YouTuber and content creator Lilly Singh is all praise for Karan Johar's Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani. Taking to social media, Lilly penned a long note for the film starring Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh in the lead roles.
She began her note by saying, "Last night, after about 15 years, I watched a Bollywood movie in the theatre: Rocky aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani."
Lilly further wrote, "It’s no secret I love Bollywood. In fact for a period of my childhood, I exclusively watched Hindi and Punjabi cinema (so much so that I often don’t know a staple North American movie my friends are referencing).
"But as an adult, my relationship with Bollywood has been bittersweet. Because I love the drama, music, dancing, theatrics and feeling of nostalgia. But I’m also a fierce advocate for women and it’s not lost on me how extremely sexist and patriarchal a lot of it can be (especially some of my classic favs). I’ve accepted that two things can be true at once: 1) Bollywood can be really meaningful to me and 2) I can also be frustrated with it sometimes," she added.
Speaking further about the film, Lilly said, "However, yesterday while watching Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani, I couldn’t help feel some major resolve. It beautifully addresses so many important issues including sexism, body positivity, gender norms and homophobia in a way I’ve never seen before, while being entertaining as hell. This isn’t an ad. I'm not being paid to post this or talk about the movie. I just believe in supporting the things you want to see more of. And I definitely want to see more female characters like Rani who stand up for themselves and take no disrespect. And I think it’s so important to see male characters like Rocky who are willing to break gender norms and demonstrate a willingness to change their minds/attitudes."
She concluded her post by saying, "I can admit that as a young girl, I grew up daydreaming about my wedding. Why? Because it was the goal, ambition or destination of every female character in Hindi movies. I’m so happy that young girls today have more examples of what women can achieve, so their daydreams can be about themselves and their goals, not just about a union to someone else. Progress isn’t perfect. After all, poor Rani still had to rock a saree in the snow (a part of the glass ceiling that just won’t break).
"But this film was a major win for me and I cannot recommend it enough. Chose this picture because I feel like Rocky would wear it. Congrats @karanjohar @ranveersingh @aliaabhatt thank you for this gem."
Reacting to Lilly's heartfelt post, Alia commented, "Lilly Lilly thank you so much!!!! You and your love really hit the spot pink (heart emoji) you go rani."
Ranveer also dropped a comment on the post and wrote, "Thank you lily! with all our heart (heart emojis) this is so lovely!"
Karan also dropped a message for Lilly and said, "This means so so so me and all of us!!!!! Thank you for your generosity….. truly humbled."
Have a look at their comments here:
A screengrab of the comment section on Lilly's post.
(Photo Courtesy: Instagram)
Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani has so far collected over Rs 210 crore at the global box office and has already entered the Rs 100 crore club in India.
In addition to the leads, the film also starred Dharmendra, Jaya Bachchan, and Shabana Azmi in pivotal roles.
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