Raanjhanaa (2013)

Kundan, the son of a Hindu pundit, discovers that his childhood sweetheart Zoya loves city-bred Akram and wants to marry him. However, he persistently seeks to win her heart.

Director:

Aanand L. Rai

Writer:

Himanshu Sharma

Stars:

Dhanush, Sonam Kapoor, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub

Top Rated Indian Movies #210 | 8 wins & 25 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dhanush	...	Kundan Shankar
Sonam Kapoor	...	Zoya Haider
Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub	...	Murari
Swara Bhaskar	...	Bindiya
Abhay Deol	...	Akram Zaidye / Jasjeet Singh
Shilpi Marwaha	...	Rashmi
Suraj Singh	...	Anand
Kumud Mishra
Deepika Amin
Nisha Jindal
Vipin Sharma	...	Kundan's Father
Naman Jain	...	Kundan (Childhood)
Arvind Gaur	...	Guptaji
Sujata Kumar	...	Chief Minister
Ishwak Singh	...	Doctor from Lucknow

Storyline

The pundit's son Kundan (Dhanush) has fallen for the girl at first sight. That they're both kids makes us dismiss it as a meaningless crush. But a few years later, the boy is still in love with the girl, Zoya (Sonam Kapoor). When she's in school, he follows her around holding her hand and getting slapped in the process. Finally, she relents because of his "consistency". The film shifts cities when Zoya gets into JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru University), and through her, we are introduced to the idealistic and political culture of the place. She discovers a long-lost strength as she confronts and then falls for student leader Akram (Abhay Deol). The film takes a turn when Zoya returns to her hometown after eight long years only to find some things changed, and others surprisingly the same.

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Plot Keywords:

muslim | hindu | love | childhood sweetheart | railway station | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

In a one of its kind first, A R Rahman gets first credits as composer, followed by the director's.

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Goofs

When Kundan stops Zoya's rickshaw near her house and tells her that her parents are getting her married, Zoya's black Bra strip is visible and when she walks inside her home to talk to her mother the bra strip is of some other color.

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Quotes

Murari: Looks like this is not love, it's an exam of UPSC, not clearing even after 10 years.

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Connections

Referenced in Zero (2018)

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Soundtracks

Unchained Melody
(uncredited)
Music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret

User Reviews

Romantic saga with desi flavor

Well, I will not start with telling about story as it will spoil the fun for the people who haven't seen the movie or will see in the future, but I can see it is already spoiled here.

1> But I have to start with story which is extremely interwoven together. Now a days when people talk about first half and second half which doesn't matter according to me. Story has all the elements be it fun, romance, drama and it has a classic desi Indian touch with it because movie is based in varansi which gives it a flavor with its crispy language, people, ethnicity. Its pleasure to watch reality in the movie when all the movies releasing are masala shits.

2> If music is given by A.R. Rahman there is no point talking about it. Mucic was flowing like butter.

3> Performances are best like characters are meant for them. Dhanush is awesome in his performance. He is a delight to watch. The way he delivers his dialogues is super cool and his accent has a roughness and his south Indian accent doesn't interferes with his Hindi accent. Sonam looks sober and does her part with full conviction, Supporting cast especially Kundan's friend "Murari" is fun to watch.

4> Dialogues has everything from catchphrases, roughness to desi gaaliyan of UP.

Overall, it is a very good film after such a long time as we don't come across these days in bollywood :)

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Twitter

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Release Date:

21 June 2013 (India)

Also Known As:

Ambikapathy

Filming Locations:

Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

Box Office

Budget:

INR350,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$414,211, 23 June 2013

Gross USA:

$903,232

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,171,761

Company Credits

Production Co:

Colour Yellow Pictures, Eros International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

140 min

Color:

Color