Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani: Alia Bhatt cries ‘khela hobe’ as two high-octane cultures clash

Karan Johar is back, and how! With Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh, the charismatic director is all set to present Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani – a magnum opus dotted with the clash of two illustrious culturescapes in India – Jats and Bengalis. A bevy of actors, including Dharmendra, Shabana Azmi, Jaya Bachchan, Tota Roy Chowdhury, Churni Ganguly, and others, take part in this clash of titans. 

The trailer, which was dropped on July 4, reveals a series of quintessential Bengali markers in the three-and-a-half minute-long video. Alia hits a sixer as she says, ‘Khela hobe’ – a much loved Bengali phrase that is loaded with political innuendo. She comes from a uber-rich Bengali family, with Shabana Azmi being the matriarch. 

Rocky, aka Ranveer, and Rani, aka Alia, fall in love. One hails from a Puritan Jat family, and the other is from a politically aware Bengali family. To address the differences in their cultural upbringings, they swap houses and start living with each other’s families, and all hell breaks loose. That is the trailer in a nutshell.    

Tota and Churni’s interactions with Ranveer leave us in splits. The reference to Tagore is predictable, but the conversation that starts with the voting percentage and ends with Bigg Boss is hilarious. In fact, the trailer draws to a close with Ranveer trying to figure out the laundry system at Alia’s house, and Churni aces in that scene. 

Yes, the trailer stereotypes Bengalis and Jats. All Bengali girls don’t wear saris and talk just about politics and Tagore, and all Jat mundas don’t binge on Bigg Boss and think West Bengal is in the western side of India. Durga Puja is hardly as gigantic as the trailer shows. But it is a Karan Johar film. Isn’t it his signature to make over-the-top dramas? Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani is exactly what Karan Johar has been promising us for 25 years – a grand, colourful, opulent, Bollywood drama that delves into love birds and their families. The RARKPK trailer shows just that and nothing else.