 I don’t think there would be a single girl in the world who would say no to a guy who is decent, has a great job and is settled, likes her and wants to marry her despite knowing all her flaws. However, in Tanu Weds Manu, we meet one such girl, Tanu. Written by Himanshu Sharma, the plot of Tanu Weds Manu is about an implausible wedding in the land of Uttar Pradesh. Manu (Madhavan) is a typical NRI who belongs to Delhi but has been living in London and returns home to his parents to find a bride for himself. Through a purely arranged meeting, he comes across Tanu (Kangana Ranaut) and falls in love with her instantly (for no rhyme or reason, I guess they were right when they said love is blind). He tells his parents he is ready to marry her but the plans are foiled when Tanu reveals she’s the rebellious kind who would only wed her boyfriend and Manu goes away like a decent typical Bollywood hero.
The story moves on when Tanu and Manu meet again. Sparks fly, the boyfriend appears and things between the unlikely couple make the story move forward. We already know that Manu weds Tanu (or the other way around) but the essence of the story is how exactly it happens.
 Indeed, there’s nothing new in the film. It has been done over and over again and is probably the most clichéd topic a Bollywood producer could pick. Not only is the plot trite but extremely predictable too. Five minutes into the movie and you see an NRI boy, who is an ideal bachelor, returning home to find a bride for him. He goes to see a girl with his parents and likes the first one he sees and that’s when you know he’s going to end up marrying her! Moreover, it all sounds a bit impossible to be true considering he’s been living abroad since ages.
The first few parts of the film make you laugh (only once in a long while) and smile occasionally but soon the comedy part disappears and it makes you wonder if it’s a romantic comedy at all because there’s no romance in it. And since Bollywood films are pointless without romance, you can easily call this one extremely pointless.
Tanu Weds Manu has some serious technical flaws as well. To begin with, the script is extremely punctured and as if that wasn’t enough, there is no chemistry at all between Kangana and Madhavan. A strong chemistry is very essential if the movie is supposed to be even slightly romantic but the whole element of romance and chemistry is missing. The narrative doesn’t flow at the right pace either which makes the entire story drag. Had the narrative been more effective, the movie could have been executed in a better way on the screen.
This is a wedding based film and music plays a phenomenal role in such movies yet the music of Tanu Weds Manu is not up to the mark. There’s not even a single track that would make you want to get up and dance away. One or two fast paced tracks could have made the movie a little more interesting.
 As far as the performances are concerned, Madhavan does a great job as the perfect bachelor and innocent NRI. The only reason anyone would want to waste their time on this movie is because of Madhavan. Even though his character is boring he makes it convincing. He actually looks the kind who would come back from London after years without even dating a girl or having a fling with one for that matter. Sadly, poor Madhavan couldn’t save this wreck by himself.
Kangana is not even half as strong as her co-actor in the film. She lacks the spark that was needed to perform the role of the free bird that Tanu is. Her dialogue delivery isn’t effective either. Someone like Kareena could have played the free bird role to perfection like she did in Jab We Met and a few other films. The supporting cast is good but it’s too bad they are just in the background and can’t help much to make the movie better!
In some parts, Tanu Weds Manu seems like a copy of Jab We Met, and a very failed attempt to remake at that. The name suggests that it will be a grand Indian wedding, but the film is nothing more than a great Indian wedding gone wrong. I wonder why Pakistani cinemas invested in this one. Avoid at all costs and if you have nothing better to do go take a two hour long power nap.
– Hafsah Sarfraz
*CINEMATIC SUICIDE
**FORGETTABLE
***WATCHABLE
****COLLECTIBLE
*****AWARD-WORTHY |
