Not bad at all!

Rating: 6/10 (13 December 2008)

It had been a long since I have seen a Hindi movie in theater, or seen a Hindi movie at all. I am not outright fan of Bollywood, but it does have its charm that Hollywood movies don't. Thanks to my mom and sister for taking to this not so great but OK movie, which does change my views about "going down the ditch" Bollywood scenario. On the whole, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi is very desi at heart with a strong start and an equally strong emotional end. But more is expected from Aditya Chopra. Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi is no Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, it's not Mohabatein either. But it is a movie with healthy humor. The movie is set on the backdrop of Amritsar. Surinder (Shah Rukh Khan), a simple, clean-hearted, honest man working for Punjab Power, leads an average work-class life, but the moment he sets his eyes on Taani (Anushka Sharma), his life undergoes a change. She's flamboyant, fun-loving, and vivacious, unlike Surinder. Unforeseen circumstances bring them together. Taani goes to learn dancing and then wants to participate in its dance competition, a reality show called "Dancing Jodi". Surinder wants to make his wife happy so he allows her to join. He then, with the help of his childhood friend Balwinder Khosla 'Bobby' (Vinay Pathak), metamorphoses into an alternate persona, named Raj who is a quick witted, outspoken, smart, dashing, fun loving person who fortunately becomes Taani's partner in the competition. And what then, like all Hindi movies they live happily ever after. The movie is not so strong with respect to plot, story or even screenplay but I did enjoy a good laugh. The funda of Hindi movies is simple just sit back relax and let the movie happen and don't think about it much. It is worth mentioning that to mention you see a different Shah Rukh Khan in this movie. He is very much involved in the character of Surinder that he makes it so effortless. Shah Rukh Khan delivers a excellent performance, and shows us why he is the best with a lot of change. It was nice to see him do some unusual and unparallel role. The lovely newcomer, Anushka Sharma, come out a very confident and promising star for the future. Having debuts with Mega Stars like Shah Rukh Khan may be the new formula Hollywood is trying after success of Deepika Padukone. As per me the "Shah Rukh Khan fights a sumo wrestler" scene, was a mess (if not a disaster), either it has to be funny or sad - it can't be both, and in this case it was neither. How many times does Surinder need to tearfully mention that he loves Taani an awful lot? And how many times does he have to do this - in the hair salon? The film skipping like a scratched record at times and becomes repetitive. The movie is plain with no crescendo, climax or movement of any kind. And not to forget Hindi movies are all about songs indeed and the movie does deliver a few good songs like Haule Haule, and upbeat song Dance Pe Chance. The item song Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte was not great but OK, reminded me of "Dani California" by Red Hot Chili Peppers, (if you don't agree with me, don't crucify me) it gets repetitive with the same lyrics repeating over and over again. It's a tribute to Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Shammi Kapoor, Rajesh Khanna, and Rishi Kapoor. The song does contain lyrics from and allusions to some fantastic songs from the 1950s through 1980s. It would be a fun exercise to try to identify them. Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi really should be one of the better comedies of the year. I certainly hope it is. Regardless, at least it'll have lovely newcomer Anushka Sharma in wardrobe I'm most attracted to!