Now, most movie reviews for The Colonial have been big-budget blockbuster Hollywood movies. Now is this wrong in any way, of course not! But I feel like people are missing out on another huge movie industry: Bollywood! Indian movies have just their own style that really is not apparent in Hollywood; the music and the perfectly choreographed dances, the outfits and the grand backgrounds in all of the scenes, they all make for an experience that is just, well, different.
Recently, my Bollywood movie buddy (my mom) and I watched the newest Indian hit, Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani (Rocky and Rani’s Love Story). This movie mixes the theme of old Bollywood romance with a modern-day twist. Rocky is a strong, gregarious Punjabi man who comes from a rich Delhi family who have made a vast fortune with their sweets business. Rocky’s family is very traditional and expects him to marry another traditional Punjabi girl. Rani is a more introverted, reserved Bengali woman who is a famous TV anchor and her family is much more modern and forward-thinking.
The two soon-to-be lovers first meet when Rocky tries to find his sick grandpa’s long-lost lover (Rani’s grandpa) who his grandpa won’t stop fussing about. He comes like a train to Rani in a flashy outfit with flashy accessories in a flashy car (of course). Off the first meeting, they hit it off instantly, and a seemingly perfect love story is born. Seemingly nothing could go bad, right? Well…
Now, in traditional Indian culture, an immediate step after finding someone who you really hit it off with is marriage. So, of course, Rocky proposes. Rani meanwhile said no, as they are two totally different people and have totally different families. Both lovers are heartbroken, and the movie goes on portraying their lives as they carry the heavy burden of missing their other half.
They needed to reunite but tradition and family got in their way. So, Rocky and Rani came up with a seemingly genius plan, each person live with the other’s family for three months. This would be the make-or-break moment for their prospective marriage. Now, there were definitely trials and tribulations for each lover, but as they left a larger impression on each other’s families, culture and tradition soon started to fade away. The grandpa who was mentioned before also passed, which brought Rocky and Rani even closer than before. In the end, they were married with both families accepting this great union.
Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani received wide praise from both critics and regular movie-goers. Few Bollywood movies get Rotten Tomato and Audience scores of 88% and 84% respectively. The classic Bollywood songs and dances were especially a hit with the movie playlist already having hundreds of millions of listens across all streaming platforms. Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani really hit it off with Rocky’s flamboyant personality, as actor Ranveer Singh just seemed to be in his natural element. Rani’s character was great too, as Alia Bhatt portrayed just an amazing performance, especially in the scenes where she was arguing with her male co-star.
In short, Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani touches on the well-known Bollywood tropes of differing cultures and marriage. But, it proved itself to be something special even in this sea of common movies by separating itself with its humor, modern take on these subjects, and just an overall great/meaningful lesson that I’m sure everyone can learn from. The lesson is that love is greater than anything else and it must persist above the opposing negative forces which try to bring it down.
