The trailer of Sushant Singh Rajput and Kriti Sanon-starrer Raabta begins with a reprised version of the lovely romantic song, Raabta, from Agent Vinod (both composed by Pritam). And even as you think that this is going down the contemporary romantic comedy route, a surprise shift in gears takes you to another time period that casts Rajput and Sanon in the popular Punjabi folk tale of Mirza-Sahiban.
Yes, this is bound to give you a deja vu moment because just last year we saw the release of Mirzya, based on the two lovers, and it turned out to be disaster. But unlike Mirzya, there is a twist in the tale here.
While the contemparory romance is juxtaposed with the epic love story, the new age lovers are determined to change their tragic fate. "But what kind of a story is this?" asks the narrator, Irrfan Khan, of the Mirza-Sahiban story. "Raja badlte hain, rani badlate hain, pyar ka andaz badalte hain. Kal jo adhura tha, aaj badalte hain (lets change the king and the queen. Change what's incomplete. Let's change today)," he says.
Obviously, hinting that there is no fun or romance about a tragic love story any more. The two new age lovers are surely determined to add some fresh twists and turns to the Mirza-Sahiban epic love story as it unfolds in the current era.
The music by Pritam sounds appealing and the modern take on the age-old story feels interesting. The chemistry between Rajput and Sanon is apparent, and that should work in favour of the film, which is a passionate romance. The scale of the bygone era looks good, with some decent camerawork and CGI (computer generated imagery).
And yet, this is one of the trickiest territories to be on as the makers could very easily fail on their promise to deliver a surprising, thrilling and fresh take on an age-old saga. While a modern-day twist to stories, like Don or Dev D, have managed to pull it off successfully, films like Mirzya have failed to evoke interest.
Legends goes that Mirza and Sahiban were forbidden lovers from Punjab during the Mughal Era. Just when Sahiban was to wed Taha Khan, the two run away. After being on the run for some time, Sahiban's brothers catch up with them. Sahiban betrays Mirza, who is an expert archer, by breaking his arrows, to save her own brothers from being killed. Mirza dies when one of Sahiban's brothers attacks him with a sword and Sahiban kills herself soon after.
Producer Dinesh Vijan makes his directorial debut with Raabta, which will be released on 9 June.