Mediocre film yet again from the Yash Raj banner

Rating: 6/10 (26 December 2008)

The Aditya Chopra-SRK combo has given the world DDLJ and Mohabbatein which are cherished in every romantic's memory with the sheer cinematic beauty, story telling, characterization, music and love story. The trademark 'Yash Chopra romance' was apparent in almost every scene. With a title that says 'Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi', one would expect the epic of all epics of love but what one gets is a mediocre film shot almost on stringent budgets due to the global recession with a story that wouldn't be a challenge even for a débutant director. The music would seemingly fade away from memory like the leaves in Mohabbatein's scenes and the characters which are as mortal as the simplicity of the film's premise would contribute to its undertone of unfailing love. In the end, 'Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi' is not your Chopra-SRK love saga at all. In fact, it is the most mediocre of King Khan's romantic ventures with just as many good moments as an unshaken bag of warm salted -butter popcorn.
Surinder Sahni (ShahRukh Khan) works for Punjab Power (the 'Lighting of your life') in Amritsar. This Suri fellow is your average enterprise worker  humble, simple, distasteful and boring. In an unexpected move by fate, he is married to Taani (Anushka Sharma) who has lost everything she had in a tragic turn of events. As Suri tries to maintain his distance from his wife who is yet to come to terms with the situation, his polite and humble approach has a charm of its own which is very unlike the flirtatious Khan we have been used to. Taani consciously tries to make things work, being aware that falling in love will be impossible but being a good wife should not be. Thus, as she prepares his tiffin for lunch at work to his utmost joy and as they watch movies together, Suri falls deeper in his blissful state but to gain her acceptance, he plans on something radical with his buddy Balwinder 'Bobby' Khosla (Vinay Pathak) who does a complete makeover, Golmaal style from Suri to Raj. Thus begins the transition that is now fairly common in most SRK films with Raj charming his way to Taani's heart only to realize that she is falling in love with the wrong person. Raj is not Suri and since she is married to Suri, he should be the one she must come to accept for what he is and remain faithful to him. Suri's conviction in this premise is true Yash Chopra fare and is among the more sensible areas that the film touches upon. The rest is just ho- hummm
Debutant Anushka Sharma impresses a bit more than she did in the promos but is definitely on the bottom of the list of Chopra's leading ladies. Vinay Pathak is brilliant in every scene and cracks you up with his typical comic act. The rest of the cast does not even deserve a mention and thus the film is virtually on SRK's shoulders which he ably carries. But then again, the character was so simple, the story was so banal, the look and feel of the film was just so mediocre that it did not really need King Khan. In fact, Ranvir Shorey would have done a brilliant job in the lead especially being paired with Vinay Pathak, the duo would have taken the film to another level. But alas, Adi Chopra's earnest wish to depict a common man in Amritsar in an extraordinary circumstance in his married life just resulted in a mediocre film. Perhaps a finer treatment, more visually appealing with more impactful dialog and never seen before type scenes would've hailed the return of Aditya Chopra as the director. Veer Zaara is a perfect example of the return from a sabbatical wherein Yash Chopra gathered the best of what he had compiled over the years and poured everything into a rich basket that flourished in the fragrance of romance. Nothing of that sort can be found in 'RNBDJ' and Yash Raj films disappoints yet again on that note. Salim-Suleiman give us a total of 4 tracks, 'Haule Haule' being the most resonant and hummable. 'Tujhme Rab dikhta hai' is melodious with Roop Kumar Rathod's rendition while 'Dance pe chance' is catchy but may only dubiously last as a hit track. 'Phir Milenge chalte Chalte' tries to be another 'Om Shanti Om' version of mixing old songs and celebrities but fails on all grounds.
Yes, the film has its moments of charm, innocence, sincere effort in making a relationship work and tender romance with a dash of comedy but everything is just in little doses that fail to leave the bigger impact. Perhaps the Chopras should do what they do best and leave the experiments and simplicity for the new directors that they have been encouraging. Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi is a light entertainer nevertheless and while we hope for more spectacles from King Khan, the expectations from the Yash Raj banner go one notch lower yet again.

6.88 on a scale of 1-10.