BAND BAAJA BAARAAT - Movie Review : Truly captures the lively West Delhi ambience and is a delightful watch with two shining performances. (Review By Bobby Sing)

In the present scenario, there are only two ways to write a descent movie, One – give the viewers a completely fresh entertaining storyline never tried before on the screen which is a tough task to do and Two – surprise them with a novel style of narration, using the same old kind of plots they may have already seen before but not in the same pattern or setting. BAND BAAJA BAARAAT follows a bit of both these rules in its execution and thus comes as a clear winner both in terms of entertainment and value of money.

First of all its uses the backdrop of a entirely new kind of business in which the lead pair is running a company of WEDDING PLANNERS in which they plan a whole wedding for a fixed amount of fees. Now their novel work certainly adds some fresh outlook to the project as it has never been used in a full fledged way for a Bollywood movie before. However you may remember glimpses of this job seen in Deepa Mehta’s MONSOON WEDDING where Vijay Raaz played the role of a Decoration Contractor.

Secondly, though revolving around the same concept of opposites attract (the boy and girl first fight and then fall in love), BAND BAAJA BAARAAT comes up with a completely fresh style of narration, using the realistic ambience of Punjabi Families and youth living in the areas of WEST DELHI. The openness found in the narrow lanes of Delhi’s famous colonies like Janak Puri, has got a huge attraction value in terms of language, warmth and daring. The viewer at once feels a relation with every character on the screen within minutes and that’s where the director starts making his impact on the audience in a big way.

The other important merit of the film is the way it defines the word INSPIRATION in the best possible manner. No doubt the writers take the inspiration for their basic plot from the English flick “THE WEDDING PLANNER” (2001). But here they have only taken the base for their story from the Original film and then have developed their own script on the foundation of that borrowed idea, which truthfully displays what exactly we should mean by the word, Inspiration.

Coming to the film all together, it’s a pleasant journey throughout with a highly entertaining first half and a very thoughtfully directed second. Where the first half is full of fun, dance and engaging moments, the second is more strong on the emotional side with few tolerable dull moments too. The whole narration is so fresh in execution and content that the viewer at once falls in love with the entire proceedings and starts enjoying. Looking at the basic premises where the movie is based i.e. New Delhi, it is an extension of the genre introduced by KHOSLA KA GHOSLA, OYE LUKCY LUCKY OYE and the recent DO DOONI CHAAR. Interestingly BBB’s screenplay has also been brilliantly written by Habib Faisal, the director of DO DOONI CHAAR and his script gives its full support to the confident direction of the debutant director Muneesh Sharma. As a team they both are really capable of doing wonders in the near future and I would be eagerly waiting for their next.

To be precise, BAND BAAJA BAARAAT wholeheartedly belongs to its lead pair of Anushka and the newcomer Ranveer. With their immensely likable chemistry, they both deliver superb performances in the movie and leave a highly positive impact on the viewer in the end. Here I would like to admit that with BBB, Anushka, whom I never took seriously in her previous movies, forced me to change my view about her acting skills. She very effortlessly slips into the body of a strong North Campus University Girl, who reacts with her brave boyish attitude and speaks with a heavy Punjabi accent.

On the other hand, Ranveer is simply outstanding in his amazing first time screen appearance and he straight away creates fans out of his viewers. The boy clearly gives you the reason, Why he was chosen to make his debut in a Yash Raj Film, who are known to be more comfortable with all the big saleable stars. In fact it was Ranveer and his remarkable portrayal of a directionless young graduate in the movie, which satisfied me a lot after a long long time and also made me feel like dancing on my seat at several instances. So, God willing, the boy has a great future ahead. His impressive act even reminded me of another similar kind of superb debut performance given by Arshad Warsi in his first film, “Tere Mere Sapne” released in 1996. Apart from their sparkling youthful performances both Anushka and Ranveer equally excel in their emotional scenes too which says a lot about their real hidden talent. And that’s not all since BAND BAAJA BAARAAT also has one the most sensuous, emotional and touchy kissing scene ever filmed on the Indian Silver Screen between its leading pair. After a long time I felt a director dealing with the issue of pre-marital sex with a more thoughtful, practical and appreciative approach in our Indian Cinema, which is a clear indication of our film-makers growing in their fearful stance towards the issue.

On the music front, one starts liking the soundtrack by Salim-Sulaiman and lyrics by Amitabh Bhattacharya while he is watching the film but I still think that a big universal HIT song could surely have helped the film in a much better way. The songs “Tarkeebein”, “Main Te Ainve Ainve Ainve” and “Band Baaja Baarat” are good and do stay in your mind while leaving the theater. In the marriage sequences both Choreography and Cinematography add to the entertaining mood of the film, shot in some interesting real locations of West Delhi. And in the supportive performances Neeraj Sood stands out as the Flower Vendor while Manmeet Singh and Manish Chaudhari suit their roles perfectly.

In all, BAND BAAJA BAARAAT is the most pleasant surprise of the year, which entertains many thousand times more than the big budget NO PROBLEM released along with it. But if still the latter gets more success on the box office, then it would certainly be a big loss for the viewers themselves in the long run. Finally, Yash Raj Films have a winner in their hand and they should continue doing the good work of giving chance to new kind of scripts, writers, actors and directors to come up with more movies like BAND BAAJA BAARAAT. So, you are all cordially invited to take part in this entertaining on-screen celebrations at the earliest.

Rating : 3.5 / 5