by Aryan Vyas
Just like every Himanshu Sharma-Aanand L Rai collaboration, “Atrangi Re” is a film seeped into magical realism. Cinema is make-believe; a film, no matter what absurd height it is aiming at, can still work if its makers go in with full conviction. Taking a leap-of-faith is a thing that follows naturally while being engrossed in the world-building of a movie. “Atrangi Re” begins with a forced marriage between Rinku (Sara Ali Khan) and Vishu (Dhanush). The film doesn't waste time to show us that Rinku is from an abusive family with a long, complicated past. She is from Bihar, drenched in rain and warm shades of color. Rinku is forced into marriage because she is forever trying to elope with the love of her life- Sajjad. Vishu on the other hand, is a man of reason who has his life figured out and wants to go the straight path; he sets up checkpoints that coincide with his age, who's thrown into falling for a girl that's exactly opposite to him on that spectrum. Vishu finds himself at the wrong place at the wrong time as he becomes victim to the now-infamous groom kidnapping in certain Indian states. Mild spoilers follow from here on.
Pankaj Kumar's colorfully rich visuals give “Atrangi Re” an almost fairytale-ish feel. That's precisely what made the film work for me, as it's in line with what the story's going at. In the second act, there's a transition; it asks you to take a big leap-of-faith. Even if some may find that transition abrupt, I was willing to let go of that reservation due to the writer's conviction in the characters. Akshay Kumar's Sajjad primes his horns to play the antagonist of sorts in the star-crossed love story of Vishu and Rinku, creating a rift between the newly married couple. Soon we learn that Sajjad doesn't really exist; he's just a coping mechanism that Rinku has developed since childhood. And how do you show that coping mechanism in a Bollywood musical that's aiming at magical realism? You exaggerate it. You make it arrive on an elephant while playing magic tricks in the middle of the road in broad daylight. And what better way of reinforcing it further than by casting someone who's become an OG for his great over-the-top comedic timing- Akshay Kumar? The grandiosity with which the movie decides to go for it renders and gels that aspect of the narrative seamlessly with the soundtrack. This is AR Rahman's recent best work.
Vishu's best friend is Madhu, played by an excellent Ashish Verma who nails the role of a ‘hero's friend' figure again. It's through his character that the movie depicts how mental health is usually seen in the big circles. He claims that he knows how all women think, since he's a psychiatrist. His solution of ‘healing' Rinku is simply by telling her that Sajjad is dead, as she'll soon be alright and come back to Vishu once she has no choice left. So now, addressing the elephant in the room- a lot of the online discourse about the film surrounds its portrayal of mental health. I think that the film isn't even trying to go that route; the visuals, the soundtrack, everything is making a case against that. At the same time, I understand that mental health is a touchy subject and since it's also extremely subjective, as a filmmaker you constantly remain on the edge of patronizing your viewers. However, even if one were to find the importance of mental health from a mainstream Bollywood movie, “Atrangi Re” makes a case against someone who thinks like Madhu. That's precisely why in the last act, Vishu goes against his friend's advice and acknowledges Rinku's mental space, giving her the time to find that resolution herself. He believes in her and doesn't go the toxic route by asking her to choose one by delusioning her into believing something else. Love often comes out of suffering and trauma. And seeing ‘love' as the ultimate thing that could resolve most problems that surround us isn't something that films aren't used to showing. The screenwriter's depiction of these difficult issues shouldn't be looked at in its literal sense.
How you look at a title like “Atrangi Re” is going to be wholly based on whether you decide to go with the swing it's going at. Another thing that I really admired is how it makes covid a part of its very world. Our everyday lives are inseparable from the events of our surroundings. The quintessence of melodrama is in its treatment of everyday people's troubles with the grandeur of tragedy. The film sets up its world so well that even when the big ‘reveal' is made, it may come across as less surprising but no less affecting. I was willing to let go of many of the flaws I had with the film- from its bumpy transition into the second act to the Freudian climax that might feel like it's asking a bit too much to buy into its hyper realistic approach, because it hit all the right cords emotionally for me. And that's the very essence of melodramatic genius. Aanand L Rai's visual sensibility is pointed and sharp-edged, which hits the emotions home by the emphatic angles of closeups of Dhanush.
Sara Ali Khan does a fair-enough job here as well, which goes to show how good directors can play into an actor's strengths and mask their blemishes. The filmmakers along with Dhanush's character in the movie aren't leaning on the side mainstream cinema tends to be at when it comes to the depiction of mental illness; they're making a case against it. The film also feels surprisingly meta, as Akshay Kumar's character, a fragment of Rinku's own imagination, is literally named Sajjad Ali Khan. Let's also give credits for having a full-fleshed Tamil monolog from a Tamil actor in a Bollywood film. Through all such choices, I couldn't help but notice how Himanshu Sharma-Aanand L Rai are making projects that serve as an antidote to what a lot of Bollywood ‘niche' cinema stands for these days. An entertaining and emotionally hard-hitting musical has become a rare commodity in Bollywood lately. Watching “Atrangi Re” gave me an opportunity to experience what a Bollywood musical always stood for, enough for me to overlook many of its flaws.
