Pros: Family-friendly, clean humor, decently entertaining 1st half. Cons: The pay-off comes too late, and the social commentary feels like it is tacked on as an afterthought.
Read Full Rakshabandhan Movie Review:
Director: Aanand L Rai
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Bhumi Pednekar, Sadia Khateeb, Sahejmeen Kaur, Deepika Khanna, Smrithi Srikanth, Seema Pahwa
Rating: 2.5/5
Runtime: 2 Hours
Storyline:
Sapna (Bhumi) has been kept waiting too long for her marriage to bachpan ka pyaar Lala Kedarnath (Akshay). Now, Lala has been bound by a promise to his dead mother – that he won’t tie the knot until his 4 sisters are all married off.
The eldest of them – Gayatri (Sadia Khateeb) is the apple of his eye, being the ‘ideal wife material’,a susheel, sundar nari. He’s constantly hustling to arrange Gayatri’s dowry and worried about the other atrangi three sisters; a tomboyish gal (Sahejmeen Kaur), the over-weight Durga (Deepika Khanna) and savali si sis (Smriti Srikanth).
Enter cunning marriage broker Seema Pahwa. And also add an irate social worker to the mix, yelling about the evils of dowry in the bustling bazaars of Chandi Chowk.
Torn between his love and his family obligation, will Lala succumb to the pressure or defeat the dowry system, better late than never? Watch Rakshabandhan to find out –
What Do We Think?
The 1st half is decently engaging with light-hearted comedy. Of course, for the trope to be subverted later, the initial set-up is at the expense of fat-shaming, colour bias, and dowry hustle.
The songs are forgettable though. The writing in 2nd half feels disappointing because the pivotal change leading to ‘Dowry sucks. Women Empowerment Rocks’ comes WAY too late, after three-quarters of the movie has passed. Maybe if it came at the interval point…it could’ve been more satisfying and impactful, instead of coming across as an afterthought.
The resolution at the end also feels abrupt, wrapped up too fast without properly exploring or processing things.
Performance-wise Akki’s act seems a little melodramatic. Bhumi’s character does not have much depth apart from being the pining love interest. But all the sisters performed well and have good camaraderie in the 1st half.
Overall though, Rakshabandhan will make for an entertaining watch for today’s festive occasion as it has all the family-friendly packaging of humour, emotion, and sibling love with a dash of social drama.
Hit Or Miss:
Celebrate Rakshabandhan by watching Rakshabandhan in the theatres!