Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela (), also simply known as Ram-Leela, is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language romantic tragedy film written, co-produced, and directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, and also composed its original soundtrack. The film was jointly produced by Bhansali and Eros International's Kishore Lulla and stars Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone in lead roles with Priyanka Chopra making a special appearance in the song "Ram Chahe Leela". The supporting cast includes Supriya Pathak, Richa Chadda, Sharad Kelkar, Gulshan Devaiah, Barkha Bisht Sengupta, and Abhimanyu Singh. Based on the tragedy Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, Ram-Leela narrates the star-crossed romance between the two eponymous lovers from two gangster families, who fall in love with each other but are forced to separate due to their families' centuries-old rivalry.
Bhansali conceived Ram-Leela while working on his directorial debut Khamoshi: The Musical ; an insufficient budget led to the project being postponed. After reviving the project in 2012, Singh and Padukone were cast in the lead roles over many other choices. Principal photography began in Gujarat before moving to Rajasthan. Much of the filming was done on sets, despite previous plans against doing so. The background score was composed by Monty Sharma, while the lyrics were written by Siddharth–Garima.
The film's release, scheduled for 15 November 2013, was initially stayed by the Delhi High Court. The film, initially titled Ram-Leela, was changed to Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela in response to an order by the court, allowing it to be released on the scheduled date. It received positive reviews, with praise directed to the performances of the cast members, particularly Singh, Padukone, and Pathak, as well as the soundtrack, and with some criticism of the plot and the elements of violence. Ram-Leela earned 220.58 crore in its theatrical run and emerged as the sixth highest-grossing Hindi film of 2013.
Ram-Leela received eight nominations at the Filmfare Awards, winning three, including the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for Padukone and the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress for Pathak. At the International Indian Film Academy Awards, it received nine nominations, including for Best Film, and won two.
Plot In the lawless Gujarati village of Ranjhaar, known for its illicit firearms manufacturing, the Rajadi and Sanera clans have maintained a violent blood feud for 500 years. Tensions erupt when Bhavani, a Sanera, shoots at the son of the Rajadi chieftain, Meghji Bhai. Meghji tries to kill Bhavani in retaliation, but his younger brother, Ram, intervenes to save him. Unlike his heavily armed kinsmen, Ram is a free-spirited wanderer who, despite dealing in black-market cars, actively seeks a peaceful truce between the factions.
During the festival of Holi, Ram sneaks into the Sanera compound and meets Leela, the fierce daughter of the Sanera matriarch, Dhankor Baa. The two instantly fall in love. However, their secret romance is shattered when Leela's protective older brother, Kanji Bhai, accidentally kills Ram's older brother in a skirmish. Driven by grief and tribal duty, Ram confronts and kills Kanji. Taking advantage of the ensuing chaos, Ram and Leela elope and marry in secret at a remote lodge. Before they can settle, Ram's friends betray his location to the Saneras. Bhavani tracks them down and forcibly abducts Leela, while Ram is dragged back by the Rajadis. Instead of being punished, Ram is hailed as a tribal hero for compromising Leela's reputation and is appointed the new Rajadi chieftain.
Back at the Sanera estate, Dhankor Baa attempts to force Leela into an arranged marriage with a wealthy expatriate. When Leela refuses and displays her wedding ring, her mother cuts off her ring finger in a rage. Upon hearing of her mutilation, Ram cuts off his own finger in solidarity. Desperate to escape, Leela sends her widowed sister-in-law, Rasila, to deliver a message to Ram. Instead, Ram's undisciplined guards assault Rasila. Learning of the attack, a vindictive Dhankor Baa retaliates by ordering her men to assault Kesar, Meghji’s widow, but she evades.
Hoping to end the escalating violence, Ram storms into the Sanera mansion to propose a formal peace treaty. Dhankor Baa seemingly agrees and invites him to celebrate Navratri, though her true intention is to have him assassinated. However, during the festival, Bhavani secretly shoots and severely injures Dhankor Baa, planning to frame the Rajadis and claim leadership of the clan. With her mother incapacitated, Leela ascends as the new Sanera chieftain. Embittered by the endless cycle of violence, Leela meets with Ram to negotiate a strict territorial division of the village's trades, stipulating that the two clans must never interact again.
Bhavani exploits Leela's new administrative authority, tricking her into signing an execution order that authorizes a surprise massacre of the Rajadis. During the Dussehra celebrations, the Saneras launch a coordinated assault, killing numerous Rajadi clansmen and bringing the village to the brink of an all-out civil war.
Realizing that their positions as rival chieftains will permanently prevent them from being together, Ram and Leela rendezvous at their secret meeting place. They embrace one last time and shoot each other dead in a mutual suicide pact. They die oblivious to the fact that a recovering Dhankor Baa has experienced a change of heart after interacting with Kesar and Meghji's young son. She executes the treacherous Bhavani and orders an immediate ceasefire, but she arrives too late to save the young lovers. United in collective grief, the Rajadis and Saneras call a permanent truce and come together to cremate the bodies of Ram and Leela.
Cast
Production Development
Bhansali conceived Ram-Leela while directing Khamoshi: The Musical. The latter was critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful, leaving Bhansali with no money to fund Ram-Leela. He next directed Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam instead, which was also set in Gujarat like Ram-Leela. Feeling that directing two films set in the same place would be repetitive, Bhansali waited. He intended the film to be a tribute to Gujarat, saying, "I am Gujarati at heart. I love Gujarat's music, culture and food and I want to take all this back to the people." The film was dedicated to Bhansali's mother Leela. According to him, Ram-Leela was his "most violent film" at that point, while the filmmaking style was similar to his previous directional ventures Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Devdas.
Bhansali called it a "desi adaptation" of William Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet. He clarified that Ram-Leela is not related to Rama or Krishna and that the character Ram does not depict the Hindu god. Speaking about the influence of his childhood environment on the film, Bhansali said that his family members used to speak "the most outrageously uninhibited things as though they were the most natural". He felt that the language heard by him were idioms for the current generation, who speak directly. Bhansali found it "very liberating to explore the union of body and mind in a love-relationship" and felt that it wasn't enough "to show a boy and a girl looking at one another when they fall in love". The lovers don't have sex together in the film as Bhansali felt the importance of showing the lovers "united completely in death".
Terming Romeo and Juliet as "the mother of all love stories", Bhansali wanted to make a different story with it, one that was not yet explored in cinematic adaptations. While changing many aspects of the film, Bhansali kept the theme of "misunderstanding between star-crossed lovers", while transposing them to another level. The idea of a feud between two families that destroys everything really appealed to him. According to Bhansali, "the whole execution of Shakespeare is more flirtatious and voluptuous" and he felt his film was the best interpretation of Romeo and Juliet. When asked about the extensive violence and guns in the film, he said that violence is "an integral part" of Romeo and Juliet, also stating how important it was for a filmmaker "to get out of his comfort zone".
The screenplay was written by writing duo Siddharth-Garima. Producer Sandip Singh offered the duo three films; they chose Ram-Leela over the other two. They were impressed by its outline and felt that it was similar to Australian writer Baz Luhrmann's films. In addition to writing, they collaborated with Bhansali for the costumes, recces, shoot days, editing, subtitling, and post production. After writing the initial screenplay draft, Siddarth-Garima were sent to Gujarat for researching dialect, slang and accent.
Rhyming couplets from Romeo and Juliet were translated into Hindi and used in the film, with more emphasis on innuendo and humour as they felt that the elements were "overshadowed" by tragedy in the original play.
Cast and characters
Pakistani actor Imran Abbas was the first choice for Ram, he rejected the role due to "contractual obligations". Bhansali offered the role to Sushant Singh Rajput, but he had to turn down the role over scheduling issues. Kareena Kapoor and Ranveer Singh were cast in the lead roles in the film. Singh later confirmed the news and conveyed his excitement on working with Kapoor. Bhansali was impressed with Singh's performance in Band Baaja Baaraat and cast him for the film. However, Kapoor walked out of the film 10 days before the shoot began and instead did Dharma Productions's romantic comedy Gori Tere Pyaar Mein. With already-complete sets and an approaching filming schedule, Bhansali approached Priyanka Chopra who agreed to do the film. Chopra was officially cast for Leela in July 2012 and was to start filming in August. However, before the filming started Bhansali brought Deepika Padukone in the film. After this unpleasant experience with Bhansali, Chopra stopped talking to Bhansali, as confirmed by the CEO of Bhansali Productions. In August 2012, Padukone had publicly expressed her desire to be a part of the film. After wrapping the filming of his previous film Lootera, Singh confirmed that he was signed on for the film in August 2012.
In an interview Bhansali revealed that he met Padukone with the script while she was ill; impressed with her beauty and watery eyes, he cast her. Richa Chadda was reportedly signed on to play a significant role, cast by Shruti Mahajan and Parag Mehta. Although she initially denied the claim, Chadda later agreed to play the role; she was not given the entire script until a month of filming. For Chadda's role, Bhansali wanted someone "with a dusky complexion and Indian features", hence she was selected. Bhansali ordered Chadda to watch Mirch Masala to prepare for her look, which was inspired by Smita Patil. Chadda also attempted to mimic Patil's acting. Barkha Bisht Sengupta, a television actress, plays a supporting role. Sengupta was asked by Bhansali to forget acting for her role. Gulshan Devaiah was reported to play the role of the antagonist Bhavani. Devaiah said that his character was from the Jadeja clan and has "enough shades of grey" and was "nothing" like he had done in his career at that point. Devaiah felt that other than the basic frame, Ram-Leela wasn't similar to Romeo and Juliet.