Shraddha Kapoor and Aditya Roy Kapoor have teamed up once again for a film after their initial success in Aashiqui 2, but OK Jaanu is much more than the reunion of these two. It also marks the reunion of director Shaad Ali with music composer AR Rahman and lyricist Gulzar, and the unusual pairing of Mani Ratnam and Karan Johar as producers.
Directorial comeback and success?
And that is not the only reason expectations are so high from this film, which seems to be aimed at millennials. All eyes are on Shaad Ali and his possible return to success with a film that has already worked its magic for Mani Ratnam.
It may be mentioned here that Mani Ratnam had been going through a lean patch — following the lukewarm success of multilingual endeavours like Guru and even more disappointing responses to Raavan and Kadal — when he made O Kadhal Kanmani [shortened to OK Kanmani] and tasted phenomenal success.
Incidentally, after the bombing of Jhoom Barabar Jhoom in 2007, Shaad Ali had taken to assisting Mani Ratnam in Guru and Raavan, before taking up the story of OK Kanmani from his mentor to make OK Jaanu. In between, he had tried his hand again at 2014's Kill Dil.
Now, given his handling of modern-day relationships in Saathiyaa — another film where AR Rahman and Gulzar had collaborated on — it can be hoped that Shaad Ali has done justice to the relationship equations of millennials, as has been advertised by Dharma Productions.
Music, production and cameos
Karan Johar has been taking different roads when it comes to production. Not all of them have been successes, and Bombay Velvet is still a sore topic for both him and Anurag Kashyap. However, he had tasted huge success with the Hindi version of Baahubali - The Beginning, and will be hoping he has backed the winning horse again with OK Jaanu. In fact, he has even convinced Shah Rukh Khan to do a cameo in the film!
As for the music department, AR Rahman and Gulzar have created magic for forever, starting with Dil Se. Of course, they have had hiccups like Jab Tak Hai Jaan and the Hindi version of Lingaa, but their collaboration was absolutely loved for Raavan, even though the film wasn't. Therefore, one can hope good things from the songs, which should add to the film, just like they did in Saathiyaa.
And finally, the cameo in OK Jaanu by Shah Rukh Khan — who had also appeared in a small role in Saathiyaa along with Tabu — is also expected to be a good draw.
Meanwhile, watch the trailer of the film here:
