Abhay: History won't be kind to Raanjhanaa for its regressive message

Taking to his Instagram account, Abhay Deol shared how Aanand L Rais film Raanjhanaa was laced with a regressive message and how history is not going to be kind to this romantic drama.

Raanjhanaa Poster and Abhay Deol Picture Courtesy: YouTube and Official Instagram Account/Abhay Deol

Abhay Deol is one of the most honest and fearless actors in Bollywood, believing in the adage of calling spade a spade. He has frequently called out Bollywood actors and the fraternity at large whenever he felt the need to. And in his latest Instagram post, he has called out a film he too was a part of.

The film in question is Aanand L Rai's Raanjhanaa, also starring Dhanush and Sonam Kapoor Ahuja. A critical and commercial success and hailed for its music, the story of this drama was about an obsessive and obnoxious lover-boy who falls madly in love with a girl. The problem is, he's a Hindu and she's a Muslim. Till she reciprocates her feelings, the pursuit continues.

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Bordering on stalking and problematic messaging, the film did come under the ire of some users after they felt the portrayal of the romance was questionable. And one blogger on Instagram wrote in detail about the same and Deol shared the post on his own account. This is what he had to write about Raanjhanaa and why history won't be kind to this film due to its regressive messaging.

Have a look at his post right here:

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

Such clear and valid insight from @oldschoolrebel9 regarding the film Raanjhana. History will not look kindly at this film for its regressive message. It's been a theme in Bollywood for decades, where a boy can (and should), pursue a girl until she relents. Only in cinema does she do that willfully. In reality we have seen time and again that it leads to sexual violence of some sort. Glorifying it on screen only leads to blaming the victim, as @oldschoolrebel9 explains it so brilliantly. Please do take time out to read her observations in the pics above. #shedoesnotlikeyou #growup #gloryfyingsexualharrasment

A post shared by Abhay Deol (@abhaydeol) onAug 18, 2020 at 8:24pm PDT

Swadha Agrawal, the blogger in question, had this to write about the film- "Watching Ranjhaanaa(2013) felt like a constant conflict inside. I was continously battling emotions especially in the later half of the movie. I was struggling to pick a side till I realized, I don't really have to." (sic)

Have a look at her complete post here:

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

Watching Ranjhaanaa(2013) felt like a constant conflict inside. I was continously battling emotions especially in the later half of the movie. I was struggling to pick a side till I realized, I don't really have to. It was a story of flawed characters who made mistakes and ended up paying for them. But the one character I had the most respect for was Jasjeet for the simple reason that unlike Zoya and Kundan his political ambitions went beyond the personal emotions of vengeance and redemption. But the one scene that personally made me plain angry was when Kundan pays a visit to a wounded Jasjeet. "Yaar in ladkiyon ke dimag ke hisaab se kuch karna nahi chahiye, jhatke mein sab bikhar gaya" says Jasjeet to which Kundan replies, "Hum bhi ussi chakkar mein maare gaye." Jasjeet sits beside a man who stalked his girlfriend for so long, threatened to slit her wrist if she doesn't reciprocate, sabotaged their wedding, got him almost killed and he very conveniently puts the blame for all it on the lady he claims to love. What was Zoya's fault? Yes, she made a very silly plan of faking her boyfriend's religion but didn't Jasjeet agree to go along with it? Yes, she could have been more upfront about her refusal to Kundan but when from the very beginning was he ever considerate or respectful to her consent? This scene does feel real though. Men who love the same woman, either fight over her or bond over their mutual betrayal. We have all heard and maybe even said things like - "Her love made him a devdas". There are so many people who face heartbreak and don't turn self destructive. If you reject someone, why or how do you become responsible for the way they deal with that rejection? How a person deals with a heartbreak speaks less of the person who couldn't love them back or even how deeply they felt for that person and more about what that heartbroken individual is made up of. I think its time we stop blaming others for our personal failures and stop carrying the guilt of things people do to themselves. Also next time we hear a friend talk about that certain someone who ruined them, we must subtly remind them that only they themselves could do that.

A post shared by Swadha Agrawal (@oldschoolrebel9) onAug 18, 2020 at 6:42am PDT

Deol made his debut with Imtiaz Ali in 2005's Socha Na Tha and then went on to do some fine films like Manorma: Six Feet Under, Oye Lucky Lucky Oye, Dev D, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, and Shanghai. He has also been a part of films like Raanjhanaa, One By Two, and had a cameo in Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif, and Anushka Sharma's Zero.

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Also Read: Abhay Deol: One Could Make A Film About Corrupt Practices Of Bollywood

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