Sequels in Bollywood are often considered dangerous projects to handle, for there have been countless instances where the sequel has failed to live up to the hype created by the original film…but when you have Aanand L Rai at the helm, smooth sailing is a guarantee!

Starting off from where the prequel ‘Tanu Weds Manu’ ends (with Tanu and Manu tying the knot), ‘Tanu Weds Manu Returns’ starts off on a darkly hilarious note, with Manu (R. Madhavan) being committed to a mental asylum after he throws a fit following a quarrel with wife Tanu (Kangana Ranaut).

The two part ways and Tanu comes back to her long suffering father and the rest of her family in Kanpur, whereas Manu is rescued by loyal sidekick Pappi (Deepak Dobriyal) and brought back to his home. While in Delhi, Manu runs into Datto (Kangana Ranaut), a Haryanvi athlete, who bears a resemblance to his estranged wife.

Manu immediately falls in love with Datto, who ends up reciprocating his feelings while Tanu gets in touch with her old flame Raja Awasthi (Jimmy Sheirgill), whose heart still seems to beat for the woman who left him for the NRI doctor.

The plot further thickens when it is discovered that Datto was supposed to marry Raja and this situation leads to further complications even as Manu decides to divorce Tanu and tie the knot with Datto. If that was not all, there is another fly in the ointment in the form of rustic lawyer Chintu (Mohammad Zeeshan Ayub), who falls in love with Tanu and unleashes a sequence of events that threatens to ruin everyone’s day. What happens next? Will Tanu and Manu reunite or will Manu walk off in the sunset with the coltish Datto? Watch the film to find out…

If Kangana impressed you with her performance in ‘Queen’, she is sure to make you fall in love with her in ‘Tanu Weds Manu Returns’. Tanu is a character that she has played years ago and she slips back into the role with effortless ease, which is to be expected because we know Kangana can do it. But what makes her the ‘Queen’ of Bollywood is the way she plays the Haryanvi tomboy Datto- her mannerisms, her dialogue delivery and her body language is absolutely brilliant, making this film one of the best double role flicks in a long time. The highlight of the film remains the confrontation between Tanu and Datto, which is a must watch scene.

Madhavan plays the timid Manu with an admirable restraint and the actor deserves a pat on his back for being courageous enough to play second fiddle to Kangana, who owns the film from the first scene itself. Dobriyal is flawless in his comedy whereas Sheirgill has some of the best lines in the film. Ayub, who plays the kind of antagonist anyone would relate to, proves to be a valuable addition to the stellar cast.

Rai, who came back to the tale of Tanu and Manu after a gap of four years, has certainly lived up to everyone’s expectations and then some! The filmmaker is a genius when it comes to small-town love stories set in North India and his latest offering reminds you once again why Rai is one of Bollywood’s gems.

The film will make you laugh and it will make you cry, but not once it will make you look elsewhere or tempt you to step out for popcorn. The film does go off-track for a while it tries to send across a message about honour killing and the Jat mentality, but Rai manages it with such aplomb that you are willing to let him lead you elsewhere for a short while.

The music of the film is another feather in its cap. The songs of the film are simply delightful and don’t be surprised if you feel the urge to get off your seat and do a ‘thumka’ at seeing Datto dance to ‘Banno Tera Swagger’.

All in all, ‘Tanu Weds Manu’ is easily one of the best films to come out this year…Don’t miss it!!