by Joginder Tuteja
Atrangi Re was the biggest release of the week with its digital premiere on Disney+Hotstar on Friday. It was a big deal in every way as Aanand L Rai was bringing one of his films three years after Zero. Apart from this, there was another OTT release on Christmas after Sara Ali Khan’s Coolie No 1 last year. Dhanush had also seen an OTT arrival in the form of Jagme Thandiram, while Akshay Kumar’s Laxmmi made it straight last year on the same platform, Disney+ Hotstar.
Now that the trio has come together for Atrangi Re, there is a family audience that has been wooed in a big way. A triangular love story with a difference, it stars Sara Ali Khan in a central role who, despite being madly in love with Akshay Kumar for a decade, finds herself in a relationship with Dhanush. What happens when both the men find themselves under the same roof and Sara has to make a choice, which is the crux of this Aanand L Rai film.
This realistically set film composed by AR Rahman has a fairy tale-like feel. While some scenes require suspension of disbelief, there are also moments that are genuinely enjoyable and stick with you. A story about pure selfless love, its special moments are reserved for the climax which completely justifies the kind of casting that has been put together in Atrangi Re.
The film has got good traction among the critics and the audience is also getting warm for the unique story of this love story. Yes, the movie is a bit long and running 15 minutes less would have made the drama even more crisp. In fact some songs could have been removed. Although the acting is such that your heart goes down on the characters.
Sara Ali Khan makes you root for her and though strong histrionics would have helped in some places, overall she remains consistent. Dhanush does really well and his Tamil accent in Hindi dialogues goes in favor of the character he plays. Akshay Kumar brings a lot of entertainment and while he has a bigger part in the second half of the film (as compared to the first), he is the master of the climax which is heart-stopping.
Aanand L Rai has made a film that is straight from the heart and for the family audience, it definitely makes for a clean entertainer.
coming soon
Surprisingly, there is no new notable OTT release in the last week of December. Even though 2021 was a mega year in terms of digital releases across various platforms week by week with over 100 web series and movies, none of it will be new releases in the last 7 days, now coming only in January .
release dates
no new releases
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