Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi

Title: Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (A Couple Made By God)

Language: Hindi

Year of Release: 2008

Director: Aditya Chopra

Actors: Shahrukh Khan, Anushka Sharma, Vinay Pathak and others.

Verdict: 3/5 (Watch it once!)

Before I stepped into the Cinema Hall to watch this film, the new look of King Khan on TV and posters brought a smile onto my face. To sum up my thoughts, he has never looked this simple and hilarious. I mean, who in the world wears "Lotto" brand shoes anymore?! And that too with that ridiculous moustache he has, things are bound to be different. After having seen the movie, I have a mixed feeling, of course I still smile when I think of Shahrukh as Suri but in the end the movie grapples with clichéd scenes and lack of common sense.

The story is set in Amristar where Surinder Sahni (Shahrukh Khan), a government employee with Punjab Power brings his newly wed wife, Taani (Anushka Sharma). As the story unfolds, Suri explains how madly he had fallen in love with Taani and under what circumstances he had to get married to Taani. A day later, when Taani drops the bombshell that she will never be able to love him, Suri decides to never force her into anything hoping that she will soon realise how much he loves her. All's well till here and the story takes a turn when Taani asks her husband if she could attend the dance classes. Suri, who loves her way too much, immediately agrees and he himself decides to go personally and watch Taani dancing. Enter the new cool dude look, Raj...and the rest as they say is...Rab Di Marzi...

The story of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi seems to have been inspired from our general fetish for dance competitions and Shahrukh's ability to entertain the audience. Seriously, no other actor would have maintained the dignity of Suri and flamboyance of Raj at the same time with such ease. The first 15 minutes of the film reminded me of Mani Ratnam's 1986 flick "Mouna Raagam". The void between the newly wed couple and the occasional pendulous interactions between Suri and Taani are brilliantly shot and mark a great beginning to what could have been a much better movie. The people around Suri especially Bobby (Vinay Pathak) are heartwarming in their respective roles so much so that, you yearn for the conversations between Suri and Bobby. Even when Raj, the cool dude avatar of Suri enters the scene with an intention to bring in happiness to Taani's life you are glued to your seats. Perhaps it's the intensity and the silly, mocking body language which Shahrukh has...and it works! It's the second half where things don't seem to fit in...literally. Ten minutes into the second half, you will know exactly what's going to happen next, so much so that I ended up predicting half the lines which are about to come up on screen!...:D (Just Kidding!..:P). But still you can...the whole setting of the Dance Classes/competition is taken off in the second half of the story only to be brought back in the climax. Rajeev Masand on CNN-IBN brings out couple of interesting points of view about the heroine not able to recognise that it's actually her husband in disguise and also her stupidity in not telling Raj that she's already married until the former proposes to her. There's no mention of Taani being unhappy with the man she's currently married to but she doesn't think for a moment when Raj asks her to elope with him! But every story has to have a happy ending in India. Continuing this tradition, the director throws in a clichéd concept called "Divine Intervention" to solve a dilemma. And there it is...a Happy Ending...Happy Audience.

On the other side, the movie works because of its simplistic sets, infact most of the film seems to have been shot in the streets of Amritsar, Suri's terrific performance as an introvert who just cannot express how deeply is he in love with his wife and that funny smile (or expression) that he has on his face. Anushka Sharma delivers a confident performance in her debut film, she surely will go a long way! If only her character and her dilemma were well scripted out, she could have been the USP of this film. But the film truly belongs to Suri and Raj...and Shahrukh rises above the script to bring in the emotion and fun element. Raj's new designer T-Shirts and a blade hanging around his neck could be the new trend in the bazaar. Vinay Pathak as Bobby is an asset, his hairstyle and the clothes make his presence felt even when he's sharing the space with Shahrukh...you just can't help smiling at his look, especially after having seen him in Dasvidaniya. And the other important character in the movie is....The God! Quite literally...the Music in the movie is soothing, "Haule Haule" is the best of the lot and quite a few others have been shot spectacularly. But most of them reminded me of some soothing melodies in Telugu especially from Venkatesh's films...maybe in the middle of this, I happened to see "Rab"...:D...[Pun Intended!]

The first song, the bike chase, the first 15 minutes, Shahrukh as Suri, Anushka and the end credits sum up all that you need to see in the movie. At the end of the day, I have nothing much to say about the movie...and if you wondering why I have written so much about this movie, then it's all...Rab Di Marzi....[Dear God, I don't mean to offend you with all this, I think I am searching for you in the Taani's around....:D...hehehe...]

Till Then,

Hum Hain Raahi Pyaar Key. Phir Milenge. Chalte Chalte

Picture Courtesy: Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (Wikipedia)