Tamasha Movie Review

Ranbir Kapoor has been going through a bad phase recently with his last 3 films flopping at the box office. This is because of bad choice of screenplays and taking on subjects which his fanbase hadn’t seen him in before. He has made a name for himself amongst the urban youth who have loved his work in Wake up Sid, Ajab Prem.., Barfi, Rockstar and, of course, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani which went on to become one of the biggest hits of all time. He’s back in that space once more with Imtiaz Ali directing and the Queen of Bollywood Deepika Padukone costarring. Will Tamasha be able to turnaround Ranbir’s career?

Story: Ved Vardhan Sahni (Ranbir) is on a trip to Corsica (France). He’s gone there alone. He meets Tara Maheshwari (Deepika). They both roam around together and have the time of their lives. But with once catch. They don’t reveal anything about their personal lives to each other. Tara returns to India and 4 years pass by. She can’t seem to shake off Ved from her mind. However both meet once again in Delhi and start going out. After a few weeks, Tara realizes that the person she knew isn’t the same anymore. This Ved that she’s with is now just a corporate robot. Does Ved rediscover the guy back in Corsica? Is his inner storyteller able to come out? To know that, watch the film.

Screenplay and Direction: Imtiaz Ali is in fine fine form with Tamasha. His flair for direction, for beautiful frames, for Delhi, for abstract themes, for cinematic subtleties, for non-linear storytelling comes to the fore with Tamasha once again. Tamasha is charming, hypnotic because of the director Imtiaz and his panache for these sort of coming-of-age love stories. Tamasha is a niche film which might even seem a bit slow to few but if you stick with it, the bounty is fulfilling. His ability to extract career best performances from his leads is nothing new and it continues with Tamasha.

Tamasha is shot like a dream with every frame oozing with beautiful aesthetic sense. The editing is one of the best things about Tamasha which adopts a very non-linear storytelling device. Unlike Rockstar, it isn’t a hindrance to the film either. The costume design is top class and the production design is fantastic and cinematic even though it is realistic too.

Music: AR Rahman gave one of his life’s best soundtracks with Rockstar and whilst he isn’t in the same form with Tamasha, he still does a very good job with the music of Tamasha. Chali Kahaani is enigmatic, Heer Toh Badi Sad Hai is peppy and quirky. Wat Wat is a lot of fun. Tui Koi Aur Hai is haunting. Matargashti has a hummable tune but doesn’t end up impressing too much. But the pick of the soundtrack is Agar Tum Saath Ho. The melody of this song is what makes it a classic and the way it has been shot deserves credit even though Chali Kahaani is the best picturized and choreographed song of recent times.

Acting: Tamasha is Ranbir Kapoor. It is a one man show all the way. Ranbir gives a masterclass of acting as Ved Sahni in Tamasha. The gamut of expressions he has portrayed is to be seen to be believed. He has aced every characteristic, every trench and mountain of the character. He lives the character of Ved. These sort of performances are very easy to dismiss but they require a lot of talent to pull off so effortlessly. Giving Ranbir ample support is Deepika. Deepika puts in a magnetic, love forlorn performance. She keeps getting better and better with every movie.

Conclusion: Tamasha is a unique cinematic journey which might seem a bit tedious to the lay viewer but with every passing frame it manages to lure in the audience in Ved’s world. If you are impatient and don’t want to delve too much into a movie, then Tamasha isn’t the movie for you this weekend. But if you believe in your movies to be something out of the ordinary laced with a different sensibility then Tamasha should be right up your alley. Watch it for the direction, for Ranbir’s acting, for the chemistry between Ranbir and Deepika, for the music, for the different story. Why always the same story? Try Tamasha for a change.

Pros:

• Ranbir Kapoor’s marvelous acting
• Imtiaz’s panache in direction
• Lead pair’s chemistry
• The music by Rahman
• The costume design and production design

Cons:

• The pace might be in the slower side for a few
• The editing might confuse viewers

Rating: