Movie Review: Tanu Weds Manu Returns

(Spoiler alert)

I hadn't watched the original Tanu Weds Manu and so had no context of what to expect. And I think that was a good idea, I went in the theatre with no first impressions, and came out completely shaken. What a movie! I do have some issues with it, but to be honest they are my own. The movie by itself was amazing and a must watch.

TWMR (couldn't they think of a more creative name?) starts 4 years after the marriage of the boring UK doctor, Sharmaji with the fiery Tanu from Kanpur. Their marriage has soured so much that Tanu gets Manu put into a mental asylum and returns back to Kanpur. At this point you would assume that their marriage is over, and that is where you are wrong!

When they both come back to India, the movie is a riot. Manu goes completely overboard with trying to get over Manu - acts crazy, flirts with her ex-boyfriends, paints the town red with their renter and god knows what all. She is just so crazy, you are never sure what she is capable of doing next. And then there is Manu who falls for Datto, a Haryanvi college girl and a lookalike of Tanu. What follows is a re-ignition of love in Tanu, as well as Datto and Manu trying to get married.

The story may sound simple, but the journey isn't at all. All the characters in the movie make it such an entertaining journey. Manu's brother, Pappi with his dreams of being in love and eloping with a friend's sister causes lots of problems. He is the character who runs the movie on his shoulders other than Kangana, with his hilarious one-liners and dialogues in so many random situations. Manu's friends Jassi and Payal have their own unresolved issues. A sequence with dancing Sardarjis in Garba costumes again was a highpoint. Jimmy Shergill as Awastiji, whose life is going to be turned around by the duo again. The renter Chintu who has his own ideas of how to make use of Tanu's breaking marriage. Tanu and Manu's parents who are silent spectators to all their randomness. The cast of characters is huge and so well etched - I don't remember too many movies reaching this level.

And of course, to top it all is Kangana. As the firebrand crazy (and hot looking) Tanu who does whatever she wants to. And then the local girl with a heart of fire, Kusum, with a Haryanvi accent not heard too often in Hindi movies.

The dialogues are so well written, each and every line looks like personally crafted. The situations are comic and funny. The cinematography of small towns like Kapurthala and Kanpur and Jhajjar is pretty. You can't be not moved by the movie. Its such a crazy roller coaster ride, you will come out shaken.

I did have issues with two things in the movie. One was there was no reasoning given for Tanu's u-turn versus Manu. There is no guarantee yet that their marriage won't reach a mental asylum again. So its not clear why Manu decided to break his wedding with Kusum (I saw Tanu weds Manu after this and now I know, I shouldn't even look for a reason, there is none when these two characters are concerned!!!).

The second was Tanu's character was too much for me to handle. She is just crazy! Its good to see such empowered women shown on screen, which is all too rare. Still I could see no logic to her madness and was found it tough to sympathise with her.

That being said, I think I would go for 4 stars for this one. Is a must watch just for the fresh air and different perspective that this movie brings.

(The characterisations in the movie are so awesome that its tough to call the characters Madhavan and Kangana, rather than Tanu and Manu. How often does that happen?)