Atrangi Re review: This twisted love triangle is saved by unpredictable twists

Aanand L Rai’s Atrangi Re tries too hard to justify its title — which translates to funnily weird — right from the very first scene where the young Rinku (Sara Ali Khan), the resident of a town in Bihar, is seen running for her life. She finally confronts her pursuers, a group of men, attacking them with scores of soda bottles. She then just walks past the men while they simply look on. Why? We never know.

Rinku turns out to be an orphan who lives with her ever-nagging aunt and uncle. She loves Sajjad Ali Khan (Akshay Kumar), a dashing professional magician, and has attempted, unsuccessfully, to elope with him on more than 20 occasions. The family is so fed up with her that they decide to marry her off to just about anyone. To this end, they send a group of people to abduct a potential groom; forced marriages are not unheard of in Bihar. The group eventually settles for a Tamilian named Vishu (Dhanush).

Vishu, who hails from Chennai, is a medical student studying in Delhi and is on a visit to Bihar [again, we don't know why]. Though he planned to get engaged to the girl he loves after a week, he is wed to Rinku against his will. The way the whole thing unfolds is truly bizarre [once again, justifying the title]. Rinku is drugged while Vishu is given a dose of nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas. It’s understandable why Rinku doesn’t resist but Vishu also playing along despite being in his senses is difficult to digest.

After getting married, Rinku and Vishu decide to part ways since they both love someone else. Fair enough. But before Vishu returns to Chennai to get engaged with his girlfriend, he gives Rinku the option of tagging along. Why would he do that considering he wanted to hide his marriage from his to-be fiancée and her family?

But what hurts the film the most is when one of the main characters falls for another and accepts that person under strange circumstances. This is too difficult to believe. And you can’t opt to ignore this because it forms the crux of the story from that point. 

But just when you think of giving up on the film, a major twist arrives out of nowhere. It’s not just unpredictable but also inconceivable. Although this novel development in the story throws up a few questions and the narrative takes a backseat on a few occasions in the second half, the resolution of the mystery, in the end, is somewhat satisfying. 

Screenwriter Himanshu Sharma, a long-time associate of Rai, is known for his witty humour. He is in his element here too, even when things aren’t moving smoothly. Rai’s signature colourful and vibrant visuals are pleasing to the eye. He has also included his trademark emotional moments, especially during the finale, that stay with the viewer.

Also, one can’t ignore AR Rahman's numbers. ‘Chaka Chak’ and ‘Garda’ stand out while other compositions also impress. 

Sara displays the energy needed for such a character. She might appear over-the-top at the start. But by the time her character is developed, this becomes less of a problem. This is also the case with Akshay Kumar. Despite the actor appearing believable as Sajjad, the wide age gap between him and Sara appears too problematic. However, once the film ends, this too is justified. 

But Atrangi Re belongs mainly to Dhanush. After Raanjhanaa (2013), he once again shines in a Rai directorial venture. He brings a wide range of emotions and gets you interested in the film even when all is not well with the narrative. Generally, the actor playing the protagonist’s friend gets few opportunities to shine. But Ashish Verma gets more than that and he comes up with a subtly funny performance. 

Atrangi Re, all in all, turns out to be a mixed bag. But it’s certainly much better than Rai’s last outing, Zero (2018). 

Atrangi Re is being streamed on Disney+ Hotstar