Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008 film)
Encyclopedia
Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi translation
: A Match Made in Heaven) is a 2008 Bollywood
romantic comedy
film directed by Aditya Chopra
and produced by Yash Raj Films
. Shahrukh Khan
stars in the film as mild-mannered office worker Surinder Sahni, whose love for beautiful, vivacious Tania (Anushka Sharma
), causes him to transform himself into the loud and funloving "Raj" to win her love. It was released worldwide on 12 December 2008. This film marks the return of Aditya Chopra to directing after 8 years, since he last directed the film Mohabbatein
.
Upon release, the film broke many box office records and was declared a blockbuster despite the fact that it was released only 2 weeks after the 2008 Mumbai attacks
, amidst uncertainty and apprehensions from the trade regarding market conditions at the time. At the end of its theatrical run, it grossed over worldwide and was also the highest grossing film of the year in the overseas market, thus becoming Yash Raj Films
and Shahrukh Khan
's highest grossing film at the time of its release.
) is an office employee for Punjab Power. He quietly falls in love with the daughter of his former professor (M.K. Raina), beautiful and vivacious Taani Gupta (Anushka Sharma
), whom he first sees during the preparations for her wedding. When they are introduced however, Taani jokingly berates and blames him for setting an impossible set of standards (reiterated by her father) that she was never able to meet growing up. A short while later, the shocking news arrives that her lover and fiancé and his wedding entourage were killed in a road accident. The immensely carefree Taani is immediately distraught; her father suffers a heart attack. Fearing that Taani will be alone in the world, the professor on his deathbed, and paternally affectionate toward Suri, requests him to marry her. Suri silently concedes; Taani tearfully agrees for her father's sake.
After an impromptu wedding, Suri takes Taani to his ancestral home in Amritsar
. While his good nature leads Suri to treat her with exceptional care, by letting her have his bedroom all to herself, and patience, he is too frightened to profess his love for her. Besides which, Taani tells him that while she will try to be a good wife and thus respect her role in his life, she can never love him due to having no love left within her. Suri, least bothered and grateful for the increasing acts of wifely affection she does show, proceeds to indulge her wishes. These include regular evening trips to the cinema to see song and dance films which appeal to Taani's fantasies about romance and her passion for dancing. She soon asks for Suri's permission, which he grants, to take an expensive dance class with a Bombay company Dancing Jodi to unwind from her mundane life at home.
During those evenings spent at the movie-theatres, Suri realizes the strong, masculine images that Taani admires and later asks his long-time chum Balwinder "Bobby" Khosla (Vinay Pathak
), a hair-salon owner, for grooming advice so as to win her love. Bobby is eager to help and gives him a complete makeover (shaving off his mustache - an accidental gag, modding his hairstyle, fitting him out in funky Western-style clothing including aviator-style shades with oversized pastel lenses). Suri is thus transformed into the swaggering, crude, and fun-loving "Raj Kapoor", a name he borrows from the hero of the movie that Taani had recently admired. He joins the dance class to be near her. By chance — or, as he puts it, by divine choice — he becomes Taani's partner in the competition. Despite Raj's initial over-the-top attempts to emulate the "cool" images from movies — he and Taani become friends as they work together on their dance routine. Suri feels encouraged when Taani does not tie a rakhi (holy thread) on "Raj's" wrist during the festival of Raksha Bandhan (for to do so would indicate that she thought of him only as a brother). Thus, after a period of time, Raj declares his love for her.
Taani enters into a period of internal conflict, desperately wanting to escape from her despair-filled life through finding a new person to love. Despite wanting to escape what she believes is a loveless marriage, Taani feels compelled to stay with Suri due to the promise that she made to her father. Suri also faces a dilemma: Taani's sheer misery as his wife in contrast to her delight with his fabricated alter ego
, Raj. He thus attempts to win Taani's love as Suri, an act which only alienates her further. She eventually runs away to find Raj in order to tell him the predicament she is in, hoping he will help her. He offers to elope with her, which she agrees to, tearfully. They set the date for their elopement to the next night, the night of the competition. Later that night, Suri tells Bobby that he will end the charade in his own way, i.e. sacrifice his cravings for her love, leave her his property and transfer himself to Delhi.
On the day of the competition, Suri takes Taani to the Golden Temple
in order to garner God's blessings for her competition that night—and internally, also for her life with(out) Raj. While there, Taani has a realization in which she believes God has shown her a sign that tells that her marriage to Suri is divinely inspired. For the first time she reflects on her husband and becomes aware of the strength and integrity of Suri's character, something she can grow to love. Taani thus tells Raj that she cannot choose him over her newly-discovered life-partner. She leaves him in what appears to be a state of shock with tears in his eyes. When the time comes for their performance Taani is stunned to see Suri instead of Raj joining her on stage. While dancing Taani puts two and two together and through a series of flashbacks awakens to the fact that Suri is Raj. Backstage she confronts Suri and when he confesses his love for her, she tearfully admits that she returns his feelings. The two having won the competition head off on a honeymoon to Japan.
's third consecutive Blockbuster in two years. It has grossed $27,800,000 internationally of which $24,791,000 comes from Indian box office, while $2,078,900 was contributed by the United States market. It made a record of 120 days continuous run in Mumbai theaters.
calls Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi an "agreeably amusing comedy/romance/musical" noting that, "the magnetic Khan is a skilled enough comic actor with his physical transformation — like a Peter Sellers
-ish recessive turning into a Jerry Lewis
extrovert — that believing Taani wouldn't notice isn't difficult". Rachel Saltz of The New York Times
describes it as "'soft, sweet and slow,' in the words of one of its songs. It deftly blends comedy, the ruling tone of the new Bollywood
, with melodrama, the ruling tone of the old." Manish Gajjar of the BBC
gave the film 4 out of 5 stars noting that, "Shah Rukh Khan makes you laugh and cry as the nerdy-looking, clumsy, bespectacled Surinder and the all hip and happening Raj. A true professional in his in his own right, Khan breezes through his dialogues full during the emotional and comic scenes." Frank Lovece
of Film Journal International
argues that it is "smarter and more self-aware of its rom-com contrivances than most Hollywood movies" and notes that while "movie's cleverness eventually devolves into a simplistic Harlequin-Romance-for-males wish-fulfillment about beauty and the geek, it's a very well-acted variation on a Hollywood staple." Critic and author Maitland McDonagh of MissFlickChick.com stated that the film, "has been dismissed in some quarters as self-conscious and artificial, a coyly self-referential reworking of outdated movie tropes a la Todd Haynes
' Far From Heaven
, but it works for me in a way that most contemporary Hollywood romcoms don't."
Some critics disagreed. Rajeev Masand
of CNN-IBN is critical of the film, giving it two out of five stars and stating that, "Aditya Chopra's return to direction after eight years is marked by a flawed script, which in turn spawns a disappointing film. Where's the smart dialogue and the spirited characters that defined his debut film, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge? There's no trace of either in this film [...] the problem then, at the root of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, is that much like those artificial sets in the film, the emotions too are contrived." Derek Elley of Variety
argues that the film has "a huge, hollow center that sinks the project early on [...] Paper-thin script drags itself to the finish line amid tiresome mugging by Khan, a huge credibility gap (she never recognizes him without his glasses and mustache?) and a blah score with only one showstopper (featuring five famous actresses)."
A number of critics have further noted the similarities between this movie and superhero
films. Khalid Mohamed, of the Hindustan Times
, gave the film three and half out of five stars stating that Suri, "is a soul brother to the mousy Clark-Kent-cum-Superman" who "makes you laugh and sob alternately." Mayank Shekhar from Mumbai Mirror
gave the film three out of five stars and argues that: "Same person, oppositely twinned, is usually the stuff of super-hero films; the kinds of Clark Kent-Superman, Peter Parker-Spiderman etc. You feel entirely lost in this fantasy flick, because for most part, it’s built around something so intimate and real. It’d be much easier to travel to foreign countries around far-fetched situations with fake heroes." In addition, Sudish Kamath of The Hindu
states that while Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi could have been an interesting art film exploring the dynamics of an arranged marriage
, the director instead, "treats this character type like Sam Raimi would treat Spider-Man [...] Superhero ‘Raj’ slips into costume and out, complains how it gets uncomfortable around the crotch, to win over his Mary Jane with not much saving-the-world business to keep him busy. But while Spidey does it for a bigger reason than just MJ, Raj’s sole motivation is to stalk his wife and play out his fantasy as somebody else. His obsession with his alter-ego reaches new heights when he wants his wife to cheat on the real him — the goofy Surinder Saini who starts off well."
gave the DVD of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi 3.5 out of 5 stars stating that it is a good choice if you "want to watch a clean family movie at home." The DVD includes the documentaries, The Making of the Film and The Making of the Songs ("Haule Haule", "Dance Pe Chance", "Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte") as well as a number of deleted scenes and interviews. The film was released on Blu-ray a year after its theatrical release.
. The song "Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte
" pays homage to Bollywood actors Raj Kapoor
, Dev Anand
, Rajesh Khanna
, Shammi Kapoor
and Rishi Kapoor
and actresses Nargis
, Nutan
, Helen
, Sharmila Tagore
and Neetu Singh
. The performance of the song includes appearances by Kajol
, Bipasha Basu
, Lara Dutta
, Preity Zinta
and Rani Mukerji
.
Serbian pop singer Jelena Karleuša
remade the song "Dance Pe Chance" as "Insomnia" in 2010 and became a huge hit. Bulgarian
pop singer Ivana
also made a copy of the same song as "Nedei".
Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi film's score is the first Bollywood
soundtrack to reach the top ten albums sales for the iTunes Store
.
2009 Filmfare Awards
2009 International Indian Film Academy Awards
2009 Stardust Awards
2009 Star Screen Awards
Indian English
Indian English is an umbrella term used to describe dialects of the English language spoken primarily in the Republic of India.As a result of British colonial rule until Indian independence in 1947 English is an official language of India and is widely used in both spoken and literary contexts...
: A Match Made in Heaven) is a 2008 Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
romantic comedy
Romantic Comedy
Romantic Comedy can refer to* Romantic Comedy , a 1979 play written by Bernard Slade* Romantic Comedy , a 1983 film adapted from the play and starring Dudley Moore and Mary Steenburgen...
film directed by Aditya Chopra
Aditya Chopra
Aditya Chopra is an Indian film producer, screenwriter and director. He is most known for directing his only three films Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge , Mohabbatein , and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi...
and produced by Yash Raj Films
Yash Raj Films
Yash Raj Films is an Indian Entertainment company set up by Yash Chopra, an Indian film director and producer who is considered an entertainment mogul in India.-Initial years:...
. Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan , often credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian film actor, as well as a film producer and television host. Often referred to as "the King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in over 70 Hindi films....
stars in the film as mild-mannered office worker Surinder Sahni, whose love for beautiful, vivacious Tania (Anushka Sharma
Anushka Sharma
Anushka Sharma is an Indian actress and former model who appears in Hindi films. In 2008, she was signed by Aditya Chopra for a three-film contract and made her screen debut in Chopra's Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. She later received acclaim for her role as Shruti Kakkar in Band Baaja Baaraat...
), causes him to transform himself into the loud and funloving "Raj" to win her love. It was released worldwide on 12 December 2008. This film marks the return of Aditya Chopra to directing after 8 years, since he last directed the film Mohabbatein
Mohabbatein
Mohabbatein , is a 2000 Indian Bollywood film directed by Aditya Chopra. The movie stars Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan in pivotal roles, along with six young debutantes. Aishwarya Rai appeared in flashbacks as Khan's lover. The movie was filmed at Oxford, England and Longleat...
.
Upon release, the film broke many box office records and was declared a blockbuster despite the fact that it was released only 2 weeks after the 2008 Mumbai attacks
2008 Mumbai attacks
The 2008 Mumbai attacks were more than 10 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks across Mumbai, India's largest city, by Islamist attackers who came from Pakistan...
, amidst uncertainty and apprehensions from the trade regarding market conditions at the time. At the end of its theatrical run, it grossed over worldwide and was also the highest grossing film of the year in the overseas market, thus becoming Yash Raj Films
Yash Raj Films
Yash Raj Films is an Indian Entertainment company set up by Yash Chopra, an Indian film director and producer who is considered an entertainment mogul in India.-Initial years:...
and Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan , often credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian film actor, as well as a film producer and television host. Often referred to as "the King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in over 70 Hindi films....
's highest grossing film at the time of its release.
Plot
Shy, introverted, and kind-hearted Surinder "Suri" Sahni (Shahrukh KhanShahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan , often credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian film actor, as well as a film producer and television host. Often referred to as "the King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in over 70 Hindi films....
) is an office employee for Punjab Power. He quietly falls in love with the daughter of his former professor (M.K. Raina), beautiful and vivacious Taani Gupta (Anushka Sharma
Anushka Sharma
Anushka Sharma is an Indian actress and former model who appears in Hindi films. In 2008, she was signed by Aditya Chopra for a three-film contract and made her screen debut in Chopra's Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. She later received acclaim for her role as Shruti Kakkar in Band Baaja Baaraat...
), whom he first sees during the preparations for her wedding. When they are introduced however, Taani jokingly berates and blames him for setting an impossible set of standards (reiterated by her father) that she was never able to meet growing up. A short while later, the shocking news arrives that her lover and fiancé and his wedding entourage were killed in a road accident. The immensely carefree Taani is immediately distraught; her father suffers a heart attack. Fearing that Taani will be alone in the world, the professor on his deathbed, and paternally affectionate toward Suri, requests him to marry her. Suri silently concedes; Taani tearfully agrees for her father's sake.
After an impromptu wedding, Suri takes Taani to his ancestral home in Amritsar
Amritsar
Amritsar is a city in the northern part of India and is the administrative headquarters of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India. The 2001 Indian census reported the population of the city to be over 1,500,000, with that of the entire district numbering 3,695,077...
. While his good nature leads Suri to treat her with exceptional care, by letting her have his bedroom all to herself, and patience, he is too frightened to profess his love for her. Besides which, Taani tells him that while she will try to be a good wife and thus respect her role in his life, she can never love him due to having no love left within her. Suri, least bothered and grateful for the increasing acts of wifely affection she does show, proceeds to indulge her wishes. These include regular evening trips to the cinema to see song and dance films which appeal to Taani's fantasies about romance and her passion for dancing. She soon asks for Suri's permission, which he grants, to take an expensive dance class with a Bombay company Dancing Jodi to unwind from her mundane life at home.
During those evenings spent at the movie-theatres, Suri realizes the strong, masculine images that Taani admires and later asks his long-time chum Balwinder "Bobby" Khosla (Vinay Pathak
Vinay Pathak
Vinay Pathak is an Indian actor and a theatre person born and raised in Bhojpur, Bihar. He is known for his great Comic timing and as a revolution in Indian Cinema along with Ranvir Shorey, Rajat Kapur, Abhay Deol, who are tagged as actors of a new genre...
), a hair-salon owner, for grooming advice so as to win her love. Bobby is eager to help and gives him a complete makeover (shaving off his mustache - an accidental gag, modding his hairstyle, fitting him out in funky Western-style clothing including aviator-style shades with oversized pastel lenses). Suri is thus transformed into the swaggering, crude, and fun-loving "Raj Kapoor", a name he borrows from the hero of the movie that Taani had recently admired. He joins the dance class to be near her. By chance — or, as he puts it, by divine choice — he becomes Taani's partner in the competition. Despite Raj's initial over-the-top attempts to emulate the "cool" images from movies — he and Taani become friends as they work together on their dance routine. Suri feels encouraged when Taani does not tie a rakhi (holy thread) on "Raj's" wrist during the festival of Raksha Bandhan (for to do so would indicate that she thought of him only as a brother). Thus, after a period of time, Raj declares his love for her.
Taani enters into a period of internal conflict, desperately wanting to escape from her despair-filled life through finding a new person to love. Despite wanting to escape what she believes is a loveless marriage, Taani feels compelled to stay with Suri due to the promise that she made to her father. Suri also faces a dilemma: Taani's sheer misery as his wife in contrast to her delight with his fabricated alter ego
Alter ego
An alter ego is a second self, which is believe to be distinct from a person's normal or original personality. The term was coined in the early nineteenth century when dissociative identity disorder was first described by psychologists...
, Raj. He thus attempts to win Taani's love as Suri, an act which only alienates her further. She eventually runs away to find Raj in order to tell him the predicament she is in, hoping he will help her. He offers to elope with her, which she agrees to, tearfully. They set the date for their elopement to the next night, the night of the competition. Later that night, Suri tells Bobby that he will end the charade in his own way, i.e. sacrifice his cravings for her love, leave her his property and transfer himself to Delhi.
On the day of the competition, Suri takes Taani to the Golden Temple
Harmandir Sahib
The Harmandir Sahib also Darbar Sahib , also referred to as the Golden Temple, is a prominent Sikh gurdwara located in the city of Amritsar, Punjab . Construction of the gurdwara was begun by Guru Ram Das, the fourth Sikh Guru, and completed by his successor, Guru Arjan Dev...
in order to garner God's blessings for her competition that night—and internally, also for her life with(out) Raj. While there, Taani has a realization in which she believes God has shown her a sign that tells that her marriage to Suri is divinely inspired. For the first time she reflects on her husband and becomes aware of the strength and integrity of Suri's character, something she can grow to love. Taani thus tells Raj that she cannot choose him over her newly-discovered life-partner. She leaves him in what appears to be a state of shock with tears in his eyes. When the time comes for their performance Taani is stunned to see Suri instead of Raj joining her on stage. While dancing Taani puts two and two together and through a series of flashbacks awakens to the fact that Suri is Raj. Backstage she confronts Suri and when he confesses his love for her, she tearfully admits that she returns his feelings. The two having won the competition head off on a honeymoon to Japan.
Cast
- Shahrukh KhanShahrukh KhanShahrukh Khan , often credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian film actor, as well as a film producer and television host. Often referred to as "the King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in over 70 Hindi films....
as Surinder "Suri" Sahni/Raj Kapoor - Anushka SharmaAnushka SharmaAnushka Sharma is an Indian actress and former model who appears in Hindi films. In 2008, she was signed by Aditya Chopra for a three-film contract and made her screen debut in Chopra's Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. She later received acclaim for her role as Shruti Kakkar in Band Baaja Baaraat...
as Tania "Taani" Sahni - Vinay PathakVinay PathakVinay Pathak is an Indian actor and a theatre person born and raised in Bhojpur, Bihar. He is known for his great Comic timing and as a revolution in Indian Cinema along with Ranvir Shorey, Rajat Kapur, Abhay Deol, who are tagged as actors of a new genre...
as Balwinder "Bobby" Khosla - Manmeet SinghManmeet SinghManmeet Singh is an Indian actor and model.-Early life:He was born in July 1969 in Haldawani, Nainital. He is the son of S. Ajit Singh Sawhney who was an Amritdhari Sikh. He had his Khande di Pahul ceremony when he was in college in 1988. He graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Communcations from...
as "Raju" garage owner - KajolKajolKajol Devgn , better known as Kajol, is an Indian film actress appearing in Hindi films. She is regarded as one of India's most successful and talented female actors....
(Special appearance in the song "Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte") - Bipasha BasuBipasha BasuBipasha Basu is an Indian actress who mainly appears in Bollywood films. A former model, she was the winner of the Ford's Godrej Cinthol Supermodel contest in 1996.-Early life:...
(Special appearance in the song "Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte") - Lara DuttaLara DuttaLara Dutta Bhupathi is an Indian actress, UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador, and former Miss Universe.-Early life:Dutta was born in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh to a Punjabi father and an Anglo-Indian mother. Her father is Wing Commander L.K. Dutta and her mother is Jennifer Dutta...
(Special appearance in the song "Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte") - Preity ZintaPreity ZintaPreity Zinta is an Indian film actress. She has appeared in Hindi films of Bollywood, as well as Telugu, Punjabi and English language films. After graduating with a degree in criminal psychology, Zinta made her acting debut in Dil Se in 1998 followed by a role in Soldier the same year...
(Special appearance in the song "Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte") - Rani MukerjiRani MukerjiRani Mukerji is an Indian film actress who works in Hindi movies. In the course of her film career, she has received six Filmfare Awards, among twelve nominations....
(Special appearance in the song "Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte")
release
The film was released worldwide on December 12, 2008 at over 1,200 screens, including approximately 300 prints for the overseas market and saw heavy advance bookings.Box-office
Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi was a Top First Week Earner, collecting Rs 42,19,00,000 in 1100 theaters. By its fourth week, it had earned 81 crores. Making it Shahrukh KhanShahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan , often credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian film actor, as well as a film producer and television host. Often referred to as "the King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in over 70 Hindi films....
's third consecutive Blockbuster in two years. It has grossed $27,800,000 internationally of which $24,791,000 comes from Indian box office, while $2,078,900 was contributed by the United States market. It made a record of 120 days continuous run in Mumbai theaters.
Critical reception
Upon release, the film received positive reviews. Robert Abele of the Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
calls Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi an "agreeably amusing comedy/romance/musical" noting that, "the magnetic Khan is a skilled enough comic actor with his physical transformation — like a Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers
Richard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
-ish recessive turning into a Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
extrovert — that believing Taani wouldn't notice isn't difficult". Rachel Saltz of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
describes it as "'soft, sweet and slow,' in the words of one of its songs. It deftly blends comedy, the ruling tone of the new Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
, with melodrama, the ruling tone of the old." Manish Gajjar of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
gave the film 4 out of 5 stars noting that, "Shah Rukh Khan makes you laugh and cry as the nerdy-looking, clumsy, bespectacled Surinder and the all hip and happening Raj. A true professional in his in his own right, Khan breezes through his dialogues full during the emotional and comic scenes." Frank Lovece
Frank Lovece
Frank Lovece is an American journalist, author, comedy performer and comic book writer. He was additionally one of the first professional Web journalists, becoming an editor of a Silicon Alley start-up in 1996....
of Film Journal International
Film Journal International
Film Journal International is a motion-picture industry trade magazine published by the American company Prometheus Global Media. It is a sister publication of Adweek, Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, and other periodicals....
argues that it is "smarter and more self-aware of its rom-com contrivances than most Hollywood movies" and notes that while "movie's cleverness eventually devolves into a simplistic Harlequin-Romance-for-males wish-fulfillment about beauty and the geek, it's a very well-acted variation on a Hollywood staple." Critic and author Maitland McDonagh of MissFlickChick.com stated that the film, "has been dismissed in some quarters as self-conscious and artificial, a coyly self-referential reworking of outdated movie tropes a la Todd Haynes
Todd Haynes
Todd Haynes is an American independent film director and screenwriter. He is best known for his feature films Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, Poison, Velvet Goldmine, Safe, and the Academy Award-nominated Far from Heaven and I'm Not There.- Style and themes :The writes that "Haynes is...
' Far From Heaven
Far from Heaven
Far from Heaven is a 2002 drama film written and directed by Todd Haynes and starring Julianne Moore, Dennis Quaid, Dennis Haysbert, and Patricia Clarkson....
, but it works for me in a way that most contemporary Hollywood romcoms don't."
Some critics disagreed. Rajeev Masand
Rajeev Masand
Rajeev Masand is an Indian film critic and entertainment reporter for CNN-IBN. Masand started his career as an entertainment correspondent at the young age of 16...
of CNN-IBN is critical of the film, giving it two out of five stars and stating that, "Aditya Chopra's return to direction after eight years is marked by a flawed script, which in turn spawns a disappointing film. Where's the smart dialogue and the spirited characters that defined his debut film, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge? There's no trace of either in this film [...] the problem then, at the root of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, is that much like those artificial sets in the film, the emotions too are contrived." Derek Elley of Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
argues that the film has "a huge, hollow center that sinks the project early on [...] Paper-thin script drags itself to the finish line amid tiresome mugging by Khan, a huge credibility gap (she never recognizes him without his glasses and mustache?) and a blah score with only one showstopper (featuring five famous actresses)."
A number of critics have further noted the similarities between this movie and superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
films. Khalid Mohamed, of the Hindustan Times
Hindustan Times
Hindustan Times is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded in 1924 with roots in the Indian independence movement of the period ....
, gave the film three and half out of five stars stating that Suri, "is a soul brother to the mousy Clark-Kent-cum-Superman" who "makes you laugh and sob alternately." Mayank Shekhar from Mumbai Mirror
Mumbai Mirror
Mumbai Mirror is a largest compact newspaper in the city of Mumbai with a daily circulation of over 600,000 copies. Its first issue was published on May 30, 2005 by the Times Group, the publishers of The Times of India newspaper....
gave the film three out of five stars and argues that: "Same person, oppositely twinned, is usually the stuff of super-hero films; the kinds of Clark Kent-Superman, Peter Parker-Spiderman etc. You feel entirely lost in this fantasy flick, because for most part, it’s built around something so intimate and real. It’d be much easier to travel to foreign countries around far-fetched situations with fake heroes." In addition, Sudish Kamath of The Hindu
The Hindu
The Hindu is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded and continuously published in Chennai since 1878. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it has a circulation of 1.46 million copies as of December 2009. The enterprise employed over 1,600 workers and gross income reached $40...
states that while Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi could have been an interesting art film exploring the dynamics of an arranged marriage
Arranged marriage
An arranged marriage is a practice in which someone other than the couple getting married makes the selection of the persons to be wed, meanwhile curtailing or avoiding the process of courtship. Such marriages had deep roots in royal and aristocratic families around the world...
, the director instead, "treats this character type like Sam Raimi would treat Spider-Man [...] Superhero ‘Raj’ slips into costume and out, complains how it gets uncomfortable around the crotch, to win over his Mary Jane with not much saving-the-world business to keep him busy. But while Spidey does it for a bigger reason than just MJ, Raj’s sole motivation is to stalk his wife and play out his fantasy as somebody else. His obsession with his alter-ego reaches new heights when he wants his wife to cheat on the real him — the goofy Surinder Saini who starts off well."
DVD
Joginder Tuteja of Bollywood HungamaBollywood Hungama
Bollywood Hungama is a leading Bollywood entertainment website, owned by hungama.com....
gave the DVD of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi 3.5 out of 5 stars stating that it is a good choice if you "want to watch a clean family movie at home." The DVD includes the documentaries, The Making of the Film and The Making of the Songs ("Haule Haule", "Dance Pe Chance", "Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte") as well as a number of deleted scenes and interviews. The film was released on Blu-ray a year after its theatrical release.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi was composed by Salim-SulaimanSalim-Sulaiman
Salim Merchant And Sulaiman Merchant are a musical duo of brothers, born and brought up in Bhuj, Kutch, India. They belong to Ismaili Muslim family and are inspired by their father Sadruddin Merchant, who used to lead Ismaili Scouts Orchestra in India..Steeped in a family tradition of music as the...
. The song "Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte
Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte
"Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte" is a song from the 2008 Indian film Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi rendered by Sonu Nigam. In the movie itself, it appears as a dream item number during another movie. The song is pictured on Shah Rukh Khan and in chronological order, Kajol, Bipasha Basu, Lara Dutta, Priety Zinta,...
" pays homage to Bollywood actors Raj Kapoor
Raj Kapoor
Known as Ranbir Raj Kapoor Rāj Kapūr, 14 December 1924 – 2 June 1988), also known as The Show-Man, was an Indian film actor, producer and director of Hindi cinema. He was the winner of nine Filmfare Awards, while his films Awaara and Boot Polish were nominated for the Palme d'Or at the...
, Dev Anand
Dev Anand
Dharam Dev Anand , better known as Dev Anand , is an Indian Hindi Cinema actor, director and film producer. Dev is the second of three brothers who were active in Hindi Cinema. His brothers are Chetan Anand and Vijay Anand. Their sister, Sheel Kanta Kapur, is the mother of renowned Hindi and...
, Rajesh Khanna
Rajesh Khanna
Rajesh Khanna is an Indian actor of from Hindi films, and has been Hindi film producer and an Indian politician....
, Shammi Kapoor
Shammi Kapoor
Shammi Kapoor was an Indian film actor and director. He was a prominent lead actor in Hindi cinema from the late 1950s until the early 1970s....
and Rishi Kapoor
Rishi Kapoor
Rishi Kapoor is an Indian Bollywood actor, film producer and director.-Early life:Born in Chembur Mumbai, Kapoor is the second son of film director and star Raj Kapoor. He did his schooling with his brothers at Campion School,Mumbai. His brothers are well-known actors: Randhir Kapoor and Rajiv...
and actresses Nargis
Nargis
Nargis Dutt , born Fatima Rashid but known by her screen name, Nargis, was an Indian film actress. She is widely regarded as one of the greatest actresses in the history of Hindi cinema. She made her screen debut as a child in Talash-E-Haq in 1935, but her acting carer began in 1942 with Tamanna...
, Nutan
Nutan
Nutan Behl , better known as Nutan , was an Indian actress. She appeared in more than 70 Hindi films in a career spanning over four decades...
, Helen
Helen (actress)
Helen Jairag Richardson is an Indian film actress and dancer of Anglo-Burmese descent, working in Hindi films. She is often cited as the most popular dancer of the item number in her time. She was the inspiration for four films and a book.-Early life and background:Helen was born in Burma on 21...
, Sharmila Tagore
Sharmila Tagore
Sharmila Tagore is an Indian film actress. She has won National Film Awards and Filmfare Awards for her performances.She has led the Indian Film Censor Board from October 2004 till March 2011...
and Neetu Singh
Neetu Singh
Neetu Singh is an Indian Bollywood actress. She worked as a child actor under the name Baby Sonia. She played Roopa in the 1966 movie Dus Lakh and a dual role in the film Do Kaliyaan. Her other notable films were Waris and Pavitra Paapi.-Career:Neetu Singh made her debut as an actress in 1972 with...
. The performance of the song includes appearances by Kajol
Kajol
Kajol Devgn , better known as Kajol, is an Indian film actress appearing in Hindi films. She is regarded as one of India's most successful and talented female actors....
, Bipasha Basu
Bipasha Basu
Bipasha Basu is an Indian actress who mainly appears in Bollywood films. A former model, she was the winner of the Ford's Godrej Cinthol Supermodel contest in 1996.-Early life:...
, Lara Dutta
Lara Dutta
Lara Dutta Bhupathi is an Indian actress, UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador, and former Miss Universe.-Early life:Dutta was born in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh to a Punjabi father and an Anglo-Indian mother. Her father is Wing Commander L.K. Dutta and her mother is Jennifer Dutta...
, Preity Zinta
Preity Zinta
Preity Zinta is an Indian film actress. She has appeared in Hindi films of Bollywood, as well as Telugu, Punjabi and English language films. After graduating with a degree in criminal psychology, Zinta made her acting debut in Dil Se in 1998 followed by a role in Soldier the same year...
and Rani Mukerji
Rani Mukerji
Rani Mukerji is an Indian film actress who works in Hindi movies. In the course of her film career, she has received six Filmfare Awards, among twelve nominations....
.
Serbian pop singer Jelena Karleuša
Jelena Karleuša
Jelena Karleuša Tošić , professionally known under her maiden name Jelena Karleuša and initials JK, is a Serbian pop singer, fashion designer and former columnist. She rose to fame with her debut turbo-folk album Ogledalce , and has since been a popular Serbian female singer...
remade the song "Dance Pe Chance" as "Insomnia" in 2010 and became a huge hit. Bulgarian
Bulgarians
The Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
pop singer Ivana
Ivana (singer)
Vania Todorova Kaludova , better known as Ivana , is a popular Bulgarian female singer. She is one of the most prolific performers in the pop-folk music style in Bulgaria.- Biography :...
also made a copy of the same song as "Nedei".
Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi film's score is the first Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
soundtrack to reach the top ten albums sales for the iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
.
Awards
2009 Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild Awards- Won: Best Actor - Shah Rukh Khan
- Won: Best Debut Female - Anushka SharmaAnushka SharmaAnushka Sharma is an Indian actress and former model who appears in Hindi films. In 2008, she was signed by Aditya Chopra for a three-film contract and made her screen debut in Chopra's Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. She later received acclaim for her role as Shruti Kakkar in Band Baaja Baaraat...
- Won: Best Choreography - Shiamak DavarShiamak DavarDIL CHAHE-External links:* * * http://www.google.co.in/music/album?n=Dil-Chahe-Shiamak&id=20100520190954_2d1d03si4m47m* http://www.google.co.in/music/album?n=Mohabbat-Kar-Le-Shiamak&id=20100520134546_lj2mmwol474i...
- Dance Pe Chance - Won: Best Lyrics - Jaideep SahniJaideep SahniJaideep Sahni is an Indian screenwriter, songwriter and producer, most known for screenplays of films like, Company , Khosla Ka Ghosla and Chak De! India . He is currently on contract with Yash Raj Films...
- Tujh Mein Rab Dikhta Hai - Won: Female Playback Singer - Shreya Ghoshal - Tujh Mein Rab Dikhta Hai
2009 Filmfare Awards
Filmfare Awards
The Filmfare Awards are presented annually by The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Hindi language film industry of India. The Filmfare ceremony is one of the oldest and most prominent film events given for Hindi films in India. The awards were...
- Won:Filmfare Best Male Playback AwardFilmfare Best Male Playback AwardThe Filmfare Best Male Playback Award is given by Filmfare as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise a male playback singer who has delivered an outstanding performance in a film song....
- Sukhwinder SinghSukhwinder SinghSukhwinder Singh, Born as Sukhi Singh Lubana is an Indian singer best known for working as Bollywood playback artist. Singh is famous for singing "Chaiyya Chaiyya" for which he won the Best Male Playback Award at the 1999 Filmfare Awards. The song, from Mani Ratnam's 1998 film Dil Se, was composed...
("Haule Haule") - Won:Filmfare Best Scene of the Year AwardFilmfare Best Scene of the Year AwardThe Filmfare Best Scene of the Year Award is decided by Sony Executives who nominate five scenes of the most popular movies of the year and telecast them on their channel two weeks prior to the event.The winner is revealed only at the ceremony....
( The rose scene) - Nominated:Best Actor - Shah Rukh Khan
- Nominated:Best Actress - Anushka Sharma
- Nominated:Best Director - Aditya Chopra
- Nominated:Best Film - Aditya Chopra
- Nominated:Best Female Playback Singer - Sunidhi Chauhan ("Dance pe Chance")
- Nominated:Best Supporting Actor - Vinay Pathak
2009 International Indian Film Academy Awards
International Indian Film Academy Awards
The International Indian Film Academy Awards, also known as the IIFA Awards are presented annually by the International Indian Film Academy to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in Bollywood, the Hindi language film industry. Instituted in 2000, the ceremony is held in...
- Nominated:Best Actor
- Nominated: Best Supporting Actor - Vinay Pathak
- Nominated: Best Lyrics
- Nominated:Best Male Playback Singer http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/features/2009/04/29/5111/index.html
2009 Stardust Awards
Stardust Awards
The Stardust Awards is an award ceremony for Hindi movies, which congratulate the superstars of the new generation who are making an impact on the future. It is sponsored by Stardust magazine.- Background :...
- Nominated:Stardust Award for Superstar Of Tomorrow - Female
- Nominated:Best Film
- Nominated:Best Director
- Nominated: Stardust Award for Star Of The Year - Male
2009 Star Screen Awards
Star Screen Awards
The Star Screen Awards is an annual awards ceremony in India honoring professional excellence in film. The nomination and award selection is done by a panel of distinguished professional from the industry itself.- History :...
- Nominated:Most Promising Newcomer - Anushka Sharma
- Nominated:Best Actor - Shah Rukh Khan
- Nominated:Best Choreography
- Nominated:Best Male Playback Singer
- Nominated:Best Female Playback Singer
- Nominated: Best Lyrics
External links
- Official Website
- Official trailer:General
- Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi at Bollywood HungamaBollywood HungamaBollywood Hungama is a leading Bollywood entertainment website, owned by hungama.com....
- Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi at Rediff.comRediff.comRediff.com India is a news, information, entertainment, and shopping portal. It was founded in 1996 as "Rediff On The NeT" and is headquartered in Mumbai, India with offices in New Delhi and New York City, USA....
- Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi' at BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...