‘Raksha Bandhan’: An underwhelming ’90s emotional drama

Rakshabandhan
Hindi (Theaters)
Director: Anand. L. Rai
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Bhumi Pednekar, Sahil Mehta, Sadia Khateeb
Rating: 2/5

‘Raksha Bandhan’, directed by Anand L Rai, is an unapologetic satire traded off in favour of a typical ‘message film’. As the film stars Akshay Kumar, an actor who is widely credited as ‘knowing the pulse of the masses’, it eventually culminates into a 90s melodrama.

Akshay plays Lala Kedarnath, a Chatt shop owner, who is bonded by his mother’s dying wish to get his four sisters married. Dowry is the biggest obstacle he faces. To the film’s credit, it does not present dowry as merely an economic burden that the family of the bride has to overcome leading up to her marriage. The broader social implications of the evil practice are also explored (at least briefly).

‘Raksha Bandhan’ is positioned as a film that celebrates the bond between siblings. But Lala’s bond with his sisters is not explored beyond the extreme lengths he would go to keep the promise he gave to his mother. There are no personal moments that show what his relationship with his sisters is like. What we get to see is a person who cracks jokes at the expense of his sisters’ physical attributes.

While there is nothing wrong with a flawed character being insensitive, the problem lies in the fact that his sisters are not developed beyond these one-note characteristics. Lala, the only properly developed character in the film, occupies almost every frame of the film. So his perspective becomes the audience’s perspective. One endearing factor is that his sisters are unfazed by all the toxic comments.

While the first half is objectively bland, the second half will polarise the audience. People looking for old-school entertainment may absolutely enjoy it but melodrama dilutes the message. None of the emotional scenes seems warranted due to flimsy character development. And the token empowerment of Lala’s sisters seems insincere as Lala is still the subject and they are just “his sisters”.

A varied treatment may have made ‘Raksha Bandhan’ a compelling watch.