The Tamil dubbed version of Raanjhnaa is named Ambikapathy only to convey the penchant of the protagonist, Kundan (Dhanush) towards his love of his life, Zoya (Sonam Kapoor). The film traverses through Kundan’s life right from his childhood days where it all starts as a puppy love, turns into an infatuation and then an obsession (only for Dhanush). This one-sided affair takes twists and turns when Zoya’s love interest gets fixated elsewhere (Abhay Deol). The ending is as sweet as in any other run-of-the-mill bollywood romcom.
Though it was a box-office hit in Bollywood, it was hardly able to rake in any sort of critical acclaim in Tamil as the ethos where the story was set (Varanasi) was too difficult for the audiences to connect; even though Dhanush was shown as the son of a Tamil priest, it hardly helped as it was too hard to even recognize who his father was and in what way the supporting cast are related to Dhanush as the director did not have any qualms in leaving those loose ends as they were till the end.
Another problem with the movie was the clichéd portrayal of love that was time and again used in so many Tamil movies (I’m not sure such earthly gestures have been exploited in Bollywood before). Heard the director enjoys the reputation of churning out some heart warming romantic flicks; with this one he has sealed that reputation, but it did not impress me as a Tamil movie at all.
Dhanush, needless to say, has once again grabbed the screen presence with both his charm and acting! Emotions just starts flowing even when he stands still.
Sonam was too cute for the role and was an eye candy, though her character arch in the second half was not well etched out.
Abhay, in an extended cameo was average in his role due to the inherent limitations and scope for his role.
Swara Bhaskar, I have seen this female in commercials; she looked promising as well.
Music by ARR was a let down; not even a single number appealed in their Tamil avatars!
Cinematography was good. In the first half the display of quirkiness on the frames in a rather poignant ambiance like Varanasi was a new color.
Editing was a total drag in the second half.
This appeared to be a half baked North Indian 'thali' served for a South Indian on a fresh plantain leaf!
Verdict: Below Average!!
Rating: 2/5
.jpg)