Raksha Bandhan Review - Akshay Kumar & ALR Bring A Rollercoaster of Comedy, Emotions & Socially Important Topic For Family Audience

Raksha Bandhan brings Akshay Kumar and Aanand L. Rai together for the second time after OTT fish, Atrangi Re. ALR has missed his own trademarks with his previous two films, Zero and Atrangi Re. Before that, he delivered 3 hit films in a row, and all 3 have been enjoyed by the masses. With Raksha Bandhan, he returns home again. That TWM, Ranjhanaa and TWMR fame ALR is back with Raksha Bandhan. The same applies to Akshay Kumar, who saw back-to-back debacles this year with Samrat Prithviraj and Bachchhan Paandey. We were missing the amusing Akki from films such as Phir Hera Pheri, Bhagam Bhaag, Khatta Meetha, and De Dana Dan. However, this one is not an outright comedy nor an outright funny role, but there are plenty of glimpses to remind you of old Akki. Raksha Bandhan gives (I'm sure it will give) him the first cheer this year, whereas ALR will also get his first theatrical Hit/Super Hit that he has been searching for 7 years.

Raksha Bandhan is a simple story with nothing in its screenplay that can't be predicted. Well, that's the USP. Because small town families are predictable only. In Chandni Chowk, Lala Kedarnath (Akshay Kumar), the eldest and only brother of four sisters, runs a chaat shop that was started by his father. In the flashback scene, he promises his frail mother on her deathbed that he will get married only after he fulfils the responsibility of marrying his sisters into suitable homes first. But with Dowry being a normal and mandatory tradition in his lane, it's difficult for a middle-class man to gain enough money for four sisters. How much can a golgappe wala earn anyway? That keeps pushing his marriage plans with his childhood sweetheart Sapna (Bhumi Pednekar), whose father has no patience to wait until Lala's sisters get married. A tragedy strikes in the second half, which changes Lala and others' mindsets about Dowry and women.Himanshu Sharma and Kanika Dhillon have written a nice script, though it's not completely logical and concrete. There are some illogical scenes, but they can still be forgiven because we know we are watching a light-hearted family comedy and not an artistic or intellectual film. Nevertheless, the mistakes are still vivid. Kanika's feminism and Himanshu's humour are well known to everyone, and Raksha Bandhan compiles both these things pretty well. Raksha Bandhan's mixture of comedy, emotions, drama, family values, and social message makes you forget those shortcomings because its runtime is just 110 minutes. That helps, but also hurts a film because there comes a moment when you feel like watching more, but suddenly the show wraps up. The second half jinx of ALR's film continues.Akshay Kumar is back to his forte – hysterical comedy. Right from the first scene, he takes you into the ocean of laughter, just like he did way back in time. The comic timing is amazing, but the writers have written a pacey humour which is a little difficult to follow. Nonetheless, the majority of the audience will enjoy it and will get to see his emotional act later. Bhumi Pednekar has a smaller role than I expected, but she has done so well. Screentime does not matter, your performance does. If anybody believes this phrase, then it is Bhumi, and she makes sure that we believe it too. Even in those over-melodramatic scenes, she makes you love the tears, screams, and everything. Sadia Khateeb is the most beautiful face you'll see in Raksha Bandhan and she proves her choice right. She supposedly plays a Devi type girl, but has one hilarious dhaansu scene that you'll love for sure. Sahejmeen Kaur's attitude is fantastic, Deepika Khanna adds cuteness and gags that are meant to come from any fatty character, and Smrithi Srikanth's personality speaks more than her dialogues. Watch out for Sahil Mehta's body language and Seema Pahwa's sweet cameo.Himesh Reshammiya makes a good comeback with Raksha Bandhan. Well, he wasn't gone anywhere, practically, but technically we missed him. Kangan Ruby makes you groove on reels after a while, Done Kar Do is a tappy number with situational clarity, and Tere Saath Hoon Mein tops the sentimental list. The rest of the songs are either lost or wasted in this fast-paced film. Irshad Kamil's lyrics are very good and have that grounding touch that doesn't go too metaphorical and intricate. Raksha Bandhan is a tightly edited film, and the cinematography is decent too. The technical aspects do not shine enough, maybe because the film wasn't meant to work on them.Aanand L. Rai has gone back to his roots, and that's good news for his fans as well as mass-cinema lovers. Raksha Bandhan is not an out-and-out massy flick like KGF 2 and RRR, but be assured that it has enough entertainment for the masses who go into cinema halls just for the entertainment. Additionally, they will get a dose of a social message too. Dowry has been seen in many films over the years, so I can't say Raksha Bandhan is anything new or creative, but I'll say that it is rooted in fertile grounds. That's what works for the film, and that's what regular cinema lovers look for. Intellectuals and quality cinema lovers will find mistakes in it, and rightly so, but that doesn't really matter as long as B & C centre mass belts are enjoying the film. The old-school family drama of siblings with an outdated dowry issue is served well in a new modern dish by the entire team of Raksha Bandhan. Hopefully, the audience will eat it out this festive weekend. Akshay Kumar, ALR and company bring a rollercoaster of comedy, emotions, drama, family values, north flavour and socially important topics for the family audience who are not heading to theatres often in recent times. Hopefully, Raksha Bhandhan will "Done Kar Degi" Inka kaam.