WHY DID TANU WED MANU?. Review on Tanu Weds Manu

I was inspired to see Tanu Weds Manu by esteemed MSian @jmathur. In fact. it is his review that got me interested in the movie. Though I also had a mind to see the film it was one scene described in Mathur Sahab's review which made me eager to view it fast. Left to myself I might have taken a few more centuries.

Mathur Sahab wrote that both boy and girl belonged to the middle class, the girl Rajeev_Vermacially, was a small towner too. During their first meeting itself the boy, Manu fell in love with the girl, Tanu. Nothing unusual there. It happens so often. But there lay the difference. It does not happen so very often that a girl in a highly inebriated state, almost semi conscious, is able to rob the heart of an NRI. The latter, a shy, genlte soul, throws caution to the wind, plants a kiss on by then totally unconscious girl's lips whose house he's visiting for the first time and falls head over heels in love never to get up again on his two practical feet. That is something not found usually in a Hindi film plot. It is this improbablity that spurred my curiosity.

There was more to come. Tanuja Trivedi or Tanu turned out to be a rebel who smoked like a chimney and drank to her heart's content whenever she felt like it. What was she rebelling against was not very clear. Belonging to a large joint family who cared and bonded well the reason for Tanu's frustration was not explicit in the movie. Nor was her rebellious streak justified. Or was it most probably because she had extricated herself from the clutches of reactionary parents, aunts, uncles, siblings, nieces and nephews and got exposed to the bad, bad world of the metro where she got her education? Well, if that be the reason, then we, the permanent residents of the Capital, have already gone to the dogs.

The U turn in the movie. Tanu cornered Manu in the train bound for Vaishno Devi and told him that she'd got a beau already lined up somewhere in the background. Therefore, she would not like to marry him. Manu, the seedha saadha good boy , was shattered. But nurturing a Majnu like spirit, for Tanu's khushi, refused the match to the ire of his would-be- in-laws. Oh yes! it was an arranged marriage. Very noble deed by Manu, no doubt, but such amenable souls are so few and far between. One cannot but envy Tanu's luck.

But as fate would have it. Manu and Tanu got pitted against each other in a series of events till Tanu realized her mistakes and decided to marry Manu come what may.

A run of the mill story made extra ordinary by startling performances by Madhavan, Kangana Ranaut and Jimmy Shergill. Madhavan aptly resembled a sage-like ocean with calm exterior and dangerously unfathomable undercurrents deep within. Kangana's chutzpah bordered on the insolent at times. Jimmy Shergill was outstanding in the shoes of a character with varying shades of grey. But the one who stole my heart was Deepak Dobriyal, the quintessential UP bhaiya, Manu's friend.

The screenplay, script, editing and cinematography captured the milieu of the various cities too well. The story comfortably traversed Kanpur, Kapur thala and Delhi (or was it Bombay?) with equal ease. But I would give best award to this movie for its cheezy dialogues which were hilarious and at the same time incisive.

A so-so movie presented with much flourish was overall enjoyable. But me being myself, a few questions still haunted me long after the movie was over. Why did Tanu marry Manu leaving her long time beau? Was it attraction of the opposites? For Manu it could be understandably so but for Tanu my answer would falter. Even if we consider that cupid's bow did really strike Tanu hard would such a marriage really last ? If it did then what would act as the adhesive? Manu's steadfastness or Tanu's hyper rebellion?

For me the story begins after the marriage when a wayward shrew is tamed to domesticity. Would she confirm to customtakeoutization at last? Would she accept her shacked state after an unbridled spree of Bohemian lifestyle? Would she give in to the ghunghat syndrome after all and worship pati parameshwar or continue to put her foot down and throw tantrum in the face of opposition (read suppression)? Perhaps these questions are now immaterial as the director ends the story with the they-lived-happily-ever-after tag, I await a sequel wherein my unanswered questions will find their appropriate reply.

Till then they-lived-happily-ever-after!!!