(This review has 53829362 spoilers.)

One random afternoon, I was lying on my couch scrolling on TikTok when the beginning strains of Tum Kya Mile started to play against the visuals of a beautiful, snowy landscape, and I knew. I JUST KNEW. IN MY SOUL. That Old Bollywood was back. And then, ‘A KARAN JOHAR FILM’ flashed across the screen and even without knowing the title of this film, I was 100% sure that if I didn’t watch it, 2003 Gayathrii would time travel to 2023 to hurt me. #lessgo

Over the next few weeks, more musical teasers from the film,which I now knew was titled Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani (RRKPK), or Rocky and Rani’s Love Story in English, added to the hype. We got the catchy ‘What Jhumka’, where Alia Bhatt is in this wonderfully colourful saree and Ranveer Singh is dressed in denim suit with orange stars. (I got the same saree and am currently trying to convince my husband to get the suit.) Ranveer and Alia also dance Kathak in the ‘Dhindhora Baje Re’ teaser which was intriguing—classical dancing in Bollywood films is usually left to the women.

It's all about the family #iykyk

There was no doubt that RRKPK was going to pull me into its orbit like Johar’s previous films. Although, I was a tad wary. Johar’s films are kinda like going to big family gatherings, y’know? It’s all fun and games until someone makes a sexist/racist/homophobic comment that you’re not supposed to call out because family is family and you can’t ruin the vibe. I mean, why did Rahul (Shah Rukh Khan) feel the need to move back into the family home at the end of Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham? Why did Riya (Preity Zinta) and Rishi (Abishek Bachchan) need to bless their cheating spouses’ relationship at the end of Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna? At 13, I would have gone to the mattresses to defend these films and characters, but at 33, I wish these films challenged the expectations of toxic older family members a lot more. 

So I tempered my expectations. I knew I’d have a decent time, at the very least. Because if anything else, Karan Johar makes really pretty films with beautiful songs. More than enough to create the tiniest of tears in the fabric of time and let in a bit of nostalgia, I say!

Families can help you fall in love…

The movie kicks off with introductions to both families. Rocky’s Punjabi family is stereotypically loud, rich and conforms to traditional notions of how men and women should behave, in private and in public. His grandmother, Dhanalakshmi (Jaya Bachchan) is the matriarch who enforces order in the household—women should cover their heads in the household and men should not be dancing around in public. To her, any display of affection or love is soft and unbecoming. #notavibe 

Meanwhile, Rani’s Bengali family is the opposite. Her mum, Anjali (Churni Ganguli), is an English Lit lecturer, nursing a severe colonial hangover. Her dad, Chandon (Tota Roy Chaudary), is a classical Kathak teacher. They seem pretty progressive, until you realise they also are champagne socialists. The type who would host a poetry appreciation night but also scoff at anyone who doesn’t fit in. #alsonotavibe

Rocky’s living his best life until one day, his amnesiac grandfather, Kanwal (Dharmendra), starts to call out a woman’s name, Jamini (Shabana Azmi). A woman who could possibly jog Kanwal’s memory. A woman who turns out to be Kanwal’s long-lost paramour. A woman who turns out to be Rani’s grandmother??? Rocky meets Rani and convinces her that they need to get their grandparents together. Amidst all that, the pair fall in love. 

The first half of the film tracks their very rapid courtship. Johar’s romantic leads remind us that masculinity is fluid and feminism is not always the antithesis to tradition. Rocky, armed with his protein shakes and glossy abs, is the one who falls first and falls harder. (Hehehehehehehe.) He reminds Rani to be gentle with him because “(he) is a fragile”. Rani initially convinces herself that their relationship is purely physical and it’s all “just a fling”. Rocky is the gymbro who wears pink. Rani is the feminist who almost exclusively wears sarees. 

Families need to love you too, though.

But Rocky and Rani are both too different! And once they get together, they realise their families are even more different! #ohnoooo Rocky and Rani decide to circumvent familial objections by swapping families for three months. #donttrythisathome

At this point in the film, I was already reeling from the serotonin boost of being immersed in a Karan Johar film again. The whole movie had struck such a deep wellspring of nostalgia that I started sobbing when ‘Tum Kya Mile’ played. It’s not even a sad song! My husband looked over at me in the cinema confused as hell while I tried to disappear into my seat like:

My point is, I didn’t particularly think the family swap portion of the film was going to blow me away. I expected it to kick off with splashes of Family Gaslighting and wrap up with an unhealthy dose of Forgive and Forget. The pair would get their happy ending all tied up in a cute little bow, and I was cool with that. So, believe me when I tell you that I didn't expect Honest Conversations and Generational Healing??

I didn’t expect Rocky to be the kind of guy who responds to feminism as education, not emasculation. I didn’t expect Rani to point out to Dhanalakshmi that, often, the most unapologetic women are the ones who expect younger women to apologise and fall in line. I didn’t expect Rocky and Chandon to have honest conversations about cancel culture—whether you’re being cancelled for dancing Kathak or for not being able to speak proper English. I didn’t expect a character to call out her family for weight-shaming. I didn’t expect a feminist monologue about how men can’t wash women’s underwear but can sing and dance to ‘Choli Ke Peeche’ (‘What’s Behind Your Blouse’). I definitely didn’t expect a feminist take on Indian wedding traditions. 

Most of all, I didn’t expect Rocky to look his grandmother in the eye and say, “Your blood runs through my veins but you have no place in my heart,” effectively ending their relationship. A Karan Johar film where the toxic family member is cut off with less fanfare than if you left a family group chat?? What in the 2023 was this film?? I didn’t expect at all for Karan Johar, of all people, to deal with generational trauma. 

Is the film perfect? Yes. Okay lah, it’s not lah. I wish the film spent more time exploring Rani’s motivations and fears. Compared to Rocky, Rani’s growth wasn’t really a focus. In fact, her narrative function was to push other characters to evolve. Yet, she is probably Johar’s most inspirational and empowered heroine. It took me two watches to realise her actions towards the end of the film were motivated by fear and a deep sense of how female agency needs to be actively safeguarded. I also don’t think there was any narrative empathy afforded to Dhanalakshmi who, despite all her flaws, did have to contend with her husband’s cheating, which no one should have to. 

Ultimately, a Karan Johar film in 2023 did still feel like a family reunion. But it was a reunion where you go home feeling seen, respected and validated. The kind of reunion where even if someone makes a weird comment, someone else is there to call it out and to talk things out. I didn't think I'd say this but old Bollywood really did come back for a bit, with enough newness to satisfy both 2003 and 2023 Gayathriis :)