Let’s start with the moral of the story which intends to give the message of accepting people as they are without expecting them to change their real self. So if you can accept the Aditya Chopra brand of surreal romance without expecting him to change (read upgrade) his style since the last time he directed (eight years back), this divine love story is certainly your cup of tea.
The basic theme is about the glorification of an underdog which is symbolized by an average common man. Surinder Sahni (Shah Rukh Khan) is a nerdy personality, the kinds who were pet with professors but ridiculed or rejected by everyone else. In checked full-sleeved shirts, pleated pants, oiled hair and middle-aged moustache, he embodies the bland boring babu working at Punjab Power in Amritsar. Marriage with the attractive Taani (Anushka Sharma) is more of a fortuity but simultaneously dream-come-true for Surinder.
Evidently Taani is not heartily happy in this accidental matrimony but consents to a platonic relationship with Sahni. In anticipation of some amusement, she joins choreography classes and that’s when Surinder joins her as a dance-partner.
But before that he opts for an image makeover by snipping his moustache, tousling his hair and replacing spectacles with sunglasses which is adequate enough to give him a new identity of Raj. So much so that even wife Taani doesn’t recognize him. Not even by his vocal chords? Well it’s no point voicing queries to trademark tricks of Bollywood that has been changing character identities at the drop of a moustache.
Expectedly Taani subsequently falls for Raj but is guilty of cheating on her husband Surinder – though both happen to be the same person. Who does she select is simple to guess from the moral at the start.
The story at the very outset opens interestingly as you relate to Surinder’s common man image and the underplayed mannerisms of his character. But as Raj takes over, the pleasant change translates into the conventional clichés of a hyped-hero. You soon lose the silliness of Surinder to the starriness of Shah Rukh Khan that is so suggestive in the character of Raj. With the incorrigible cheap flirting that Raj confesses of indulging into, you can’t help but sense the same old SRK and somewhere lose on the individuality of the underdog. Also the diversity in the characters isn’t digestible as the introvert Surinder suddenly switches to the flamboyant Raj.
The glamorization of geeky protagonist has been earlier employed to similar effect in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Pyaar Ka Sapna (1969) where an anglicized Mala Sinha wins Biswajeet, when the illiterate village girl can’t. One can also draw faint references with V Shantaram’s Navrang (1959) where Mahipal is married to a homely Sandhya but finds his muse in her fantasized avatar.
Essentially the film takes the feel-good path as it tries to simplify the stagy effect by avoiding a rebellious streak to the aggrieved girl. Nevertheless there are moments of sloppy sentimentality by a pouting Shah Rukh, like in the avertable mannequin scene just before the interval. The screenplay has its share of vivacious intensity like in the Dhoom-styled bike sequence or the gol-gappa competition in the second half. But beyond that the graph drops as you hear ksch ksch sighs in the hall and the story stretches and complicates itself. The writing is spewed with banal lines like ‘ ek ladki kya chahti hai ? Itna pyaar jitna kisi ne kisi se na kiya ho’.
The star-studded dance sequence as a tribute to yesteryear actors seems to be a direct spin-off from the Om Shanti Om track Dhoom Tana but not appealing to that effect for its patchy lyrics and tacky music. Otherwise Salim-Sulaiman’s musical score is harmonious and easy on the ears. The Haule Haule number is more imaginatively choreographed to common-man competence with its naïve dance steps.
With only two primary protagonists, the movie relies a lot on their performances. Fans would vie for the glamourized Shah Rukh, though he is more adorable as the silly Surinder. Anushka Sharma exudes spirited screen-presence and has the most electrifying smile amongst present actresses. She comes up with a confident and charming performance and matches up to Shah Rukh in every scene. In several frames she bears a striking similarity to Sonam Kapoor.
Aditya Chopra’s directorial touch has the ability to emotionally bind you but the identity-change in the story is not cerebrally satisfying in contemporary times. Isn’t shaving off the moustache a more practical option, if your wife doesn’t like it? Or is that asking for too much of a character change?
