Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi -- A Match Made In Heaven

MAIN CAST:
Shahrukh Khan -- Surinder/Raj
Anushka Sharma -- Taani
Vinay Pathak -- Bobby

BRIEF PLOT OVERVIEW:
When Taani's husband-to-be dies on the way to their wedding, she follows her father's wishes and marries his favorite pupil, Suri. Lonely and despondent, Taani joins a dance class, and the bashful Suri--who loved Taani the moment he saw her--creates the carefree persona of Raj in the hopes of brightening up her life. Things get complicated when Taani and Raj become dance partners, forcing Suri to keep up the facade.

FILM -- 3.5/5
May-December romances are seldom done well, especially in the realm of my beloved Bollywood, so my hackles were immediately raised when I noticed Shahrukh's much-younger co-star**. But the film opens beautifully, the camera's gaze cast lovingly across the Punjab while a gorgeous ballad plays in the background. The cinematography in general is flawless and captures the emotion of the moment perfectly. Take, for example, this scene from immediately after Suri and Taani's marriage: Surinder sitting at a table, set for two but eating alone, as the camera sits far away from him, highlighting the emptiness of the room. The picturizations are top notch and range from the lavish "Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte" to the simply elegant "Haule Haule." The script itself is tried but true, and while RNBDJ doesn't introduce anything new or remove the old masala stand-bys, the cliche dialogue holds up well thanks to the actors' strong performances and the humor. The legitimization of arranged marriages and "God is in your husband" are old themes in Bollywood, and ones I try not to harp on--you can decide how you feel about such themes for yourself``.

CHARACTERS -- 4/5
Shahrukh Khan is always charming and charismatic, but his performance as Suri is particularly noteworthy for its subtlety. In the past, SRK's attempts at such bashful characters have lead to quivering, stuttering, unbelievable messes. By contrast, Suri is believably shy, and his emotions read well on his face. This is not the boastful young boy of the 90s or the melodramatic ruler of the previous decade: Suri shows that 43-year-old Shahrukh has finally mastered "the realistic character." Maybe it's because all of the melodrama comes from Raj, his youthful, dance-happy incarnation ^^. (And may I just say, I'm still amazed by how well SRK can move for a man his age...I love the little spins Suri does when Taani isn't looking during "Dance Pe Chance!") I had high hopes for Anushka Sharma, whose understated beauty and sweet voice really appealed to me in interviews. Her facial expressions and body language are perfectly nuanced, but her line reading doesn't quite have the same realism. I'm sure that with time, however, her acting skills will improve, as she's clearly full of natural talent. Besides, my heart is always won over by a new starlet who can actually dance. As per usual, SRK's chemistry with his co-star is quite genuine. Vinay Pathak's Bobby is a total caricature of Punjabi hipsters, but a moderately humorous one, so all is forgiven. There's also a ton of noteworthy guest appearances. My favorites were Kajol (playing Nargis) and Rani Mukherjee (playing Neetu Singh), considering they are two of my favorite ladies, although Bipashu Basu's Nutan impression also managed to catch my eye.


SOUNDTRACK -- 3.5/5
I heard one song from this soundtrack before watching the film, "Haule Haule," because the Sukhwinder Singh fangirl in me couldn't resist a preview. The song is upbeat, fun, and catchy, a definite high note on the soundtrack. "Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte" isn't the best dance tune I've ever heard, but the way they melded so many classic films in to a single song really impressed me, and the in-film picturization is one of the best I've ever seen. "Dance Pe Chance" is another techno-backed dance track. I'm not sure how I feel about "Tujh Mein Rab Dikhta Hai"...musically it doesn't stand out from the crowd of Bollywood ballads, yet the lyrics are beyond beautiful and the vocals are stunning. The background music is absolutely perfect, perky when it needs to be and melancholy at just the right moments. (And I'm sure you'll be able to catch all of the references to other films, as well as the snippets of songs like "Dhoom Machale.") My main complaint is that the soundtrack, like most modern Bollywood soundtracks, is far too short.

OVERALL -- 3.5/5
This film had a few things going for it and going against it from the start. On the plus side, it starred Shahrukh Khan, promised masala goodness and a great new heroine, and was highly-anticipated. On the negative side, it didn't look like anything new, seemed to lack the infectious humor of great modern masala flicks, and was highly-anticipated. (The fact that Shahrukh's character took on the name "Raj Kapoor" for the nth time is neither here nor there.) In the end, the positives outweigh the negatives. Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi is far from perfect, nor is it unique, and it honestly lacks a whole lot of replay value. Yet it's fun and features some truly lovely performances. It may not be for everyone, but Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi really worked for me, and I recommend it to fellow masala fans.


TOTAL SCORE -- 14.5/20 (really good)





** Bear in mind, however, that it's apparently never stated that Suri is much, much older than Taani. He is introduced as her father's student, and was apparently in college when Taani was starting high school (she mentions hearing about him "all thoughout high school and college"). My guess is that Suri is 10-15 years older than her at the absolute most. Feel free to correct me if the age difference is stated in the film; I only know smatterings of Hindi, and we all know how English subtitles can be.

`` It could be argued that Suri and Taani don't technically have an arranged marriage, at least not in the classical sense, but in my opinion, the theme's basic gist remains. I'm willing to relax a little more on the "God is in your husband" tradition, considering Suri/Raj also says he sees God in Taani with the very same song--it feels equal to me, I suppose.

^^ Some people have complained that Taani's inability to see that Raj is actually Suri is completely unrealistic and ruins the film. First and foremost, this is a Bollywood film; if we can believe stories about long-lost brothers on opposite sides of the law, revolving costumes, impossible feats of medicine, and earth-shattering love at first sight, we can certainly believe in a little costume magic! ;) Also, I think it's worth noting that Suri and Taani don't spend a whole lot of time together, it's not inconceivable that many Indian men could have SRK's coloration, and he does put a lot of effort in to that personality 180. The film even points out that Taani could have recognized Suri, but suggests that there is some sort of divine intervention at hand. PS: did I mention that it's a freakin' BOLLYWOOD MOVIE?!

++ CULTURAL NOTES: during one scene, Raj walks in to the dance hall and panics when he sees girls tying rakhi to their male partners' hands. This relates to the Raksha Bandhan festival. Essentially, when you tie a rakhi to a man's hand, you "claim him" as your brother and ask for his protection. It is meant to represent a completely chaste bond. So it would be disastrous for Taani to put a rakhi on Raj, considering he is actually her husband Suri! Also, Suri is indeed a Sikh--notice the silver bracelet on his arm.