Pranav Aggarwal

Amazing movie showing how Article 370 was abrogated and leading to a better Kashmir.

Rating: 5/5 Direction: The film was very entertaining and didn’t feel long at all. Every scene and part has a purpose and very few parts were rushed or dragged out. Editing is clearly done well. Genre: The genre of the movie being a mix of romance, family, comedy, and drama is done very well, lots of balance between the elements. There are enough funny, romantic, tense, sad, and touching moments to keep you interested. Acting: Ranveer Singh does a very good job of playing a complex character. Throughout the movie, great acting to be - dancing in Kathak, having flaws, being mocked himself, the outlandish character in the first half, and the emotional core and being funnily endearing. The English subtitles are done well, words are spelled wrong to show the incorrect pronunciation. Alia Bhatt is beautiful and great at personifying her character - successful, passionate, caring about people close to her. Her character is able to realize her true love while initially dismissing it, teaching the women in Rocky’s family some confidence and independence, while also learning herself. All the rest of the ensemble cast do a great job. Songs: Almost all of the songs are amazing, from the entrance song, Jhumka, romantic Kashmir song, Durga Puja song, wedding sequence, etc. Vocals, acting, lyrics, composing, and cinematography are all amazing in all. Cinematography: Amazing throughout the film and especially shining in the Durga Puja scene and song, which were visual spectacles. Themes: They explored many lessons and themes in the film, some being mentioned but the main one being gender equality.(turning over misogyny in Rocky’s family and breaking stereotypes by Rani’s dad performing Kathak). They also explored other themes like Rocky’s sister, who learns to be proud of who she is and only get married if she wants no matter how she looks. Rocky is laughed at for not knowing English and not being sophisticated which is also mentioned and explored. Overall they show no one is perfect and everyone has flaws and prejudices. There are more themes explored including loving your family over yourself, jobs, and the differing Punjabi/Bengali culture. Allusions: Many allusions to other films beside the old songs. Plot line is similar in some ways to 2 States, Dhanlakshmi has some similarities to the grandma in Shaandaar, they use the plural grammar in Darlings, Amitabh’s character in K3G is similar to Dhanlakshmi and the Kashmir and Durga song sequences are like Yash Chopra and Bhansali, respectively. Languages: They actually speak a good amount of Bengali and Punjabi, besides obviously Hindi and English in the film. First half was introducing to the characters and more lighthearted. They start their story along with their grandparents, breakup, reconcile, and decide to live with each others families. It could have been more explained how exactly they even fell in love. Second half was more dramatic and showy, with the many lessons and themes. Overall, a great experience and an entertaining, exciting, joyous, and enlightening film.