The man who gave us Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge is back after almost 7 years. He made the audience fall in love with Raj but with this one he will make you cheer for Raj’s alter ego Surinder Sahni.
Surinder Sahni is an average person belonging to the working class. He gets married to the beautiful Taani but Taani does not love him. Like all love stories how Taani falls in love with Surinder Sahni is what this film is all about.
Some minutes into the film you know ‘what’ the end is but ‘how’ will it reach it’s end is what makes this film interesting. The screenplay works on a very thin plot but Aditya sprinkles all the right doses of comedy, dance and drama from time to time. He moves out of the oft repeated Yash Raj territory like foreign locales, Punjabi shaadi, large families etc & focuses on just three characters- Shahrukh, Anushka Sharma & Vinay Pathak. In fact we don’t see Shahrukh’s family at all. This is definitely one of the year’s best designed screenplays. To take just three actors and make a 2.30 hour film is not a joke. Shahrukh yet again shows how sincere is he towards his craft even after being in this profession for so many years. He proves that stardom is about doing your job well again & again. Anushka Sharma explodes on the screen like dynamite. Now, this is a heroine who reminds you of simple beauty. The kind that yester year’s heroines possessed. She excels in the emotional scenes. A very confident & unabashed debut. Vinay Pathak showcases his talent to the fullest. He should be doing more of character roles like these or rather lead roles which have good characters. The song “ hum hai rahi pyar ke” is the best choreographed song of the year. It also has the most innovative lyrics. “Haule haule” is another gem of a song, in its melody & the choreography. The art direction in the song is absolutely fantastic. Aditya Chopra has made this film in the wrong time. If he had made it just after DDLJ this film would have been a much bigger hit because at heart it belongs to the old school of cinema. The end credits are to die for.
Final few words: It is aimed for the die hard romantics. It might not achieve the cult status of DDLJ but it will definitely go home with you. Hum hain rahi pyar ke, phir milenge, chalte chalte.
***(Good)
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