Abhay Deol on 10 years of Raanjhanaa: In the process of glamorising it, the film lost the essence of Aanand L. Rai's message about love, respect, boundaries

A decade after its first release, Raanjhanaa continues to receive criticism for its allegedly glamorising portrayal of sexual harassment and stalking. Abhay Deol, speaking on the film's 10th anniversary, concedes that, despite its imperfections, the film's director, Aanand L. Rai, had good intentions.

The movie was realistic and accurate in its subject matter. The filmmaker's goal was to demonstrate sympathy and chart a character's development. Despite this, Deol acknowledges that there is no doubt that there is this formula that Hindi films go for, which is to add glamorization. Jasjeet (Abhay Deol), a college friend from Delhi, and Kundan (Dhanush), in her native Varanasi, are the two suitors who pursue Sonam Kapoor's character Zoya.

His message was about love, respect, and boundaries, but that was lost in the glitz and glamour of the movie. The filmmaker intervened with that goal in mind. It was the complete antithesis of what could have been expected, the 47-year-old told the Hindustan Times, because we have to glamorise everything to make it commercially digestible, but there are some things that cannot be made palatable. According to the actor, he stayed true to Rai's vision for the film, which was to show what actually occurs in many small towns.

The goal was to bring attention to the issue at hand. Surely it was only a method of over-romanticising events that diluted the message. The actor insisted, but his intentions were pure.

Abhay, in the year 2020, also criticised the movie online, saying that history will not look kindly on this film for its regressive message. For decades, Bollywood has shown the trope of a boy's relentless pursuit of a girl until she gives in. She only does that on purpose in the movies. Time and again, people have seen that this leads to some kind of sexual violence.

The actor said that now that he has shared what he felt, he doesn't want to keep going on about the same thing or the process by which he came to the conclusion when the post is brought up. Abhay has always tried to do his best work with an idealistic mindset. As he has matured, he has come to see the need for moderation in all things. People will be idealistic when they are ready, and he is not in a position to preach about it. The actor is referring to the filmmaker and the audience alike when he says "people."

The cast and crew of Raanjhanaa will always hold a special place in the actor's heart because of their contributions to the film. Abhay said that Rai is a wonderful person, in addition to being a gifted producer and director. Dhanush's professionalism was outstanding, and Sonam was a delight to collaborate with. The staff took excellent care of them. He added that it was genuinely a very nice shoot because the people behind it were also very nice.