools, colleges and offices. That's a lot, and too common a phenomenon for a random, misplaced 'Chutiya' to have any dramatic value. So please, let them use gaalis when the other character really deserves them.

Its a pity that the expectations a number like 'Saadi Gali' raised had to come crashing down.

That apart, if Jimmy Shergill doesn't get a solo lead role soon, he might be setting himself up for a 'Lifetime Achievement Award for a Supporting Actor' some 20 years ahead.
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Tanu Weds Manu is a simple and sweet account of an intriguing journey of two characters who are poles apart from one another. Meet Manu aka Dr. Man... read more

Tanu Weds Manu is a simple and sweet account of an intriguing journey of two characters who are poles apart from one another. Meet Manu aka Dr. Manoj Sharma- a well mannered, polite, softhearted and innocent gentleman who ends up falling for his first prospective bride i.e. Tanu aka Tanuja Trivedi- a bold, rebellious, blabbermouth flamboyant girl from Kanpur.

The film kick-starts with Manu and his parents going to visit Tanu and her family in Kanpur, and that is when the joyride begins. Trivedi's house is earthy and rustic but bustling with different activities involving a lot of pragmatic and realistic characters. A little girl offers to show 'naagin' dance to her soon-to-be Jijaji and that is when the film completely grapples you with its realism and subtle wit and makes you believe each and every bit of it. Most of the story moves forward with a backdrop of the wedding of Jassi(Eijaz Khan) & Payal(Swara Bhaskar) who are Manu & Tanu's respective best friends.

Tanu Weds Manu is a palette filled with different characters from different backgrounds, dished out in a very exquisite manner. R. Madhavan has done complete justice to the character of Manu and this film is surely going to fetch him a lot more female fans because of his goody-goody role. However, Kangna Ranaut fails to deliver an upto-the-mark performance. Her acting at times, is unreal and made up. Her flamboyant character will definitely get your memory bells ringing and remind you of Geet from 'Jab We Met'. So, a comparison is bound to occur in which Kangna clearly fails. Eijaz Khan fits the bill of a hatta-katta gabru jawan pretty convincingly and Swara Bhaskar has put up a totally marvelous act and has succeeded in mimicking the Bihari accent with a lot of ease and confidence. Jimmy Sheirgill has portrayed the character of Raja very well and has proved that he can do wonders provided he gets the right script. But the show-stopper and epicenter of this film is undoubtedly Deepak Dhobriyal as Pappi. His rib-ticking comments are definitely going to leave you with fits of laughter at times. He keeps the film alive with his side-splitting one-liners, even in during the most dying moments of the film. Rajendra Gupta, K.K. Raina, Navni Parihaar and Deepti Mishra are effective. But, the film has wasted an actor as talented as Ravi Kissen. Overall, the characters are vibrant and sketched and executed beautifully.

Director, Aanand L. Rai has proved to be a great raconteur by putting forth a very well execution of a nicely penned down script. However, the story gets a bit dragged towards the end and spreads far too much marmalade on the toast, thus, becoming a little bit of overdose. The last scene of the film is surely going to remind you of the last scene of Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein, where R. Madhavan is still the same, just Dia Mirza and Saif's characters are replaced by that of Kangna Ranaut and Jimmy Sheirgill's. The music by Krsna is earthy and enjoyable, although the most popular track of this film- 'Saddi Gali' lasts for hardly a minute in the film. But, Mohit Chauhan's Yun Hi is a very beautiful and romantic track which somehow makes up for it.

To conclude with, TWM is a sweet, breezy and feel-good family entertainer with dollops of wit and drama. There are slight chances that you might not love it, but surely you won't dislike it.

GO FOR IT:

1) If you are looking out for a film that you will enjoy watching with your entire family.
2) If want to watch a film with a typical Indian, rustic and earthy essence to it.

IGNORE IT:

1) If you are scared to see Kangna Ranaut on the big screen after her lip job. *Chuckles*
2) If you think that the entire 'saddi gali' song is present in the film.
3) If you are bored of filmy rom-coms. view less

Internal bias: I like Madhavan... a lotFirst, the new silent anthem that they play at Big cinemas which shows deaf mute kids acting out the nationa... read more

Internal bias: I like Madhavan... a lot

First, the new silent anthem that they play at Big cinemas which shows deaf mute kids acting out the national anthem is so lovely that it puts you in a mellow and benevolent frame of mind and prepares you to like what is dished out to you for the next two hours.

This happy feeling carries you through in this movie for the first half hour or so while you get to know the characters, set against the dusty backdrop of north Indias cities such as Kanpur and Lucknow. Madhavan plays a straight laced doctor living in England who comes looking for a match in Kanpur. He takes one look at a sleeping Kangana Ranaut and falls in love school boyishly with her in that instant. She turns out to be a smoking, drinking, foul mouthed hussy who is rebelling against her parents. He loves her all the same and keeps looking at her goofily through the movie while she dances lustily to that beautiful old song kajra mohabbat wala. She is going to marry a railway contractor (Jimmy Shergill) only to defy her parents it seems. The movie meanders along till it all ends as it should.

The movie has funny moments thanks to a super duper performance by Deepak Dobriyal as the family servant/friend Pappi. A big jhappi for Pappi from me! I wish they had shown more of him and his side story which remains untapped. For me he is the real hero of the movie. Kanganas character as the rebellious girl is not fully developed. Does she have a brain? A heart? Or does she just rebel because there is nothing else to do? There is too much clutter in the movie for it to be enjoyable. The first half entertains but the second half is confused, mostly because of Kanganas character. She is like a half baked version of Jeet from Jab we met. I wish they had etched her in greater detail for the movie to fall in place.

Kangana has done something hideous to her lips that wont allow her to speak clearly. Her dialogue delivery is so irritating and her smile so gargoyle like that she grates and leaves one wishing it was someone else. For me, she was a big disappointment here, especially since I have liked her in her other movies. Also her hair needs a full bottle of good conditioner. Madhavan needs to slim down if his eyes have to be visible from his chubby cheeks. But he is a romantic hero and he wears his heart on his sleeve here with aplomb. My heart skips a beat just looking at him looking at her (why her? How can he be so stupid?). Jimmy Shergill as the other guy is very good and he makes an impact in his one strong scene.

To watch or not to? Well, its time pass but not paisa vasool. If watching Kangana looking raunchy (check her out in the end credits dancing to Mikas Jugni) appeals to you, go for it. But if you are looking for a strong story with well defined characters this will disappoint.
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