Adi Ne Bana Di Jodi

Rating: 8/10 (15 December 2008)

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi is a commendable attempt by Aditya Chopra to provide the audience a wholesome family entertainer. But let me warn the viewers beforehand. In order for you to enjoy this film, you have to acknowledge the cinematic liberty Adi has taken  he wants us to believe that a wife will not recognize her husband after he shaves off his pencil mustache and undergoes a wardrobe change. But isn't cinema all about bringing alive a make-believe world! So, just as we embrace a Spiderman or Krisssh, knowing very well that it is fantasy, I'd allow Chopra this expediency.
Through a not-so-long-back flashback sequence, we are introduced to Surinder Sahni who, least expecting, gets to marry the girl he has fallen in love-at-first-sight with. Only problem is, the marriage is a result of circumstances rather than love or even a pondered arrangement. The end result is two individuals, with very different love quotients, set up to live life together.
It is a very interesting premise and what makes it more so is the manner in which Aditya Chopra paints his characters.
Surinder Sahni is a person who is as diffident as it gets, and depicts a love so pure that it is almost incredible. Shahrukh, in this avatar, excels and is at his winsome best. Your heart goes out to him as he goes about his daily chores, or requests his wife to entertain his friends, if she can, he politely adds. In this another scene, where he gazes the lunch box, prepared by his wife, he leaves you in splits. This perfect look of naivety, love & admiration has King Khan's signature all over it. This and many such brilliant moments etch out the ingenuous character of Surinder Sahni.
On the other hand is Taani, the once-ebullient girl, who is willing to forego her past self to a new life as Surinder's dutiful wife. But even while she would pack his lunch, clean his room and entertain his guests, because she has "willingly" accepted this marriage, she can't love her husband and tells him so. There is a real element to Taani's character and Anushka Sharma brings forth her predicaments with a quiet confidence.
Also, praiseworthy is Vinay Pathak's portrayal of the loud-mouthed yet sensitive friend of Surinder. Like all his performances before, Pathak makes his character believable. He has some good dialogues to boost of and he fits well in the method of things. It is he who helps Suri transform into Raj, so he can woo his better half by being the "hero" she craves.
This might seem a silly premise and it is actually that, but still Aditya manages to add some substance to it through his screenplay and dialogues. He has generously used SDIPA (Shiamak Davar's dance school) and their actual instructors to take the story forward. I wasn't whole-heartedly convinced of Raj's character as it could have been depicted better from the over-the-top yet inadequate Jat that came across. Also Shahrukh's performance of this manifestation pales in comparison to the taciturn Suri. What I think Aditya wanted to show was a clash between the extrovert and the introvert and he was out to (predictably) make the underdog win it. And I think it is this bias that shows.
At a point in time, when I feared that the film would turn into another musical (Dil To Pagal Hai  II), Aditya carefully, and thankfully, steered the screenplay back to the main plot of Suri and Taani. What however, he could have done better was to emphasise more on Suri's display of love (even though Suri mentions to Bobby that he wants Taani to see it on her own) which would have made the choice Taani makes more convincing. Perhaps Aditya wanted things to be more subtle and left it for the audience to fill in the lines. The end message that he wanted to convey is that, with time and patience love conquers all! The music, which has always been the hallmark of an Aditya (or Yash) Chopra presentation, is surprisingly understated in the movie. The songs are situational and again far fewer in number in comparison to earlier movies. When I first heard the songs, I found them of a pretty low standard for an Aditya Chopra movie, but after watching the film, they grew on me. In the same breath, let me add that it is still nowhere near the high standards that Yash Raj has set for itself.
The predictable story could have been a damp squib had it not been for splendid performances. The screenplay keeps slipping but picking up soon after at many places. The cinematography is adequate and though there are no Swiss locales to be shot here, Amritsar has been captured well.
As director, Adi Chopra sparkles in a number of places. Consider the scene where Surinder places the rose on the table and then, true to his reticent self, puts it back, or the lunch box scene, or the heart-to-heart tête-à-tête between Suri and Bobby. And I'm sure thanks to Adi, a number of Amristari lads will queue up for being recruited in Punjab Power so they can propose to their girl in the innovative manner Raj does! In this quite unlike Yash Raj film, the medley song "Hum hain raahi pyaar ke, phir milenge chalte chalte" stands out with high production value. It is a tribute to Bollywood's yesteryear actors and you wish it goes on and on as one leading actress after another is serenaded by Shahrukh.
No matter whether or not, you like the movie, but please do stay till the end credits roll. Adi had saved the best for the last. Suri's narration of their honeymoon to Japan is the high point of the movie, it'll surely make you laugh and you'll come out of the hall wanting more of the endearing Surinder Sahni!