Director: Imtiaz Ali
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Jawed Sheikh, Piyush Mishra
There have been many films which have been made or inspired by many English novels, or in some cases, a popular proverb or an adage. This week’s release Imtiaz Ali’s TAMASHA falls into the latter. Inspired by the Shakespearean’s extremely popular monologue, ‘All the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players’, TAMASHA stars Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone in the lead roles. Will they be able to recreate the magic that they did the last time with YEH JAWAANI HAI DEEWANI or will the magic of this pair fizzle out, let’s analyze.
The film starts off with the onstage robotic ‘introduction’ of Ved Vardhan Sahni (Ranbir Kapoor). The story then gets into a flashback mode wherein the audiences are introduced to the childhood of Ved, who gets mesmerized and enchanted by stories. The ‘impact’ of these stories told during his childhood is so huge that it starts hampering his ‘corporate life’. The story then takes the viewers to Corsica, the place that he chooses to break free from his routine stereotyped life. It is here where he meets Tara Maheshwari (Deepika Padukone), an ‘Asterix’ crazy Indian who gets stranded in Corsica because of her lost baggage. When Ved and Tara meet, they get into an agreement that they will refrain from asking each other’s personal details and that whatever they tell each other will be only lies, and lastly, ‘what happens in Corsica, stays in Corisca’. That’s why they decide to become ‘Don’ and ‘Mona Darling’ respectively. Thus continues their journey of break free and unknown identities. The duo enjoy each and every moment of their life to the fullest, till one day Tara gets her passport to go back to India. The two depart with the promise that they will never meet each other ever again. Life then becomes the routine for the two in India (although in different locations)… till one day they meet again. That’s when they, not just reveal their real identities, but also grow extremely fond of each other. When the going is simply smooth and great, Ved proposes to Tara in front of his entire office by giving her a ring. However, contrary to everyone’s expectations Tara drops a bombshell on Ved and his friends by not accepting the ring. This corporate show shatters Ved’s life, so much so that he gets fired from his job. What is the reason that Tara to reject Ved’s proposal despite being head over heels in love with him, does Ved ever get his job back, how do Ved’s parents react to his job failure, do Ved and Tara ever come together is what forms the rest of the story.
There were extremely high expectations from the film’s director Imtiaz Ali, whose last film was the hard hitting HIGHWAY. The sad part is that with TAMASHA, Imtiaz Ali fails to live upto the expectations and falls flat with the film. The movie suffers from a plot that appears confusing and is convoluted for an avid cinegoer. The film fails to bear the trademark way of his writing and the quintessential ‘Imtiaz Ali’ style of film making. His direction fails to complement the screenplay and vice versa. The movie is not a regular run of the mill flick and the proceedings are clearly aimed at the classes rather than the masses. The film’s first 20 minutes that aims to setup the tempo and establish the character of Ranbir, might appear as boring to some. While (comparatively) the film’s first half is refreshing, the film’s second half seems to drag majorly. This hampers the film and acts as a spoilsport in the progress of the film. While on one hand, the movie gets entangled in a web of its own plot while trying to resolve Ranbir’s identity crisis, on the other hand, the movie does have its ‘wow’ and ‘not to be missed’ moments in the form of the proceedings in Corsica, Deepika’s first meeting with Ranbir in India, Ranbir’s outburst and also Ranbir’s ‘storytelling’ to his parents.
Now for the lead actors, Ranbir Kapoor, whose last film was the box-office dud BOMBAY VELVET, comes up with a lively performance in TAMASHA. He fits into the character like a fish takes to water. His chemistry with Deepika Padukone is extremely likeable, believable and relatable. The kind of chemistry that these two share on screen; one is always reminded of the magical chemistry between Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol. Despite putting in a commendable performance, the lackluster screenplay and the directionless direction surely plays the villainous speed breaker in his role. As far as Deepika Padukone is concerned, she is totally at ease with her character in TAMASHA. Her ability to ‘switch’ emotions in her role is superlative and really commendable. Every time she comes on screen, she simply lights it up with her magnetic presence. There is never a dull moment in the film when she is on screen. As far the other actors in the film are concerned, they simply help the film in moving forward.
Music has always been a mainstay in all of Imtiaz Ali’s films. But, sadly, in TAMASHA, it is otherwise. Despite A.R. Rahman at the helm of things, the music (sadly) does not help in lifting the proceedings. At the same time, one cannot ignore the melodious track in the film in the form of ‘Matargashti‘ that stays fresh in the minds of the viewers.
The film’s editing (Aarti Bajaj) is below average (the film could have been better had the editing been watertight. The film’s cinematography (Ravi Varman) is commendable but could have been better, as the exotic locales of Corsica could have been shown in a ‘much better light’.
On the whole, TAMASHA comes across as a colossal disappointment in spite of towering performances and chemistry between the lead stars. At the box-office, the film will find it difficult to sustain and negative word of mouth will further erode its business capacity to a great extent.
