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Review - Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi: It's o-kay, ji!
Quick Review
![[Poster for Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi]](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2550/4117219722_6b3926f361_m.jpg)
The sun shines on the city's landmarks and makes them look even prettier. And you know you are in a YRF movie. Albeit this time, you see the ruggedness of the city too. You also are in awe of the restraint. 15-20 minutes and no mention of a foreign location. Another 5 minutes and the background music is still in the background. Wow! 10 more minutes and you might just want to pinch yourself because Shah Rukh Khan hasn't yet done that annoying thing with his eyebrow and lips. And...the spell breaks. Bring on the accordion, the loud chatter, the self-referencing, and all. We were missing you.
There are only three two-and-a-half characters here, Surendra, his wife Tani and his friend Bobby. Yes, the back-story is barebones or even less. This leaves room for the crux of the relationship. "L-O-V-E". And here it thankfully goes a couple of layers deep. It takes you into the world of this twosome that got married without really knowing each other. What it takes for two decent human beings to make it work and stick it out. The sacrifices one makes in the form of changes to your persona that lead to claustrophobia. Just like it is frustratingly boring for an extrovert to convert into an introvert, it is not really acceptable for a shy person to have bubbly enthusiasm as a permanent feature.
These are all subtle issues that need delicate treatment. And here starts the real trouble. The timid Surendra, in his attempt to please Tani transforms into a bright gold and yellow creature, called - what else - Raj. Why? Can only the exact opposite personality can create impact and impress the Mrs? Isn't there anything in between? I'm not even interested in the missing 'how', the 'why' hasn't stopped bothering yet.
We have a star amongst us who needs to keep everyone pleased. In the name of versatility, his character HAS to make a diagonally opposite change. Actually, I had just begun to enjoy Shah Rukh's performance as the middle-class government servant, Surendra Sahni, with the minor twitches and eye movements when suddenly he transfigured into a badly-dressed Shah Rukh Khan - eyebrow curled, whispering romantic inanities, piling on an inconsistent accent and only waiting for someone to grant him the permission to start stutt-stutt-stuttering. Many thanks to whoever said NO!
The story is about Surendra and his wife. Why did we have Vinay Pathak playing Surendra's friend, the devil's advocate, the supposed "inner voice"? His character was especially redundant given that Surendra had an alter-ego of his own. There wasn't enough room for Vinay to maneuver around and yet he can make over-the-top acting look adorable.
Surendra's lady love, Tani, played by Anushka Sharma seems like she has the 'single-expression' training form the YRF's-Aishwarya-Rai school of non-acting. The other expressions are all taken care of by that drop of glycerin.
The role of women in movies like these is very cleverly written. She's the center of the plot because the protagonist, his alter-ego and his friend all care for her, adore her, love her. But, the lady's part is ever-so sketchily written. What do we know about her? Are we made a part of her confusion? Do we know why she makes one decision or the other? No! And thus I resign to how these roles are written to give us a feeling that it's all about the woman. And the climax too...well...let's just say the movie has a male-chauvinistic touch.
Also, our newly married couple lives in a socio-economic vacuum. They have no social pressures. In the heart of Amritsar, a married woman dances and prances about with a 'stranger'. Sure there are the token office mates, but here we see the one Panjabi family with only two members - the husband-ji and the wife-ji and the transformed husband-ji.
And yet, it is not the take a chill-pill and watch kind of movies. The few facets of a utopian arranged marriage that rab ne bana di jodi touches upon are intriguing. I wonder how much those who can't identify with such an arrangement will appreciate it, but that the makers bothered deserves extra credit. What hurts is that if they are smart enough to hit upon these particular nuances, how can they monkey around so much for the rest of the movie?
Songs: Anything about the music in the above review would be as out of place as the songs were in the movie. So, I'm attaching it here in the end like a song in the end credits. Songs have always been more about the lyrics for me. And I look forward to Jaideep Sahni's play with words. I call him the list-maker of the industry. His lyrics are usually in the form of lists. As boring as it sounds, they are usually interesting observations. The most ill-placed song "hum hai rahi pyar ke" had the most beautiful tweaking of phrases/songs/names of Hindi movies. It had delightful picturization and guest appearances too. It would have worked so much better as an award show performance. The rest was all ho-hum - lyrics, music, picturization, costumes, etc.
- meetu, a part of the audience
Parental Guidance:
- Violence: None. There's a semi-comic sumo wrestling round.
- Nudity & Sexual content: None
- Concept: How a couple fall in love after they get married.
- General Look and Feel: It's bright, sprinkled with songs. It maintains a light vein despite an emotional scene at regular intervals.
Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi - Movie Details
- Official Website: Link
- Producer: Yash Chopra, Aditya Chopra
- Director: Aditya Chopra
- Lead Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Anushka Sharma
- Supporting Cast: Vinay Pathak
- Story: Aditya Chopra
- Screenplay: Aditya Chopra
- Dialogues: Aditya Chopra
- Dir. of Photography: Ravi K Chandran
- Editor: Ritesh Soni
- Background Score: Salim Merchant, Sulaiman Merchant
- Choreography: Shiamak Davar, Vaibhavi Merchant
- Music Director: Sulaiman Merchant, Salim Merchant
- Lyrics: Jaideep Sahni
- Running time: 165 minutes
- Reviewer: meetu
- Categories: Hindi Movies
- Genres: Romance, Relationships
Comments (44)
Good review
posted 1 year, 8 months agobtw did vinay get more claps then srk?
which theatre u saw the film?
I hope I am lucky not to have watched this movie on Friday... As you suggest, I WILL WAIT FOR VIDEO RELEASE.
posted 1 year, 8 months agoWill be giving the movie a skip..i can't fathom the bit about the heroine not knowing the difference between the two guys in her life..the songs worked for me as well though..
http://passionforcinema.com/rab-ne-music-review/
posted 1 year, 8 months agoGood review meetu. You are perenially favorite among us as the place to go to before shelling out the exobitant rs. 150 a head movie ticket. You save us time money and a lot of frayed tempers.
posted 1 year, 8 months agoThe story sounds quite exciting and different. I think i'll go and check the movie out.
posted 1 year, 8 months agolol yashraj films are nonsensical taking ppl for granted
posted 1 year, 8 months ago[...] Meetu,without giving the movie away [...]
posted 1 year, 8 months agoI had absolutely zero expectations from this film even though it boasts of an Aditya Chopra-SRK combination so I didn't come out too disappointed. The whole concept behind the movie is good - where beauty is only skin deep and its the heart of a person that truly matters but it has been stretched so endlessly that towards the end of the film especially the last half hour you feel like tearing your hair out and praying for the movie to finish. Not being a very big fan of SRK I was disarmed by his rather charming performance spot on as Surinder but completely over the top as a stereotypical Raj. Not his best but up there with Swades and Chak De India. Anushka is very average - she has the required innocence but Deepika she is not. She is awkward in many of the key scenes in the movie that required someone with a bit more experience. However with a bit more polish she will go far. Vinay Pathak is good but not been utilised properly. The music is average. Overall its a must for SRK fans - he is good in an otherwise very very average film that could have been a masterpiece if not lost in translation.
posted 1 year, 8 months agoThis movie is crap. Even Lucky Oye Oye Lucky was much better in terms of logic and overall flow. Reviewer seems to be a 'Upper Class, Super Star loving Puppet'. I used to come to this website because of its RSS feed, but reviews here are not consistent at all.
posted 1 year, 8 months agoNothing much to say....I guess a more suitable tag line would have been "Its same old story with chopra's every jodi"
posted 1 year, 8 months agoThanks Silvan. The applause sounded about the same :) I saw it in E-square a local multiplex in Pune.
Thanks for the trust, MovieBhakt.
:) Sudhir Nair. What do you mean by "i can’t fathom the bit about the heroine not knowing the difference between the two guys in her life"
Ruchi, at your service ma'am! :D Believe me, the pleasure is mine.
Movie Buff, the concept is interesting indeed - Love after marriage in an arranged marriage set-up. Do let us know what you think.
Thanks for putting your thoughts down here, Jay
Now, where did you get that from, Prabhash? I can't handle Shah Rukh doing those weird things in the name of acting.
Ashwini, I thought the story was a little different, in the sense that it explored the relationship in terms of love and romance after marriage.
posted 1 year, 8 months agoOH ..HO .. it is simply at torcher ..starts with good note but carries with loads of weight on it! it is not movable neither the character ,except the simple SRK character ,the other one is simply the worst .His wife cannot recognise ,his hubby as she is not able to sport a mousatche ..Alas! a simply -utterly no-sense movie .What is the point the director wanted to proove ..god knows..
posted 1 year, 8 months agothe movie has the concept of developing love, which is the case in most of the arrange marriages. no one could have pulled this off besides shah rukh. now come on people you cant always have a movie which is dealing with real life and situations. this is defenatly a worth watch movie once. now if you still cant take this movie, i would say go watch LIFE IN A METRO and see how filty the real life sinario is. I am sure some uncles must be already looking at themselves in the mirror.
its just a movie just enjoy it people.
sanjeev.
posted 1 year, 8 months agoNow, where did you get that from, Prabhash? I can’t handle Shah Rukh doing those weird things in the name of acting.
exactly man same here
posted 1 year, 8 months agoi agree with sanjeev
comon guys it was a gr8 movie i hav seen after jaane tu yaa jaane na
i m nt sure if ppl r nw thnking only by there realistic minds ignoring they hav heart inside...yea i agree on sm part which r hypothetical e.g new make over n his wife cannot recoginze him bt still u cant throw such stones on this movie n d beautiful concept it carries
You ppl cant see d essence of love shown beautifully by srk n he is d best fr it
posted 1 year, 8 months ago1 more thing...sm ppl dint lik its sngs either...well i can only say tht "Those ears which r deaf hearing Rockon's sngs everyday can neither hear these type of soft muzic n smooth lyrics
For me movie realy deserves 4/5
Star Wars - In a glaxy millions of light years away…. so real man
Independence day - steeped in reality man …
Face off - wow its really really real..
Armageddon … lets all go and ride the comet
superman — hey hey hey i just saw him fly overhead
ET - smile!
Hobbits are my next door neighbours and the dark knight just ate my dinner.
whatever this firangi craps all over the place i will lick it lick it so real so reeaaal .. i will lick the firang reality kicka$$
get a life man and enjoy the movie. Its the best feel good movie ever! a real novelty of fantastical proportions.
posted 1 year, 8 months agocant beleive such a rubbish movies could be produced by this director. pakka bakwaas. time waste movie. just stay away. looks like shahrukh concentrating on his business and performing movies just for the sake of doing it. take my review seriously or waste your time.
posted 1 year, 8 months agowho says this is how love unfolds in arrange marraige?ask ur parents guys,they will tell u better story.and we cant blame these idiots for misconcepting arrange marraige,as they are not "used" to it.hahaha..
posted 1 year, 8 months agoanyway worst movie of the year..SRK sit back home,,when cinema is leaping ahead in such a dramatic way worldwide,what rubbish these yrf are making,,?SRK u please quit demolarising our cinema.
a shear nonsense, stupid story,yakkk acting by the newcomer,i will give 1/5....( 1 point for the scooter of srk ,,i liked it )
now waiting desperately for ghajini(though its copy of memento.u see we realy think original ,isnt it?)
prashant believe it or not, there are a few arranged-marriage couples I know who have had similar feelings about the spouse immediately after the wedding. Obviously, not to the extremes of one changing avatar and the other being a big enough fool to not recognize, but I'm talking about the awkwardness, the missing element of romance, etc.
posted 1 year, 8 months agoI hope I am lucky not to have watched this movie on Friday… As you suggest, I WILL WAIT FOR VIDEO RELEASE.
posted 1 year, 8 months agoWill be giving the movie a skip..i can’t fathom the bit about the heroine not knowing the difference between the two guys in her life..the songs worked for me as well though..
posted 1 year, 8 months agoGood review meetu. You are perenially favorite among us as the place to go to before shelling out the exobitant rs. 150 a head movie ticket. You save us time money and a lot of frayed tempers.
posted 1 year, 8 months agoThe story sounds quite exciting and different. I think i’ll go and check the movie out.
posted 1 year, 8 months agolol yashraj films are nonsensical taking ppl for granted
posted 1 year, 8 months agoI had absolutely zero expectations from this film even though it boasts of an Aditya Chopra-SRK combination so I didn’t come out too disappointed. The whole concept behind the movie is good - where beauty is only skin deep and its the heart of a person that truly matters but it has been stretched so endlessly that towards the end of the film especially the last half hour you feel like tearing your hair out and praying for the movie to finish. Not being a very big fan of SRK I was disarmed by his rather charming performance spot on as Surinder but completely over the top as a stereotypical Raj. Not his best but up there with Swades and Chak De India. Anushka is very average - she has the required innocence but Deepika she is not. She is awkward in many of the key scenes in the movie that required someone with a bit more experience. However with a bit more polish she will go far. Vinay Pathak is good but not been utilised properly. The music is average. Overall its a must for SRK fans - he is good in an otherwise very very average film that could have been a masterpiece if not lost in translation.
posted 1 year, 8 months agoThis movie is crap. Even Lucky Oye Oye Lucky was much better in terms of logic and overall flow. Reviewer seems to be a ‘Upper Class, Super Star loving Puppet’. I used to come to this website because of its RSS feed, but reviews here are not consistent at all.
posted 1 year, 8 months agoNothing much to say….I guess a more suitable tag line would have been “Its same old story with chopra’s every jodi”
posted 1 year, 8 months agoThanks Silvan. The applause sounded about the same :) I saw it in E-square a local multiplex in Pune. Thanks for the trust, MovieBhakt. :) Sudhir Nair. What do you mean by “i can’t fathom the bit about the heroine not knowing the difference between the two guys in her life” Ruchi, at your service ma’am! :D Believe me, the pleasure is mine. Movie Buff, the concept is interesting indeed - Love after marriage in an arranged marriage set-up. Do let us know what you think. Thanks for putting your thoughts down here, Jay Now, where did you get that from, Prabhash? I can’t handle Shah Rukh doing those weird things in the name of acting. Ashwini, I thought the story was a little different, in the sense that it explored the relationship in terms of love and romance after marriage.
posted 1 year, 8 months agoOH ..HO .. it is simply at torcher ..starts with good note but carries with loads of weight on it! it is not movable neither the character ,except the simple SRK character ,the other one is simply the worst .His wife cannot recognise ,his hubby as she is not able to sport a mousatche ..Alas! a simply -utterly no-sense movie .What is the point the director wanted to proove ..god knows..
posted 1 year, 8 months agothe movie has the concept of developing love, which is the case in most of the arrange marriages. no one could have pulled this off besides shah rukh. now come on people you cant always have a movie which is dealing with real life and situations. this is defenatly a worth watch movie once. now if you still cant take this movie, i would say go watch LIFE IN A METRO and see how filty the real life sinario is. I am sure some uncles must be already looking at themselves in the mirror. its just a movie just enjoy it people. sanjeev.
posted 1 year, 8 months agoNow, where did you get that from, Prabhash? I can’t handle Shah Rukh doing those weird things in the name of acting. exactly man same here
posted 1 year, 8 months agoi agree with sanjeev comon guys it was a gr8 movie i hav seen after jaane tu yaa jaane na i m nt sure if ppl r nw thnking only by there realistic minds ignoring they hav heart inside…yea i agree on sm part which r hypothetical e.g new make over n his wife cannot recoginze him bt still u cant throw such stones on this movie n d beautiful concept it carries You ppl cant see d essence of love shown beautifully by srk n he is d best fr it 1 more thing…sm ppl dint lik its sngs either…well i can only say tht “Those ears which r deaf hearing Rockon’s sngs everyday can neither hear these type of soft muzic n smooth lyrics For me movie realy deserves 4/5
posted 1 year, 8 months agoStar Wars - In a glaxy millions of light years away…. so real man Independence day - steeped in reality man … Face off - wow its really really real.. Armageddon … lets all go and ride the comet superman — hey hey hey i just saw him fly overhead ET - smile! Hobbits are my next door neighbours and the dark knight just ate my dinner. whatever this firangi craps all over the place i will lick it lick it so real so reeaaal .. i will lick the firang reality kicka$$ get a life man and enjoy the movie. Its the best feel good movie ever! a real novelty of fantastical proportions.
posted 1 year, 8 months agocant beleive such a rubbish movies could be produced by this director. pakka bakwaas. time waste movie. just stay away. looks like shahrukh concentrating on his business and performing movies just for the sake of doing it. take my review seriously or waste your time.
posted 1 year, 8 months agowho says this is how love unfolds in arrange marraige?ask ur parents guys,they will tell u better story.and we cant blame these idiots for misconcepting arrange marraige,as they are not “used” to it.hahaha.. anyway worst movie of the year..SRK sit back home,,when cinema is leaping ahead in such a dramatic way worldwide,what rubbish these yrf are making,,?SRK u please quit demolarising our cinema. a shear nonsense, stupid story,yakkk acting by the newcomer,i will give 1/5….( 1 point for the scooter of srk ,,i liked it ) now waiting desperately for ghajini(though its copy of memento.u see we realy think original ,isnt it?)
posted 1 year, 8 months agoprashant believe it or not, there are a few arranged-marriage couples I know who have had similar feelings about the spouse immediately after the wedding. Obviously, not to the extremes of one changing avatar and the other being a big enough fool to not recognize, but I’m talking about the awkwardness, the missing element of romance, etc.
posted 1 year, 8 months agoI liked the movie. But i guess i'll give it a 3
posted 1 year, 8 months agoI thought this was the remake film of "Shall we dance" english movie.can u try to do anything new.
posted 1 year, 8 months agoI saw a Hindi film after many months and I liked it very much. Excellect for those who wants to know what is true love in marriage.
posted 1 year, 8 months agothe story has one point and one point alone. be very careful which hair style you choose and what shirts you wear. great educational film. must see.
posted 1 year, 7 months agoI liked the movie. But i guess i'll give it a 3
posted 1 year, 7 months agoHmm...imagine ji the difference lack of moushtaches and psychedelic clothes make. no one can recognise ya in themji...not even ur own wifeji
posted 1 year, 7 months agoI am from Malaysia. I love this movie. Watched it more than 10 times. I don't know where is the beauty of the film except the love concept of a man. It juz like other Hindi films. But I notice smthg here...... the movie show the real love of a man to his loved one. SRK is the best actor ever.This film is not his best shot as other films. But all of you have to know, no one else can play a role of a man who badly in love with a lady , in a positive way and can touch all women's heart with his acting. only SRK can do it. I really appreciate this film for the actors, actresses, scripts,beautiful song anD dancing. LOVE CAN'T BE MEASURED BY APPEARANCE. THAT IS TRUE. THANK FOR ALL WHO MADE THIS FILM SUCCEEDED.
posted 1 year, 4 months agoI usually like Meetu's reviews. But must say was surprised to see that she thinks "Rab ne bana di jodi" is a must watch on DVD. I thot Jodha Akbar was way more sane than this one! And Meetu did not like Jodha Akbar...
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