Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi - Movie Review

Published: August 5, 2009

By JENNIFER HOPFINGER

Starring Shahrukh Khan, Anushka Sharma

Stories of spouses falling in love after marriage are popular in Bollywood and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi is one of the finest examples of this theme. Sweet, nerdy Surinder (played by Shahrukh Khan) is a middle-aged middle manager at an electric utility, Punjab Power, in the city of Amritsar. He marries his old professor’s daughter, the young and beautiful Taani (Anushka Sharma in her film debut), after both her father and fiancé die on the eve of her wedding. Ostensibly, Surinder marries her as a favor to his friend, but he’s secretly smitten with her. Taani agrees to the marriage only because she has no other options and she misconstrues Surinder’s kindness as pity. Surinder doesn’t understand the first thing about women or the ways of the heart, and he disastrously sets out to make her happy—and make her fall in love with him—by disguising himself as “Raj,” a caricature of the modern Bollywood hero—a brash, hip, cocky Casanova—a character type that Khan himself has shaped over the course of his career, and the exaggerated self-referencing is comical. Surinder perpetuates this charade with the help of his flamboyant friend and hairstylist, Bobby (Vinay Pathak), who gives him a makeover and lends him his wardrobe and motorcycle.

Taani is bored and lonely, so she enrolls in a local dance competition. Surinder joins the dance class dressed as Raj and becomes Taani’s dance partner, and they spend a lot of time together working on their routine. Raj lavishes her with attention, openly professes his feelings for her, and shares her love of dancing, while Surinder quietly tries to please her in his own shy way. He hopes she’ll fall in love with Surinder, but she starts to have feelings for Raj, as any woman would, especially an emotionally starved woman in a loveless marriage she didn’t want. Bobby angrily points out to him that he’s unfairly testing Taani and urges him to reveal the truth to her. But Surinder stubbornly insists that in order for their marriage to work, she must come to love him for who he is, and if she doesn’t, then he must set her free so she can be happy.

The Pandora’s box that his deception opens is also full of moving discoveries. The story poetically equates romantic love with divine love and explores the religious dimension of marriage—the title itself means “A Match Made in Heaven.”

Fittingly, given the dance competition, the musical numbers are fantastic.

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi is rated Must See.

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