The cinematic world of Anurag Kashyap is normally inhabited by criminals, gangsters, cor­rupt politicians, addicts and serial killers. So his latest film ‘Manmar­ziyaan’ has been pointed out by many as that moment in his career when he came out of his comfort zone to direct a romantic come­dy—a genre so mainstream and overwrought by Kashyap’s stan­dards that nobody would’ve put the director’s name and the genre in the same sentence. But the film isn’t an outright departure, with Kashyap still man­aging to put his trademark stamp of unfiltered and unpredictable chaos on Kanika Dhillon’s screenplay. And this is all done over Amit Trive­di’s hip and pulsating soundtrack.

Set in Amritsar, ‘Manmarzi­yaan’ introduces us to lovers Rumi (Taapsee Pannu) and Vicky (Vicky Kaushal). The film opens with the Mohawk-donning Vicky, as he leaps through terraces to tryst with Rumi at her house. Their small town sees them as a bad influence on their children.

Rumi is a headstrong, outspoken girl, a former hockey player no less. Vicky is a freewheeling bloke, harboring a dream of becoming a superstar DJ. But he is a confused guy, who can easily hop from one passion to another in the blink of an eye.

Their families aren’t antagonists, so much as they are their own ene­mies. As circumstances would have it, Rumi demands a more serious relationship from Vicky, while Vicky gets cold feet. Rumi gives him multiple chances but Vicky fizzles out every time.

In this mix enters Robbie (Abhisekh Bachchan), an NRI banker from England. He is some­one who’ll have mothers swooning over him to marry their daugh­ters. But Robbie falls hard for Rumi the moment a matchmaker shows him her photograph for an arranged marriage. The film then circles around Rumi, who is torn between her first real love, Vicky, and Robbie, who seems to have all the qualities of a perfect husband.

The plot isn’t original. Many view­ers will think of it as an update of 1999’s ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’ or 1983’s ‘Woh 7 Din’. The freshness therefore comes from the complex characters that populate this film. Rumi for sure is an unlikely leading lady in a Bollywood film. Taapsee Pannu is given lot to do in this role that demands more than just being a simple object in a tug of war between two men.

Pannu pulls off Rumi with such panache that the viewers are able to clearly fathom her character’s mental mess. She shares an elec­tric chemistry with an unrecog­nizable Vicky Kaushal. Kaushal completely disappears in the life of his character, giving him energy and vulnerability. And then there’s the master stroke of casting Abhisekh Bachchan as Robbie, a silent and brooding fellow, and easily likeable.

At a staggering length of 2 hours and 37 minutes, ‘Manmarziyaan’ feels a tad bit too long for a roman­tic film. But Kashyap paces it with cracking music from Amit Trivedi that provides a smooth rhythm. He has lots of fun with the genre and time and again gives us such dynamic visual storytelling cues, for instance, the recurring appear­ance of twin sisters whenever Rumi’s having an internal dilemma. Kashyap’s combination of skills is at display here.

From hammering his actors to fit the mold of their characters to his technically crafted direction, a less worthy director would’ve taken the same material and given it a more regular treatment. But Kashyap takes the familiar and gives it a new toss. Watching ‘Manmarziyaan’ makes you feel it’s a film from a director in top form.