Ghajini

Watch it. Even if you’ve seen the original Tamil version, the dubbed Telugu version (I have), it’s still worthwhile. I will not write about the plot or what works, I will not attempt to write a review. Go to the theater, watch it, and let me know how you liked it.

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi

This is a Yash Chopra type Yash Raj movie – not to be confused with YRF movies like Dhoom. Rab… is an extension of the DDLJ, Raj-Simran type movies.

This movie is about how an ordinary couple – Surinder Sahani (SRK), a government employee working for Punjab Power, and his wife Tani (Anushka) – discover each other and fall in love. Suri marries Tani when tragedy befalls her. He soon realizes that she has shut him out of her heart in her grief. He desperately wants to see her happy again. In order to bring her out of her depression, he disguises himself and befriends her as Raj. The story is about who Tani chooses, Suri or Raj (yeah I know they’re both the same guy, I’m just telling you what the movie is about).

It has the Yash Raj formula – romance, dance, music, production values and dialogues that are totally sappy and unbelievable if you say them outside the movie theater, but are apt for the tone and tenor of the movie itself. Watch for Vinay Pathak as SRK’s best friend Bobby, he is the highlight of the movie.

My disappointments with this movie:

• How impractical the story is: even if I accept that a wife cannot recognize her husband without his moustache, I don’t know how someone can create an alter-ego that is so alien to their personal style.
• The inconsistencies: Some songs just jump at you for no reason, like the parody song with SRK, Kajol, Bipasha, Preity and Rani.
• The movie starts dragging a bit towards the end with Suri and Tani both becoming very confused, along with director Adi.
• Excessive use of the word “Rab” throughout the movie, it was frankly irritating.

Having said that, Rab… is reasonably entertaining with some laugh-out-loud scenes, like the bike repair scene between Pathak and SRK; and the scene where SRK has to eat Biryani after a golgappa contest with his wife. The serious scenes have been handled sensitively; Aditya Chopra deserves credit for that. SRK’s performance was well done, restraining it just enough as Suri, and going just over the top as Raj. You can almost feel his desperate love for his wife. Anushka is pretty good too.

I liked the movie overall, although I can understand why some reviewers have not liked it. I’d say go see it, SRK is always Paisa Vasool.