Ta Ra Rum Fun!

It's refreshing to see a Bollywood movie with so much positivity running through its veins. Or maybe I'm still trying to recover from the selfish negativity of Saif Ali Khan's latest release, Race. Director Siddarth Anand's second outing (his first was the life-changing Salaam Namaste) is just overflowing with positive thinking. In Ta Ra Rum Pum, no one laments the difficulties of life, no one weeps melodramatically, no one curses the Gods for punishing them. All hurdles are faced with a solution and a smile. Also starring Rani Mukherji, Javed Jaffrey, Angelina Idnani, Ali Haji, and Victor Banerjee, TRRP is a charming, realistic, funny, inspiring, emotional and unique picture. Oh, yeah... So was Salaam Namaste!

Rajveer Singh (Khan) is a tire changer-turned-star racecar driver working for Harry Patel's (Jaffrey) team Speeding Saddles in NYC. He meets Radhika Shekhar Rai Banerjee (Mukherji) and the the two fall in love and get married. Years later, Rajveer is dubbed RV and is the king of the speedway. He and Radhika have two children Priya aka Princess (Idnani) and Ranveer aka Champ (Haji) and the family is living on cloud nine. Until a rival racer crashes RV's car and RV is hospitalized, forcing him to leace Speeding Saddles for a year. He tries to come back but the crash left him traumatized and he cannot bring himself to go fast enough to win. He loses his contract, his home and most of his possessions (they bought everything on loan or credit). The Singhs move to a studio in Flushing. Radhika and RV tell their kids that they are on a reality TV show called "Don't Worry, Be Happy" and so, they must try to smile through all their troubles. How they face their troubles and find success again forms the second half of this tale of family, love, money, racing and positivity.

At first, I questioned the decision to lie to the kids. However, as the story progressed, I realized that Radhika and RV were actually teaching their kids an important lesson: to not whine and weep about troubles but laugh through it and solve it. Also, there is an amazing unity between the parents when the kids ask the questions that kids ask. They easily catch onto each other's plans and schemes like when Priya/Princess complains about not having her own room: since she can braid her own hair, she deserves her own room! It's also nice to see the family not take the easy way out. Radhika could have easily called her rich father (Victor Banerjee) and ask for money, for example. But the family keeps its integrity.

The performances are strong all around. Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukherji are completely at ease with their characters. Saif Ali Khan can be the fun father, the successful sportsman and the hard-pressed hard-worker. Saif is just so good that all of the emotions and action seem so effortless. Rani Mukherji plays the more sensible and realistic of the two. Rani can display histronics but without going overboard. Javed Jaffrey plays the classier version of his SN character. He is good, though. Victor Banerjee plays the stern father well. The two kids, Angelina Idnani and Haji Ali are surprisingly expressive. They are not over-precocious nor do they try too hard. You might remember Haji Ali from Fanaa.

Technically, the film is flawless. Cinematography is zingy and fun, sets are cool and costumes are terrific. The soundtrack, by Vishal-Shekhar and Javed Akhtar, is actually lacklustre. It is, however, brought to life by one of Bollywood's rapidly rising choreographers Vaibhavi Merchant. Her style of dancing is unique because her steps are to the most obscure beats and not to the strings or to the words. Her dancers feel the rhythm throughout their whole bodies and not just in their feet and hips. The best video is Ab Toh Forever. Well done! Also, the version of the title song at the birthday party is noteworthy for its great animation. Hey Shona and Nachle Ve are cute. Saiyaan Ve and the first version of the title song are poignant.

Ta Ra Rum Pum is an entertaining picture. It's inspiring. In today's cynical world, it is good to see a family succeed by smiling their way through their problems. It's good escapist cinema. There's not a doubt in your mind as to what the ending will be. But who said the most important thing in a movie is the ending? Sometimes it's just fun to see how the characters reach the predictable ending. And in Siddarth Anand's story, the journey is full of laughs and love. Ta Ra Rum Pum rates a 9/10.