After making us wait for so long, Vishal Bhardwaj’s Rangoon has finally made its way to a theatre near you. There was no doubt about Bhardwaj’s ability as a director, and even this time he has not let his fans down. The trio of Saif Ali Khan, Shahid Kapoor and Kangana Ranaut too have done full justice to their roles, and made Rangoon a larger than life experience.
Most of the critics are raving about the film, but a few have trashed it too. We’re taking a look at some of their comments.
India Today (Devarsi Ghosh)
“When Rusi Bilmoria (Saif Ali Khan), an ex-film star who has been just a producer since an on-set accident, finds out that his fiance, the love of his life Miss Julia (Kangana Ranaut), also the top star of his company, has cheated on him with a soldier, Jamadar Nawab Malik (Shahid Kapoor), he turns his head silently towards his woman and looks at her with eyes red with grief, shock and the rage of a thousand suns.”
Hindustan Times (Rohit Vats)
“It’s an ambitious film where Bhardwaj wants to merge two worlds: One inspired from Shakespearean tragedies and other motivated by the valiant lovers of the Indian cinema. In the end, neither comes alive on screen – on top of it a messy climax that topples whatever hard work was done building a world of romance.”
Times Of India (Meena Iyer)
“Saif gives his movie-entrepreneur act a razor-sharp quality. And, Shahid is outstanding. Kangana of course is the piece de resistance. You can believe that two men would cross swords for her.”
Rediff (Raja Sen)
“The film is shot exceptionally well by Pankaj Kumar, mounted on a grand scale with finesse we in India are not used to, and some of the shots — like one swirling up the inside of a grand old theatre, or the aerially shot war-sequences — are glorious.”
Livemint (Uday Bhatia)
“Perhaps made wary by the failure of Bombay Velvet, Rangoon doesn’t aim for authenticity at the cost of alienating its audience. The music, by Bhardwaj, with lyrics by Gulzar, has old-timey touches but makes no real effort to sound as if it’s from that era. Julia’s stage shows have the remorseless athleticism of modern Bollywood choreography. Pankaj Kumar’s cinematography has a hard digital look that feels slightly incongruous with a period film, though it lends the war scenes a gritty sordidness.”
