A História de Amor de Rocky e Rani

Rocky Aur Rani is another addition to the gallery of Dharma films with cringe and wordy titles. Karan Johar is famous for making unapologetically formulaic potboilers with larger than life settings, unrealistic tropes, humour banking on audience's stereotypical and/or prejudiced mentality, scintillating chemistry, great soundtrack and score, extremely convenient resolutions and a buttload of melodrama. Rocky-Rani, however, does two things differently. It underwhelms on the music front and it ditches punchbag character-oriented humour for more progressive comedy.

The movie is filled with pop culture references, many of which were self-eulogising and relied on the feedback loop of celebrity culture whose torchbearer is Karan Johar himself. It also takes up certain plots that could potentially contradict each other and then dissolves them conveniently for the benefit of the main storyline that revolves around the lead pair. Half of the film's budget seems to have been spent on obtaining licenses to the many, many popular Bollywood numbers it used to set up the chemistry between its lead pair - something its average original soundtrack probably wouldn't have managed.

You walk into a Karan Johar film expecting all of this but where this film surprises is in its tonality. The movie feels like an Ayushmann Khurrana social comedy set in Karan Johar cinematic universe. You have a relatable, spoilt but receptive "raja beta" as the lead who falls in love with someone who transforms him into a progressive man. The main conflict then revolves around this man transforming the rest the regressive characters into doing better and the resolution is always acceptance and togetherness. Of course all of this involves extremely wealthy characters whose jobs turn demanding and non-demanding as per the plot's need. You even have a monologue or two by the leading man but Karan is calculative enough to know how much he should challenge this post-pandemic cinemagoing audience so he villainises the woman by making her impulsive at one point. He also chooses to dedicate one monologue to victimisation of the leading man who has been trying to change but the cancel culture would simply not let him catch a break!!! It almost felt like Karan was directly talking to those in the audience who have cancelled him for problematic tropes in his past films.

The film almost tips in the favour of the Bengalis in this ultra rich person's Vicky Donor but tries to add nuance to show it's not biased against Punjabis or views all Bengalis as progressive. You have good and bad on both sides. Its resolution positively surprises when it holds back from going completely Disney on you. It acknowledges incorrigibility in some people while also discussing (in its contrived Johari manner) the root cause behind it.

The performances deserve a special mention. You have incredible supporting cast from Jaya Bacchan to Shabana Azmi to Dharmendra. The leading pair too did well - specially Alia whose ethereal beauty and captivating screen presence was a character in itself.

Overall, the film makes for a fantastic one-time watch that stays with you for a couple of hours after viewing. You can watch it with your friends and family.

So i have watched this movie on OTT after renting. Soon enough after start i came to know seeing the performances that this is an stale attempt of self absorbed makers, but kept an optimistic attitude for rest of the movie. But at last i was left with a bad taste in my mouth of a half baked dish which lacked the spice also. The makers just wanted to show how to show off money by showing high styling wrapped over pseudo feminism. A good concept wasted by immature storyline, which could have been such a strong message if executed properly. Applause on the performance of alia bhatt, play nicely..

The clichés, ensemble cast, album, massive dancers, grande settings, colors, and all the filmy things UFF!

Fun yet still powerful dialogues, telling important messages without sounding "preachy".

What makes me happier is the cameos; Sriti Jha (one of the reasons why I went for the first day first show then), Bharti Singh, Arjun Bijlani, Harsh Limbachiya, Arjit Taneja, and Shraddha Arya.

Minus one; Dharmendraji and Shabanaji's characters had romantic scene in front of Dhanlaxmi (Jaya ji's character) was uncomfortable to watch (for me), remembered that Kanwal and Dhanlaxmi are legally married and Jamini was "only" Kanwal's long lost lover. The moment was helped and distracted by Abhi Na Jao Chodkar song.

No story, same rehashed songs, dumb and shallow writing. Did not enjoy this movie at all.

This movie is everything Indian cinema needs to move away from. I really suggest karan produce movies from upcoming directors to understand how the industry needs to move on and grow.

For Ranveer, bro you need to say no to these roles. You are selling yourself short. You have immense talent and the goofy characters you've done so far need to end.

Overall the movie was an attempt to try and make the same thing again which Karan has been doing lately. Please give us better stories and writing, look around, the industry has grown a lot.

I was genuinely surprised to read the reviews, with one suggesting watching it for Alia Bhatt and the other recommending it for the sets. If these are the criteria you're looking for, then sure, go ahead and watch it. Otherwise, please read on.

This film marked one of Karan Johar's weakest presentations. He attempted to cram too many social issues and family drama into a single storyline, resulting in an excessively long movie that ultimately hampered the entertainment factor. But that wasn't all; Karan Johar indulged in choreographing a grand wedding, albeit a cinematic one, using the investors' money, needlessly extending the film's duration and fulfilling his dream of actually choregraphing one.

The movie boasted typical extravagant sets with an abundance of colors, as Karan Johar is known for. However, several aspects made it fall short. There was an excessive amount of kissing scenes featuring Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh, which felt unnecessary and frankly, uncomfortable and unnatural. Moreover, Dharmendra's casting was a questionable choice for his role, considering other potential options. Additionally, the scene involving Shabana Azmi was rather immature on Karan Johar's part. That's all I have to say about that. Grow up Karan!

Nonetheless, there were some redeeming moments, mostly when the film relied on tried-and-true elements. Karan struggled to find an ideal theme song for the movie, resorting to older tracks. He attempted to emulate Yash Chopra with scenes featuring sarees, mountains and snow but he couldn't understand and grab the Yash Chopra vision.

All in all, this movie was highly disappointing on multiple fronts.