5 years of Rangoon: Why Shahid Kapoor-Kangana Ranaut's period drama isn't really meant for a rewatch

With a stellar cast, consisting of Shahid Kapoor, Kangana Ranaut and Saif Ali Khan collaborating for Vishal Bharadwaj's film, the expectations of the audience soared high. Sadly, the film Rangoon, which was such an ambitious project, could not only meet any expectations but turned out to be a big disaster at the box office. 

Rangoon is a period film set during the times of World War II with the character of the leading actress, Ranaut, inspired by Mary Ann Evans aka Fearless Nadia, Bollywood's first original stunt-woman. Ranaut plays the role of a leading film star Julia, who is part of a dance troupe that entertains citizens and army men. Later, it is revealed that Julia was 'bought' by Rusi Billimoria (Saif Ali Khan) but she falls for Jamadar Nawab Malik (Shahid Kapoor), armed personnel who gets captured after being abandoned by his people.  

The film has an exhausting and 'never-ending' runtime, which is close to 3 hours. The film stretches on and on, making it unbearable, even if you sit to watch with a couple of beers with friends one night. With hardly anything happening in the story, you tend to lose interest and do not find the characters relatable as well. The subplots in the film do not help the story too. It looks like the filmmaker wanted to tell a beautiful love story, set in the times of World War 2. Though his heart is in the right place, it is not presented well. The film does not portray India's struggle for independence as well.

The filmmaker messes with the climax. Just when you decide to have some hope with the climax scene, you are left dumbfounded, watching the three lead actors in the scenes. Saif Ali Khan seems to have a change of heart and walks on a tightrope to fulfill Julia’s last wish. There is no logic in the scene whatsoever. 

The drama has 12 songs, which only add to the runtime of the movie, and nothing much to the story. The songs aren't that good that they would be etched in the minds of the people. They get forgotten by the end of the film. The makers could have done away with loads of songs. The chemistry or understanding between the actors Shahid Kapoor and Kangana Ranaut aren't as great as their on-screen pairing. During the promotions, the two took a dig at each other, which could have affected the film too. 

The only highlights of the film are its locales and cinematography. The locations are so beautifully captured in the drama. The cinematography is simply brilliant. 

The film is estimated to have been made with a budget of Rs 80 crore but it managed to make up for only half of the production cost. The film is said to have collected a little over Rs 40 crore at the box office.

In case you want to punish yourself or somebody else, the film is available to stream on Netflix.