Starring :   Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Jawed Sheikh, Sushma Seth, Vivek Mushran, Ishtiyaq Khan
Producer : Sajid Nadiadwala & Siddharth Roy Kapur
Director : Imtiaz Ali
Music : A.R. Rahman

Review by : Kriti Agarwal
Rating : 3 out of 5

What's about :  People with an artistic bent are likely to identify with Ved - he is mesmerised with stories and theatre, but life and its demands of making a living in accordance with his pragmatic father, take a toll on his real calling and make him forget his real self.

In a robotic, corporatized world, where you get judged by the minute, there is an inner self that is getting suffocated deep inside, yet powerless to liberate itself.

Gone are the days “When the mind was without fear” – in a modern, materialistic world the mind is tuned to take instructions only. The inner struggle is so evident, the angst is so palpable, hence the escape to Corsica.

Tamasha” is all glitter — magnificent locations — Corsica to our own Shimla, lavish sets, very “international” production design, an opulent, operatic presentation, youth-friendly, very contemporary lines & nuances and decent performances from Ranbir and Deepika Padukone.

Location : Corsica - France , Shimla , Delhi , Gurgaon , Kolkatta , Tokya - Japan , Mumbai – all the world is a stage.


Story : Far away on the island of Corsica, desi boy meets desi girl. They introduce themselves, woo each other, fall in love... except, not in this case. Don (Ranbir Kapoor) meets Mona Darling (Deepika Padukone) and they decide to stick to only lies to introduce themselves. They spend seven indescribable days in the French island, and move on.

Peppered with the to-lust-after locales of Corsica is Ved's (Ranbir Kapoor) childhood, in flashback. Ved's story unfolds against the backdrop of the picturesque Shimla ( Simla). The boy spends some of the best years of his life listening to an elderly banjara . Piyush Mishra coaches Ved in the well-known tales of Heer-Ranjha, Laila-Majnu, Ram-Sita, Romeo-Juliet...
 Tara finally bumps into Ved in Delhi and slowly realises that this Ved is different from the one she had fallen for in Corsica. What follows is an emotional and intriguing take ,we face when desires get killed .

While first half takes a ride with soothing music and sharp lyrics, second half is a buffet of power packed performances.

The beautiful locations of Corsica, trippy camera angles and well-stationed frames, Picturesque bistros, colourful locals in fancy dress, leafy green countryside, sparkling blue waters - ensures a journey to a fantasy land. 

Ved is a coward to seek advice from someone else - a perfect life lesson for all of us - we often seek approval from someone and want them to tell us that our heart’s calling is right. We shouldn’t.

Characters :

Ranbir Kapoor [ved vardhan sahni ]: a superlative performance ! his monologues in front of a mirror, where he speaks with his inner self! Be it role-playing Don, aping Dev Anand or the Ved torn between his routine of office, life and the freedom-loving story-teller - Ranbir aces all forms of the character.

Deepika Padukone [ tara maheshwari] :  looks so charming and delivers a terrific performance!

Javed Sheikh [ ved's father ] : Good performance .

Vivek Mushran [ved's boss] : awesome as well-disciplined boss.

Piyush Mishra : simply out of the world! impressive job as a story-teller.

Ishtiyaq Khan(autorickshaw driver),
Nikhil Bhagat [ tara's father],
Faraaz Servaia [ tara's brother] , Punam Singh [ Tea Executive] & the transgender also leave a mark .

Pros : sharp & crisp Lyrics ,  Costumes are classy and trend-setting, especially the ones worn by Deepika . Editing is slick and stylish. Dialogues are outstanding. Direction is damn impressive. The characterization is beautifully done and the boredom of the monotonous life is brought out so wonderfully by the master director.

Cinematography will be responsible for Indians queuing up for a ticket to Corsica. What Napoleon Bonaparte couldn't do to this tiny island, probably Tamasha will do: for Indians, this will be the next go-to destination.

Cons :  pace drops abruptly as the camera moves from Corsica to New Delhi , weak story .

Some of the best scenes:

•     The entire Corsica sequence
•     All songs of the film
•     Ved Tara meet in Delhi
•     Ved Tara go to a Japanese restaurant and what happens next
•     The intermission point
•     Ved confronts Tara at her place
•     Ved talks with the autorickshaw driver
•     Ved’s all scenes with the boss(hilarious!)
•     Ved goes back home
•     The climax

Music : Terrific. Matargashti and Heer toh badi sad hai, are magical chartbusters .  Tu Koi Aur Hai, Wat Wat Wat, Chali Kahani and Safarnama also leave a mark . Background score is smartly composed and used.


Bottom line :  Tamasha is a unique experience that should be seen on the big screen in all its glory.  we haven’t watched something like this in a long time! It is a vintage vine .

WHY ALWAYS A SAME STORY YOU WATCH.TRY SOME THING DIFFERENT -GO FOR 'TAMASHA'.