RAB NE BANA DI JODI
Aditya Chopra is back with his third directorial film. The expectations were sky-high, but the movie is very average, particularly from Mr. Chopra's standards. Can't believe the man who weaved the iconic DDLJ is now running out of fresh ideas and novelty, and hence has to settle down to making a mediocre movie. Did he make this movie to salvage the sinking profits of Yash Raj Films because of a string of recent flops? The only benefit of doubt I can give to Adi is that the script by itself isn't that bad, it does have a lot of simplicity that can be translated on screen to gel with the audience. But Adi uses the old tactics of a pseudo double role immersed with Punjabi dialogs, SRK's old facial expressions as Raj, mustard fields, and too oftenly used dialog 'Hum Hain Rahi...'. Shahrukh as Surinder Sahni looks new, although he reminded me of Anil Kapoor's rendition of a simple man in Eeshwar. But SRK as Raj is oft-repeated. At 50k feet above the ground, doesnt the whole God-sent jodi theme of the movie resemble that of Dil To Pagal Hai?
Technically, the movie fails miserably. It's shocking to note that Ravi Chandran was at the helm of cinematography. Camera angles are poor, the lighting setup looks very amateurish. How can the shots be so basic and predictable? Even the dance competition arena shots remind me of the Veer-Zara courtroom drama shots, not to mention the common interior design. Sets look more like modified Mumbai studios, rather than true Amritsar. Even the opening shots of the movie showing the real city are not well-taken, they look more like 'take a camera, place it on a street or chowk, and capture whatever comes'....I mean a city like Amritsar could have been shot way more aesthetically and in an appealing manner. Compare this to how Rakesh Mehra depicted Delhi and Golden Temple beautifully in Rang de Basanti.
The only parts of the movie that kept my attention intact were the first and the last 20 minutes. The initial 20min delve into the life of Surinder and how he gets suddenly married to Taani, Shahrukh excels in those shots as the simpleton next-door guy. The last 20 mins are gripping due to the drama ensuing between Raj, Surinder and Taani and the final honeymoon shots in Japan as the credits roll over. Although what remains unexplained is why Taani couldn't recognize Surinder as Raj and after getting attracted to the flashy Raj, how Taani suddenly realizes Surinder's Godly love just by seeing him with Golden Temple in the backdrop (see pic above)? Is this the lightning of love? hmm....
Anushka Sharma as the debut girl lacks both appeal and acting. I wonder what Adi liked in her, besides dancing skills. It looks like a case of the actor looking good in screen test, but cant perform during the movie shoot and the director is stuck with the actor....
Music is true to the simple nature of the movie, even though it doesn't have any regular chartbusters. I salute Salim-Suleiman for sticking to the concept of basic melodies rather than a hip-hop style of music, although the 70s replica song was a total failure (here, Adi should borrow a leaf from Farah Khan who brings alive the 70s Bollywood cinema beautifully on screen, whether as the Saif song in Dil Chahta Hai or as a full-blown movie in Main Hoon Naa or Om Shanti Om). The background music doesnt do much, except repeating the tunes of the songs, as if they are some religious hymns. When will Bollywood grow to not re-using the songs in the background?
I hear that the movie is a big hit, which is good for producers and distributors. The reasons can only be the simplicity of the movie and above all, Shahrukh's presence. After all, my 4-year old daughter also loves him crazily. There is definitely a charm in the guy that attracts audience, young and old alike. Kudos to SRK for saving Yash Raj yet again. But for him, Adi might have joined the Sanjay Leela Bhansali club that opened with Saawariya.
-Sanjit, 12/25/08.
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