We want more Suri!

Rating: 4/10 (18 December 2008)

When credit rolls in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi a voice-over of Surindar Singh Sahani played by Shahrukh Khan in trimmed mustache and without furrowed brows shows us his honeymoon album with disarming charm are some of the embracing moments you will witness in a movie. It captures the spirit of Surinder Sahani whom we now call Suri. He is a simple man. Bathing under tap water, having bread-butter from his toaster every day, attire entirely formal with the exception of doohickey sports shoes. He carries a laptop shoulder bag and rides iconic Bajaj scooter, works in some firm called Pujab Power (may be a government job). This man can easily go unnoticed or disappear altogether in crowd. At first he can be mistaken as a parody of common man as measures to establish him are such extremes and efforts can be damned as effusive or maudlin but there is indelible sincerity in all this manifestation.
While promoting the film SRK told media his director described Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi as a love story of ordinary man. His director is not ordinary let me unnecessarily remind you. Aditya Chopra is in our top filmmakers gave two timeless classics DDLJ and Mohobbattein. Indeed I will take his word and expect something magical again. My expectations were not unreasonable.
Suri's eyes catches Taani (debutante enchanting Anushka Sharma, boy! she can dance) while sipping some Mazza or Slice with straw. He tells us shyly it was love-at-first-sight. In hurriedly quick cutting scenes they get married as a result of a mishap. Girl has just lost her father. On the night of wedding he collects all his belongings in a box and moves out to store-room on terrace. Camera swiftly moves up from terrace room to down on both. There is a beautifully poignant scene where she confesses that she will surely be a devoted wife but can't love him ever. He tells her he didn't know what love really is and didn't know any "ladies" until her. Now our hero wants to win her heart. This is so far and, start of a beautiful love story, right? But no, spell is broken by entry of Suri's alter ego -Raj.
Suri gets into new avatar of Raj with the help of his buddy Bobby (Vinay Pathak) who runs a saloon (they share some cracking moments). Raj is clean shaved, no mustache, spiked-hair and goggles. Why do this? He wants to be hero to the girl of his dreams. She doesn't recognize him at all. Ironically he is parody of Bollywood pop culture buffs. He bluffs "style", "attitude", paints himself in all possible colors, try to appear flamboyant, quote endlessly sometimes famous often corny songs-dialogues from n number of movies and act funny (not in a charming way). He annoys her (and audience) with his ceaseless flirting and clowning. She doesn't recognize him and they end up as dance partners in a competition.
Film crumbles from entry of the second character and grows in absurdity to sheer disappoint until it bounces back in its near damn good climax in flash-dance-glory. It does intermittently come to life, throws some dilemmas and asks difficult questions. What if girl falls for the second guy? She is a chaste girl, a loyal wife. Yes, writer-director's exalted faith in pure love that runs through his previous works is still here but his protagonist is lost amid filmy treatment and director's ambiguous approach. I wish this would have been the ultimate love story our bespectacled Clark Kent but no. Damn it Suri, we wanted you more!