Band Baaja Baaraat

Maneesh Sharma's directorial debut Band Baaja Baaraat is one of the year's most refreshing and entertaining films. It is a charming romance filled with colour, energy and pep. The movie can be easily set apart from all the recent films made by Yash Raj Films, in that it is very simple and it actually shows the beauty of India through its two main characters of young wedding planners, who unexpectedly (for them), fall in love. Sharma's direction is absolutely marvelous, and the film is totally benefited from the fantastic sets, props and costumes, which give the film an authentic feel, along with the characters which look more like real people rather than cinematic heroes. This very portrayal and the script had actually more weight for me in making the movie work. The narrative style makes for a fun watch, and that's thanks to the dialogues and the catchy songs. The film's first half is more of an ornamental wedding spree. And it is towards the second half when the story takes the audience by surprise and turns into a romantic drama that is quite moving and interesting.

While watching the movie, it is quite inspiring to see how young people from relatively traditional middle-class families strive to make a career on their own. Rarely do we see in Indian films such young people starting to run their own independent business, particularly when all they have is willpower and faith in their abilities. The growing prosperity of the main characters' business is interesting to watch, mainly because it's not made to look forcedly larger than life, but rather real and gradual. Thinking about wedding planning, one would certainly expect to see some lavish, over-the-top ceremonies, but here everything is lifelike and genuine, and yet colourful and impressively creative. As for the love story, it is incorporated into the story efficiently. The musical duo Salim-Sulaiman significantly contribute to the film's mood with a great list of tracks, among which the energetic "Ainvayi Ainvayi" is rightly the most popular. "Dumm Dumm" is also very good and is wonderfully performed on-screen. My favourite numbers are the romantic "Aadha Ishq" and the melancholic "Mitra".

The movie stars two young actors. The role of the male lead is played by newcomer Ranveer Singh, and he makes a confident debut, playing his character's different shades exceedingly well, at times so well that throughout the movie it is hard to believe it is his debut performance. But without a doubt, it is Anushka Sharma who dominates the proceedings with her wonderfully natural performance. Just like her male costar, she commendably masters the dialect of a street smart Delhi Punjabi girl, but more than anything, it is her sensitive portrayal of Shruti's feisty nature, pain and strength that stands out. Moreover, Ranveer and Anushka's chemistry is fantastic. Just watch the scene in which the two of them are standing drunk in front of each other in the dark room. Director Sharma handles the scene very well, creating the right amount of romantic tension, using some really soothing music in the background, and of course the two young leads play the shy nature of the moment with conviction. It is one of the beautiful scenes in the film (and I'm actually not one of those romantic fools).

Towards the last portions of the second half, the movie gets more emotional, at times too much but thankfully unlike many bland attempts made in recent films in which everything turns into ancient melodrama, here it works. The scene in which Shruti fearlessly and honestly reveals her true feelings without blinking an eye is terrific - again, superbly acted by Sharma. Singh's reaction is also very real and believable. This scene captures much of their potential. With this film Anushka establishes herself as a capable actress, and I believe she will now be flooded with offers for demanding parts. As for Ranveer, this movie may well put him on the map as one of the most competent young actors today, and I personally find him more promising than most of the guys who have debuted in recent years. The film's ending is nice albeit a tad too sentimental. The situation itself is relatable, but it could have been better done. Still, Band Baaja Baaraat works more for its youthful, lighthearted and effervescent mood, and is overall a worthy feature which makes for a pleasant watch.

Shruti! I had a crush on Anushka Sharma after watching this movie. At those time, we 90s kids, had a lot of time in the world to do anything we want. So we didn't use to leave any movie. I clearly remember watching this movie. Throughout the movie, I had this thought that this is a great movie, a fantastic movie, one of the best movies, as people suggested to us earlier. With that thinking, I went on enjoying the movie. There were plenty of good moments in the film, which were very exciting. I rather enjoyed it for the first time. However, when I watched it for the second time, after several years, I couldn't bare at all. Everything was ultra boring. Very much average. I had a thought that at the age of 15 I rather liked it because I never had an experience of watching wedding movies. It actually bored me to a great extent. Also, there was hell a lot of drama in the movie. Even Shruti created some at times. Yes, my crush at some point. After a few more years: I watched Made in Heaven web series. It is the much-evolved, more erotic, more wild, more enthusiastic, highly more creative part of this movie. They have the same work and the same genre too - Wedding genre. But Made in Heaven stands at a way different level. I literally watched it twice without any regret. Why I'm mentioning it is I felt it is the better and bigger version of Band Baaja Baarat. BBB had bittu and Shruti, made in heaven has a highly bigger team. PS: I'm not from primevideo or Madeinheaven team. Just sharing my experience. Yes, I kinda hate this movie now.

Finally a YRF movie that is getting good reviews, and made me really curious to watch and check out what is the deal all about. Lead actors are debutant Ranveer Singh and Anushka Sharma , who has already had a box office hit with her debut film with SRK.

The movie is fully set and shot in Delhi, and all characters speak with authentic Delhi-ite accent, it almost becomes difficult understanding after being so used to the Mumbaiya accent in all the other films. Shruti (Anushka) aspires to open her own wedding planner business while Bitto (Ranveer) is finding a way to escape his father's plans to taking him back to village to help in the sugar cane business. They get together and start their wedding planning company, named Shaadi Mubarak, with strict policy of never involving emotions or love in between them. Business goes successfully for them, and predictably, emotions come in between, causing a conflict in running the business together.

The love conflict is not new, but the treatment given on the subject, and the whole execution of the movie is fresh and commendable. Also, the movie has a fairly fast pace where there is no dull moment. However, I wish the ending would have been handled a different way, but I guess the director did not want to opt for clichéd ways.

Anushka is very pleasant to watch, and she is looking very good in her simple girl-next-door getups, some scenes even with minimal makeup. Ranveer does his role well too, but seeing his interview on Koffee With Karan, it almost feels like he acted as himself.

Highly recommended rom-com!

With Band Baaja Baarat, Anushka Sharma has completed her three picture deal with Yash Raj Films and in some way had gone full circle. In her debut film Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi we first see her burst onto the screens in a pre-wedding scene - her character's, before tragedy doomed her to a hastily agreed upon marriage to Shah Rukh Khan's Surinder Singh as arranged by her father on his deathbed. Here, she plays the wedding planner, and a number of major scenes see her both fussing around and enjoying herself in the weddings of her relatives and clients, and playing a role whose profession symbolizes some major shifts in conservative mindsets where weddings are outsourced to professionals behind the scenes rather than leaving it under the hands of relatives.

And one wonders how bold the studio is in entrusting a major film to a new first time director Maneesh Sharma whose experience has come from working as an AD in other major films, and pairing the still relative newcomer Anushka opposite the complete rookie Ranveer Singh as her co-star. This risk had paid off, as the end product is something relatively refreshing and spunky, going well with the themes, look and feel for Band Baaja Baaraat which is to break mindsets, and as teenage characters, epitomized the can-do, fearless spirit of entrepreneurship, wanting to try rather than to regret later in life.

Anushka plays Shruti Kakkar, who is dead set in her ways in wanting to start her own firm Shaadi Mubarak in the wedding planning arena, and deflecting the usual route where a girl has to seek marriage after graduation and live a life that's more or less set, rote and formulaic. Fate has her chance upon the laid back Bittoo Sharma (Ranveer Singh) who is looking to stay in Delhi a little longer after graduation, otherwise at his father's insistence he has to pack up and go back to his village to continue his family's roots in running a sugarcane plantation. Like all romantic films, it's opposites attract to a certain extent with Mr Relax vs Ms Focused as she reluctantly makes him a partner in her start up, as they draft an informal pact to stay focused on their career path and keep their friendship platonic.

At least up until the Intermission where things start to spiral a little out of control as emotions run high, and you'd come to expect the entire second half of the film to run aground with the usual fights and arguments, which in some way parallels the mood of the film where a split becomes problematic, and only when they work together as a team does the magic of the film happen. Basically it's the rules that the duo set out to break in their chosen industry, and with a pact made on their friendship never treading into the romantic space, you know it's a set up since breaking and bending the rules is something they do on a daily basis with a growing business.

And this mirror is more pronounced as we start to see how materialism and the building of a career can get in the way of romance, with the tussle on demands for time taking its toil. The only spark in the second half as it plods itself to an inevitable end for a romantic film, is how sometimes we get a little callous especially in taking someone else for granted, and here we see how the female of the species is actually quite complicated when her heart is set aflutter, painting Bittoo inadvertently as the cad without feelings, and a silly boy at that when love comes knocking at his doorstep.

On the characters' professional front I would have preferred it a little more if there's some poetic justice dished out in being more direct in being competitors to their brief mentor in the business, who perceived as the best turns out nothing more than a fraud when it comes to delivering quality service. I suppose in the outsourcing business one wonders if one gets the best, or are shortchanged left right and center in the way unscrupulous business is done. This of course gives rise to a myriad of supporting characters such as Maqsood the florist (Neeraj Sood), Rajinder Singh the caterer (Manmeet Singh) and Bittoo's friend Santy the musician (Revant Shergill) to join in as small suppliers hell bent on delivering quality as a business ethic.

I've always loved Indian weddings put on screen, because that promises colour and spectacle, with lovely songs and energetic dances putting up quite a performance for an outsider like myself to witness and enjoy. Band Baaja Baaraat offers just that in large doses with the different projects the fledging Shaadi Mubarak organizes, and needless to say I was having a field day. It's bands, horns and revelry out in full force, and both leads were a delight as they breathed life into their roles as business partners turned lovers. Anushka Sharma has grown from strength to strength with each film release, and Ranveer Singh is quite the discovery, with new male Bollywood heroes being quite the rare species in recent years, and his well oiled performance here doesn't betray the fact that he's into his debut. Let's see what other films will appear over the horizon for this rookie.

Band Baaja Baaraat is that spectacle that comes highly recommended, so catch it if you can as it nears the end of its run here.

Happiness and smile was, what spread in the theater during most of the parts of the movie and this is why you go to some multiplex. The BBB earns full marks on this front. It is not a nonsense comedy which is pestering Bollywood from last 2-3 years. Neither is this, some intense, provoking, thoughtful movie. BBB is a very colorful, commercial and typical bollywood style movie which has a cute girl with a Desi Guy. It wonderfully depicts the confused mind of both of them when they have to decide on their career and love. It has romance, love, comedy, emotional drama(Thanks God, it didn't last long) and finally a heavenly pleasant happy ending.

BBB is the movie of a college girl who is utterly ambitious about staring her own Wedding Management company and a guy, who fell for her during a wedding and situations lead both of them to become partners in their newly started venture "Shadi Mubarak". How their relationship go through various Ups and Downs is shown as movie progress.

Talking about the performances, firstly Ranveer Singh deserves huge amount of accolades for his awesome acting. He never seamed like working in his debut project. He was very natural and confident throughout the movie. Anuska Sharma had shown some promise in her last flick "Badmash Company" and this movie certainly raises the bar for her. She did a commendable job in the movie, with her energetic presence and freshness. Wonderful acting by her.

Though the movie overall captivate the mind of the audience, its second half has some lose moments where one can feel bored. First half of the movie is pleasantly wonderful. Music of the movie maintains the speed and carries the freshness of BBB.

Delhi people are anyway loving this movie as Delhi places and other famous things are referenced in various frames. It is a nice movie to watch and surely adding up to a very small list of good movies in 2010.