Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani

<p>The Randhawas are a wealthy family who run a successful business named Dhanlakshmi Sweets, led by the authoritative matriarch, Dhanlakshmi Randhawa. Her husband, Kanwal Lund, is wheelchair-bound and suffers from following an accident. Their son, Tijori, mirrors Dhanlakshmi’s controlling nature and dominates the household alongside her. Tijori’s family includes his submissive wife Punam and their children, Rocky and Gayatri. One day, Kanwal mistakenly kisses a stranger, believing her to be a woman named Jamini. Concerned for his grandfather, Rocky investigates and discovers an old photograph of Jamini. His search leads him to Jamini’s granddaughter Rani Chatterjee, a well-known Bengali television . Rani hails from an intellectual family—her mother Anjali is an English professor and her father Chandon is a dancer. Rocky and Rani arrange a meeting between Kanwal and Jamini, who are revealed to have shared a brief in 1978. Rekindling their bond, Kanwal and Jamini’s interactions bring Rocky and Rani closer, and the two begin a relationship. Although Rocky proposes, Rani initially dismisses it as a temporary fling but later realises her love for him. Due to the cultural differences between their families, Rocky and Rani decide to live with each other’s households for three months to better understand their backgrounds. Rani encourages the women in the Randhawa family to assert their independence, drawing the ire of Dhanlakshmi and Tijori. Meanwhile, Rocky faces ridicule from the Chatterjees for his limited education and patriarchal attitudes, but gradually begins to change. He apologises for his earlier behavior and joins Chandon’s dance classes to better appreciate his perspective. During celebrations, Rocky and Chandon perform together, upsetting Tijori. The resulting confrontation leads Rani to push Tijori in anger, causing a rift between her and Rocky. Back home, when Tijori attempts to strike Punam, Rocky intervenes and stands up to him for the first time. He leaves the household with Punam and Gayatri. The shock causes Kanwal to briefly regain clarity and recognize his son before passing away. Months later, Tijori visits the Chatterjee home to apologise. Rocky and Rani reunite and get married. Though Dhanlakshmi does not attend the wedding, she sends Rani the secret family recipe, symbolically accepting her into the family. The cast is listed below: , , and make cameo appearances in the song “Heart Throb”. was officially announced on 6 July 2021 by director through his social media accounts, with the title initially stylized as . The announcement confirmed and in the titular roles, alongside , , and in key supporting parts. The project marked Johar’s return to feature film direction following (2016), and notably, his first directorial venture not to feature frequent collaborator in any capacity; Khan had appeared in all of Johar’s previous directorial ventures, including the joint production venture (2010), with the notable exception of (2012), which saw him partner up as a presenter and producer and marked Bhatt’s debut, while featured both Bhatt and Khan in separate cameo appearances. Johar began developing the film during the after his planned historical drama —which also featured Singh and Bhatt and was to be written by and —was postponed indefinitely. He assembled a writer’s room comprising , , and Roy to develop the story, screenplay and dialogues. Khaitan, who was given his first big break by Johar, had notably worked with Bhatt and cameo star , her fellow debutante in alongside , in his first two films; he and Johar later produced Malhotra-starrer (2024), which was his first independent production debut. The film marked ’s return to acting after over a decade; she had last worked with Johar in (2001) and (2003). agreed to join the project, stating that the role suited his age and screen image, and expressing enthusiasm about reuniting with Bachchan and after several decades. The role of Jamini was initially offered to , a frequent collaborator of Dharmendra, but she exited the project before production began due to a diagnosis. , a television actress, was cast in her first film role as a member of the Randhawa family. was originally approached for the role of Chandon Chatterjee but declined the offer; the part eventually went to , whom Chatterjee later stated was “his biggest regret” to have turned down. Bashir and Azmi were previously supposed to work with Johar on (2010), but while Azmi opted out due to scheduling conflicts with other projects, Bashir was replaced due to a rejected visa application. Johar stated that the character of Rocky was inspired by gym-going from whom he came across during the pandemic. To prepare for the role, Singh trained with -based influencer Yuvraj Dua, learning his dialect and body language. For the Chatterjee household, Roy Chowdhury trained in for six months to authentically portray a professional dancer. Johar cited his own childhood experiences of being mocked for dancing effeminately as inspiration for the character. Singh also trained for over a month for the “ ” dance sequence, choreographed by , who noted that he was initially nervous as he was not a trained classical dancer. The Randhawa family home was filmed at Gaur Mulberry Mansions, a luxury residential complex in . began on 20 August 2021 in . The second schedule commenced in October 2021 in . The third schedule, initially planned for early 2022, was delayed due to the surge of the variant of COVID-19 and resumed in April 2022 in and around Mumbai and Delhi. In August 2022, television actors , , , and filmed cameo appearances for a sequence in the film. Later that month, released a video announcing the completion of principal photography, except for one song which was delayed due to Bhatt’s pregnancy. The final song, “Tum Kya Mile”, was filmed in March 2023 in , marking the end of the shoot. Johar cited influences from classic films for the visual aesthetic of “Tum Kya Mile”, and referenced the grandeur of ’s filmmaking in designing the “Dhindora Baje Re” sequence. He also included a tribute to actress through the song “What Jhumka?”, which adapts the 1966 track “ ” from . The film’s initial cut was three hours and twelve minutes long. Following multiple test screenings with over 500 participants, Johar and editor Nitin Baid edited the film over a period of six months, ultimately reducing the runtime to two hours and forty-eight minutes. The film’s music was composed by , with lyrics written by . Pritam described the soundtrack as a “homage” to the music of Hindi cinema from the 1960s and 1970s. The audio rights were acquired by for ₹30 crore (US$3.5 million), a decision described as both strategic and sentimental. He noted that Saregama—formerly His Master’s Voice—had released the music of early titles such as (1993) and (1998). The acquisition also granted the filmmakers access to Saregama’s catalogue of vintage Hindi film music without requiring separate licensing. The soundtrack was promoted through a series of singles. The first, “Tum Kya Mile”, was released on 28 June 2023. The second single, “What Jhumka?”, an adaptation of ’s 1966 classic ” “, was released on 12 July. This was followed by “Ve Kamleya” on 18 July, and “Dhindhora Baje Re” on 24 July. The full album, comprising 13 tracks, was released digitally on 31 July 2023. was initially scheduled for release on 10 February 2023 but was postponed to 28 April due to delays in filming resulting from ’s pregnancy. The release was further deferred to avoid a box office clash with , a high-budget -language film directed by . The film was ultimately released theatrically on 28 July 2023. The film was selected for screening at the on 9 October 2023, where it featured in the “Open Cinema” section. It was also showcased at the 2023 , where it had three special screenings, and at the 23rd on 10 December 2023, where it won the award for Best Feature Film. The streaming rights were acquired by for ₹80 crore (US$9.5 million), while the satellite broadcasting rights were sold to for ₹30 crore (US$3.5 million). The film’s first teaser was launched on 20 June 2023 by actor , a frequent collaborator of Johar, marking the first time he was not involved in any capacity with Johar’s directorial work; in his launch, he referred to Johar’s producer father Yash and described the film as Johar’s comeback to the screens. The official trailer was released on 4 July 2023. To promote the film, Bhatt and Singh participated in a five-city promotional tour across India, including visits to , , and . The required several modifications prior to the film’s release, including edits to and the removal of a reference to politician . Bhatt stated in an interview that the changes were minor and did not affect the film’s narrative flow. grossed ₹182.86 crore (US$22 million) in India and ₹172.75 crore (US$20 million) overseas, for a worldwide total of ₹355.61 crore (US$42 million). The film emerged as a commercial success, ranking as the . The film had a moderate opening day in India, earning ₹11 crore (US$1.3 million) . Collections increased over the weekend, with Saturday earnings of ₹15.5 crore (US$1.8 million) and a total of ₹44.5 crore (US$5.3 million) by Sunday. Overseas, it performed particularly well in North America, the United Kingdom, the Gulf, and Australia, grossing US$4 million in its first weekend. In the UK, it had the second-biggest opening for a Hindi film in 2023, following , and ranked seventh over the weekend, earning £370,882. On Monday, the film maintained strong collections in India (₹6.75 crore/US$800,000) and grossed US$770,000 internationally. Domestic collections held steady through Tuesday, and the film performed best in Indian urban multiplexes and overseas markets throughout its first week. In its second weekend, the film registered a drop of around 30% in India, earning ₹31 crore (US$3.7 million). In North America, it declined by less than 5%, grossing US$1.64 million for a cumulative total of US$4.72 million. Other overseas markets saw only a 20% drop in collections. Despite competition from and , the film continued to perform well into its third weekend. By the third week, it had grossed over US$15 million internationally, becoming one of the highest-grossing Hindi films of the year in overseas territories. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and audiences. On , 83% of 23 reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.7/10. of called the film “delicious eye-candy with a rebellious core” and praised the ensemble cast. of described it as “a top of the pop-culture moment” and singled out Singh’s performance as a highlight. of termed it a “well-packaged entertainer” that appeals to both youth and family audiences. Tushar Joshi of called it a gentle reminder of Johar’s cinematic legacy, while Dhaval Roy of described it as “a full-on entertaining and sweet love story.” ‘s Priyanka Roy referred to it as a “vastly entertaining film” that balances substance and spectacle, and of described it as a “shrewd subversion of traditions and values.” Mayur Sanap, also from , felt the film “blends old charm with the newness of fresh ideas.” Reya Malhotra of considered it a feminist reimagining of Johar’s (2001). Shomini Sen of credited both Singh and Bhatt with elevating a predictable script, while Uday Bhatia of wrote that Singh’s energy made the film “more fun than it has a right to be.” In contrast, of criticized the film for being “loud and melodramatic” with “little originality.” Nandini Ramnath of found it “ostentatious” and filled with stereotypes, and of called it a “shiny but shallow family drama” that failed to fully deliver its message, though he praised Bhatt’s performance. Internationally, Ryan Gilbey of highlighted the film’s attempt to reconcile progressivism and tradition, while Proma Khosla of described it as “the kind of Bollywood bliss audiences have been craving,” praising the performances of Singh, Bhatt, and Bachchan. Several critics and publications included in their year-end best film lists. named it the best Hindi film of 2023, while ‘s and ‘s also featured it in their annual top selections. ’s Shilajit Mitra listed it among the ten best Hindi films of the year,[^41] and named it one of the fifteen best Bollywood films of 2023. included it among both the top ten pan-Indian films and top five Hindi films of the year. Additional inclusions came from , , , , , , , and , where it was ranked second among Bollywood films. The performances of and also received widespread recognition. listed both among the top fifteen performances of the year, while named Bhatt the best actress of 2023. Rishabh Suri of included Singh’s role among the best male performances in Hindi cinema that year.</p>