Manmarziyan is Kashyap's Moun Ragam

Film: Manmarziyan
Starring: Abhishek Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal
Directed by: Anurag Kashyap
Rating: 4.5/5

Manmarziyan takes the familiar idea of a love triangle and gives it a distinctly modern, messy and emotionally unpredictable treatment. At its centre is Rumi, played by Taapsee Pannu, a fiercely independent young woman caught between her impulsive first love and a husband who offers her stability, patience and understanding.

The story has echoes of classic romantic dramas in which a woman enters a marriage while still emotionally attached to another man. But Anurag Kashyap's treatment is far less idealised. Rumi is not presented as a conventional romantic heroine. She is impulsive, selfish, stubborn and often frustrating, yet Taapsee plays her with enough energy and vulnerability to keep the character engaging.

One of the film's most memorable moments comes when Rumi rides to the home of the man she is supposed to marry and bluntly tells him that she cannot go ahead with the wedding. Her casual suggestion that they can remain connected on Facebook before she rides away perfectly captures her impulsive personality.

Taapsee throws herself into Rumi's contradictions. She can be aggressive and affectionate, arrogant and vulnerable, passionate and deeply self-centred. The character's small-town roots are evident, but she is far removed from the stereotypical Hindi-film heroine who simply waits for love to determine her destiny.

Vicky Kaushal plays Vicky, Rumi's rebellious DJ boyfriend, with an energy that matches her restlessness. His appearance, clothes and mannerisms underline the character's limited ambitions and free-spirited attitude. The chemistry between the two is convincing, although the film deliberately leaves some ambiguity about whether their intense attraction is rooted in lasting emotional compatibility or simply the force of desire.

It is Abhishek Bachchan, however, who gives the film its emotional depth. As Robbie, the patient and dignified husband, he avoids turning the character into an impossibly perfect man. His restraint becomes one of the film's greatest strengths. Instead of competing loudly for Rumi's affection, Robbie gradually occupies an important emotional space in the story.

The supporting family dynamics also add weight to Rumi's choices. Her behaviour repeatedly tests the patience of those around her, while the reactions of her Punjabi joint family bring humour as well as a sense of emotional consequence to her actions.

The film does lose some momentum after Rumi's marriage to Robbie. The second half contains repetitive sequences and could have benefited from tighter editing. Its extended runtime occasionally weakens the impact of an otherwise engaging narrative.

Yet Manmarziyan remains an unusual romantic drama because it refuses to make love the complete answer to its characters' problems. It asks whether passion alone can sustain a relationship and whether love, however intense, is enough to build a fulfilling life together.

With strong performances from Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal and especially Abhishek Bachchan, the film turns a familiar love triangle into a more layered examination of desire, commitment and emotional maturity.

The film's most interesting question is also its simplest: love may be essential, but what else does a relationship need to survive?