Star Cast: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Gulshan Devaiah, Supriya Pathak,Richa Chadda, Abhimanyu Singh

Direction: Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Run Time: 2 Hr 34 Mins

Rating: *** 1/2

Well probably there are no doubts about the fact that wherever it comes to painting a cine delight belonging to the the genre of romance then irrespective of era, probably Shakespearean romance and immortal love-story, "Romeo and Juliet" are going to be the single point reference for all those who have got fascination for the ilk. And if we walk down the memory lanes, then in every era of Indian cinema one or the other cine delight loosely or thoroughly based on Shakespearean style of romance have made it to celluloid. Be it "QSQT", or the recent ones like "Ishaqzaade" and "Issaq" or the recent Indian take on "Romeo and Juliet's" love story i.e. "Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela".

But at the same time as far it's about Indianising the saga of "Romeo and Juliet" then in Indian cine arena there are just few cinematography titans who own that dexterity, which is required to aptly paint this immortal cine cantata on the big screen and undoubtedly ace cinematographer of Bollywood Sanjay Leela Bhansali is one of them.

After courting so many controversies in the past, finally this much awaited cine delight of the year featuring Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Gulshan Devaiah, Richa Chadda and Supriya Pathak received a bumper opening with an approximate footfall of 85 percent.

As stated "Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela" is yet another Indian take on Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet", where premise of the movie showcases the love story under the shadow of blood feud, vengeance, revenge and somewhere down the line a struggle for supremacy of one's own community. Soon after the rolling of camera begins it takes us to the milieu of Gujrat, where two antagonistic communities, Rajadis and Samedas coexist in a rural settlement of "Raajhaar".

With an enmity dating back to almost 5 centuries, these two communities share such a vengeance that they can kill each other even over a very subtle issue. But amid this game of blood shedding, it's the Ram (Ranveer) son of Rajadi communities chief who doesn't adhere to this philosophy and firmly believes in philosophy of love and yeah losing his heart to every other girl he sees.


Amid this fracas of rowdiness, one fine day Ram has a rendezvous with Leela (Deepika Padukone) the svelte damsel belonging to Sameda community and falls head over heels for her. And from there takes-off a love story blended with a flavor of vengeance, and revenge, where a godmother like mom and rowdy brothers try their level best to sabotage the blossoming love tale. So in order to know that who has the last laugh watch "Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela".

If we go by the script of "Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela" then in the last few months or rather in last one and a half year, this is for the third time that some of the Bollywooder has tried to paint this kind of Shakespearean romanticism saga on the celluloid, but after"Ishaqzaade" and "Issaq" this time it is even bigger than all those belonging to its ilk.

As stated that when it comes to Indianising a "Romeo And Juliet" chronicle, then there are very few Bollywooders who own the caliber to paint it in the most perfect manner and surely Sanjay Leela Bhansali is one of them. And by Indianising "Romeo and Juliet" romance in an exceptional manner with a sound blend of human factor, especially the one pertaining to Indian set up, Bhansali has proved that he is one of the ace titan of romance genre who can draft a masterpiece out of any cine idea.

But at the same time one fact which can't be overlooked is that, the sudden onset of romanticism and excessive embedding up-till some extent induces an unwanted stretch in the first half. And besides this even a few instances also become un-digestible for those who can not avoid thinking rationally. But the quantum shift which takes place from the romanticism of first half to a gripping narration of second half is simply praise-worthy.


If we talk about the screenplay department then by now it has become quite conspicuous to all the cine enthusiast that, Bhansali has got a generous fascination for some larger than life depictions and with "Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela" it is once again proved. From milieu to flow of narration while picking everything SLB has thoroughly adhered to the thumb rule that any thing less than perfect is worth nothing.

Even while penning down the screenplay of "Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela" along with Siddarth-Garima, Bhansali has tried to drafted an impeccable and dauntless screen proceeding. Although in the pre-interval part for couple of minutes you may feel that over doing of romance and bullet shots somewhere down the line hampers the appeal of the screenplay, but in the post interval part the table turns other way round and that dragging screenplay immediately turns in to a gripping flow of narration.

As stated that while working over screenplay, Bhansali has kept even minutest detail under tabs and this fact once again gets proved by the costumes and ambiance which make everything look perfect in case of "Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela".

Or in just one line we can say that finally Sanjay Leela Bhansali is back to form and for everything worth loving in Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela credit goes to him only.

Even the onscreen rhetoric-exchange among the performers thoroughly proves that a lot of effort has been done in the dialogues department. Although some the rhetoric chunks exhibits a sense of "double entendre" but in-spite of that they clearly unearth the writing competency of Siddarth-Graima, who besides some exceptional lines have very well understood the Bhansali confab-mannerism and have successfully penned down the lines capable of exhibiting SLB styled romance.

Commenting about music "Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela" will be just like re-telling a fact which is already known to all. Comprising of carols like "Nagda Sang Dhol", " Ishqyaun Dhishqyaun", "Tattad Tattad" to "Ang Lagan" every song up-till some extent succeeds in satiating your thirst for pleasing aural delights.

Coming to the performance then in one line one fact which should be admitted without any qualms is that including the leading protagonists even the supporting cast has done a miraculous job in "Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela". Although Ranveer and Deepika were not at their best, but certainly their chemistry compels us to forget the minor flaws in their performances. Ever since their debut in Bollywood both Ranveer and Deepika have thoroughly proved that they not only own the courage to experiment with variety of roles, but also are competent enough in doing thorough justice to them. And their recent performances in "Lootera" and "Chennai Express" and now in "Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela" are some of the conspicuous example of that.


Even the supporting cast of "Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela" has proved that they are thoroughly versatile when it comes to performing on the big screen. Be it Gulshan Devaiah, who played antagonist in the movie, or Supriya Pathak, without whom the entire premise of "Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela" would have been a half heartened affair, have proved that they have got an incomparable potential to slip under the skin of any and every kind of character.

Well if we talk about the BO potential, then it may look astonishing to many that despite being a grand affair "Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela" has got a limited scope of earning, which may make it an above average BO grosser. But the miracle may happen if a good word of mouth publicity comes into play.

To sum up, "Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela" is a typical Bhansali kind of love saga which despite being a mega production venture from the cine lab of an ace cinematographer and an appealing premise may not appeal you till the fullest, but in-spite of that it is worth a watch to feel that fragrance of love.