Movie review: Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi

Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Anushka Sharma, Vinay Pathak
Director: Aditya Chopra

Love is a yellow tiffin stuffed with ‘garma garam khana’, balanced between the knees of that scooter rider going down a small-town road, on his way to his public sector office, and fellows called Sharma ji, Varma ji, and Sahni ji.

Or that’s what Aditya Chopra would have us believe. His new film has Shah Rukh Khan playing Surinder Sahni, a small cog in a big ‘sarkaari’ wheel, living an ordinary 9 to 5 existence. He has a best friend who revels in the name of Bobby aka Balwinder (Vinay). And he’s just acquired a new wife, Taani (Anushka), who’s mourning the untimely exit of an old love.

Tiny three-membered cast, instead of the standard full-scale Yashraj ‘baraat’. Middle-class homes and offices, instead of ornate palaces and Swiss chalets.

A hero who wears a thick moustache, black-framed spectacles, and pants which don’t fit. And a simple, unmade-up heroine, dressed, for the most part, in ‘salwaar kameez’ and ‘phulkari dupattas’. No, gulp, pastel chiffons. Could this really be Yashraj turning over a welcome new leaf ? Uh huh : the outlines of the characters are new, but the brush-strokes that fill in the whole, aren’t. In its telling, the few fresh touches in ‘Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi’ are overpowered by those that are all too familiar.

It opens with one of the oldest tricks in the book – dying dad asking hero to wed heroine. You’re still getting over that when the film whisks you off to Amritsar, where Surinder and Taani’s love story is destined to unfold. It begins well—they sleep sweetly in separate rooms, and swap such winsome exchanges as her saying ‘aap lucky ho ji, ki aap ko kabhi pyaar nahin hua’, with him replying, a tad poetically, ‘isse zyada pyar ki na toh mujhe aadat hai na zaroorat’.

Whenever SRK plays an average joe, he scores. Surinder Sahni is all set to be one of his most loved parts—his Punjabi ‘leheja’ and his quiet bashfulnesss is pitch-perfect. But superstars can’t be made to appear ill-dressed wimps who don’t know how to keep their women in the kitchen, when, of course, they are not being meek and pliant in the bedroom.

SRK’s double role arrives in the guise of Raj, and this version is very up to the Amritsar minute—skintight tee, ripped jeans, spiked hair. And there you have it, another creaky nostrum—dull office-going Surinder, or boisterous, brash Raj, what’s a Taani to do?

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi Music review

Music of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, 2008’s most anticipated movie, directed by Aditya Chopra after a gap of 8 years has finally hit the stores. This film has a lot of expectations considering it’s the first release of Shahrukh Khan this year, debutant Anushka Sharma who is creating a lot of buzz among the crowd, combination of Shahrukh and Aditya which created history with DDLJ in 1995, and Yash Raj Films, which are looking for a big hit this year.In Bollywood, music of the movie plays a vital role in the success of the movie and if the songs are good then half of the battle is won. Looking back at the track record of Salim – Sulaiman, who also gave the music for Chak De India in 2007 and Fashion this year, winning half of the battle doesn’t seem to be a big problem. And yes, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi succeeds in every department. The power of this soundtrack lies in its simplicity. Let’s get a song by song review of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi
Verdict- In an age where songs and their remixes are filled with rapping, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi stays away from this. It’s, unequivocally, a gem for the music lovers and the best soundtrack of 2008.It takes you to those good old days when music was simple and great and at the same time, it has the modern touch to capture universal attention. There is nothing wrong with the soundtrack, no remix, no rapping and most of the songs are of short length which is a big bonus. Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi is a kaleidoscopic soundtrack which is a must in everyone’s collection.

Story of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi

A simpleton Surinder Sahni (Shah Rukh Khan) loves his wife but is unable to reach out to her. Meanwhile, a dance competition on the lines of the dance show Nach Baliye is held in town.

Seizing his chance, Surinder transforms himself from a simpleton to a hip personality with a new name -- Raj Kapoor .He partners with his wife, who is unaware that her dashing dancing partner is really her husband. She gradually starts falling in love with Raj only to realise the fact that he is her husband.

Releasing on Dec 12