Rangoon haunts in unlikely fashion and, while the director’s most straightforward picture, holds enough of its own marvels to justify multiple viewings.

Like a song-and-dance troupe trampling all over a map of Europe to tell their own fractured, misguided jokes, or an old man cosily swilling wine after having faked his own death, Rangoon may be direct, but it is never obvious.

Rangoon deserves a watch for its smart sub-plot, Kangana-Shahid’s titillating chemistry and of course, Kangana Ranaut’s vulnerability as a popular actress turned liberated lover Julia.

Rangoon is wholeheartedly recommended but with a rider: it isn’t a stroll in the park because it demands patience and concentration. It definitely helps that the cinematography (by Pankaj Kumar) is so lustrous that you simply cannot take your eyes off the screen.

In his attempt to pack in too much on war, love and deceit, the maker ends up with some haphazard division of war scenes versus love games, leaving the viewer muddled.

Rangoon is not Vishal Bhardwaj’s best directorial venture, but it deserves a one-time watch.

Rangoon is a mighty effort and worth seeing once.

Vishal Bhardwaj, caught with the duty to serve two movies in one (an old-school romance and a war thriller), doesn’t really do a Casablanca though he does give Rangoon his best shot. Nevertheless, Rangoon comes off as probably 2017’s most good-looking and well-made Indian film. Certainly, this year’s most ambitious, with three great lead performances. Vishal Bhardwaj is in fine form, mostly. And yes, the National Anthem comes thrice in the film. What more do you want?

So yeah, this is also very much a musical. As you can sense, too many things have been mixed into one film. But attempted with eye-popping chutzpah. Over years, it’s another matter if you’ve liked all his movies or not, what you have to credit Bhardwaj for is sheer audacity, and flight of imagination. He takes a chance. Even when granted full indulgence, he’s been respectful of the mainstream audience’s intelligence, if not always their time. ‘Rangoon’ is not an exception.

Rangoon is far from a perfect film; there are scenes that definitely do not work in terms of the effects. Some of the pivotal moments can have a cartoon-ish quality and that does detract from the immersive-ness of the experience. It can be a distraction just when you need to be with these characters every step of the way.

If you are a Vishal Bhardwaj fan, let us warn you that this might not be his best, but we bet you’ll see another kind of a storyteller here. And yes, he does deliver a movie that is embedded with fine performances from the cast and great visuals by cinematographer Pankaj Kumar and that makes the movie deserving of a watch despite its flaws.

Rangoon masterfully weaves a drama that keeps you enraptured till the very end.

A world I would certainly visit again. Maybe with a pen in hand, even if imaginary, scratching off parts from the reel that would have made the movie crisper. Maybe coming back home imagining an alternate end for the film.

Pace aside, I often found myself slowing down to look at the details. Like how a black night frame is lit in amber fire and I just want to see those faces in that glow. Or like how Bhardwaj’s version of Jana Gana Mana plays out – stirring, yet disarming. All too often, the frames and the score knit into each other like they were conceived together in the same beautiful mind. And that beautiful mind, even with its scars, shines bright at anyone who cares to look into the window to its world.

Overall, Rangoon is a visually enchanting film that leaves one high and dry. The fact that we expect a lot from a filmmaker of Vishal Bhardwaj’s pedigree doesn’t help the movie’s cause either. Had Rangoon being made by a lesser filmmaker it would have passed for a decent film but coming from Bhardwaj it can best be described as an average film.

Definitely not one of Vishal Bhardwaj’s best work, but this one needs to be viewed solely for Kangana’s ‘Jaanbaaz’ act that wins over your hearts.

Bhardwaj must be appreciated for jettisoning the dark cinema he has patronized for 15 long years but it will need a lot more—like far better material and far superior associates at concept and creation levels—to connect with smart mainstream audiences that endorse everything from a “3 Idiots” and a “M.S. Dhoni” to a “Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani” and a “Wanted.” I am repeating the oft-repeated conviction of mine that a mainstream talent can easily make great offbeat cinema but the reverse has yet to be proved true. And this a truism whose proof is written in golden letters across decades of great Indian cinema.