Raksha Bandhan: 2022 Hindi Family Comedy

4to40.com August 15, 2022 Movie Reviews 2,338 Views

Movie Name: Raksha Bandhan Film
Directed by: Aanand L. Rai
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Bhumi Pednekar, Sahejmeen Kaur, Deepika Khanna, Sadia Khateeb, Smrithi Srikanth, Seema Pahwa
Genre: Comedy, Family, Drama
Release Date: 11 August, 2022
Running Time: 120 Minutes
Language: Hindi
Rating:

A story on the purest relationship ever.

Raksha Bandhan film is an upcoming Indian Hindi-language comedy-drama film directed by Aanand L. Rai and produced by Zee Studios, Colour Yellow Productions and Cape of Good Films. The story written by Himanshu Sharma and Kanika Dhillon revolves around the love, bonding and attachment between brother-sister. Raksha Bandhan features Akshay Kumar and Bhumi Pednekar, alongside Sahejmeen Kaur, Deepika Khanna, Sadia Khateeb and Smrithi Srikanth who play Kumar’s sisters. The film will theatrically release on 11 August 2022.

The story of Raksha Bandhan is written by its director Aanand L. Rai’s frequent writer Himanshu Sharma, and Kanika Dhillon also co-wrote the script. Revolving around relationships between brothers and sisters, the film was officially announced on 3 August 2020 to mark the occasion of Raksha Bandhan. Lead actor Akshay Kumar stated that Raksha Bandhan is the quickest film he has signed in his career, and dedicated the film to his sister Alka Hiranandani. The film is jointly produced by Rai, Hiranandani and Zee Studios.

Akshay Kumar was signed to enact the male lead; it is his second collaboration with Rai post Atrangi Re (2021). On 9 June 2021, Kumar revealed that Bhumi Pednekar will be the female lead. On 21 June (when the film shoot begun), the film’s entire cast of Sahejmeen Kaur, Deepika Khanna, Sadia Khateeb and Smrithi Srikanth was announced.

Principal photography of the film commenced on 21 June 2021. The film was wrapped up in Delhi on 12 October 2021.

The film was originally scheduled for a worldwide theatrical release on 5 November 2021 on the occasion of Diwali, but the release has now been deferred due to COVID-19 pandemic which caused a delay in its pre-production and other important works. The film will theatrically release on 11 August 2022. The trailer of the film was released on YouTube on 21 June 2022.

The songs were composed by Himesh Reshammiya while Ishaan Chhabra has composed the original background score. Irshad Kamil has written the lyrics.

Film Trailer:

Raksha Bandhan Film Review:

A brother working day and night to get his four sisters married is a plot that many of us in modern India would find a tad distasteful. Girls are reaching for the moon, are independent and strong, so what times is this film talking about? The current times… If you go by crime stats, even today 20 women die every single day due to dowry issues. This very difficult, and very sensitive, subject, is explored by director Aanand L. Rai in Raksha Bandhan.

Kedarnath (Akshay Kumar) is a ‘lala’ in Chandni Chowk, who is doing his baap-dada’s business of a ‘chaat’ place that people throng, especially those who desire a ‘son’. Ironically, he has four sisters. With both his parents gone, his greatest endeavour is to get them married. The stumbling block is the heavy dowry, which is a norm, he has to collect. Add to it, an old family loan that he’s paying off, and that his sisters, except one, are rather unfortunate-looking – one is fat, another dark and yet another tomboyish. Not that you can body-shame them, as their quips are ready – big is beautiful, black is back and none can stop the youngest one from taking ‘pangas’.

Add to it Kedarnath’s promise to his dying mother that he would tie the knot only after marrying his sisters off, stopping him and his childhood sweetheart Sapna (Bhumi Pednekar) from marrying.

The film opens on a funny note, the seven-month pregnant women thronging the chaat place get precedence and our lala refusing to give ‘son’ guarantee in Rs 25. As he sprints to meet the prospective groom for his sister, another dukan wala offers him milk – ‘kyon, naag panchami hai aaj?’ he asks. References to Nirav Modi to dodge the loan to him taking a resolve to put his sister on a leaf-a day-diet, marinating another in ‘ubtan’, to turning Sunny ‘Deol’ to Sunny ‘Leone’ – he is all set! He will do anything to see his sisters married, so as not to lose his sweetheart.

But the story takes an overtly sensitive turn, comedy leads to tragedy, the guffaws in the hall turn to sobs. Dowry turns over from a norm to a menace within moments, as the film takes a sombre turn.

Raksha Bandhan is over the top. A cringe-bhajan, loud acts, politically incorrect statements, yet it raises a valid issue, and effectively so. The plot goes all over, and is full on clichés. Akshay Kumar as Lala Kedarnath has a huge weight riding on his shoulders, and despite the histrionics-filled act, he manages to make the audience feel for him. Bhumi Pednekar takes turns from a supportive fiancée to girl at the end of her patience with all the waiting. She looks lovely in sarees. The four sisters – Gayatri, Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati, played by Sadia Khateeb, Deepika Khanna, Smrithi Srikanth and Sahejmeen Kaur, respectively – aid the story in the limited scenes that they get. Sadia Khateeb gets more screen space and justifies the ideal daughter-sister character she gets to play. Seema Pahwa’s character as a matchmaker in Shalu doesn’t give her much of a chance, but she manages to add to the drama. Neeraj Sood as Sapna’s father in the ‘shadi’ scene reminds one of the desperate father such as the one in Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin.

At little less than two hours, except for a song or two, the film moves at a fine place. In fact, the songs, Tere Saath Hoon Main and Bidaai, help the storyline; the music is by Himesh Reshammiya. With Tanu Weds Manu, Raanjhanaa and Tanu Weds Manu: Returns to his credit, expectations are high from director Aanand L. Rai, but Raksha Bandhan sure falls short, but even if this exaggerated social commentary saves another woman from being a victim of dowry death, it’s worth the effort!