RAB NE BANA DI JODI: Height of mediocrity

DIRECTOR: Aditya Chopra
STARRING: Shah Rukh Khan, Anushka Sharma, Vinay Pathak.

REVIEW: The much-awaited and highly hyped SRK starrer 'Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi', I daresay, does not really live up to its expectations. The basic message is, perhaps, barred somewhere beneath multiple layers of masala scenes. The movie starts-off well, with a unique premise, but the story looses its sheen even before the intermission, and the audience just waits for the movie to end.
The plot centers around a certain simpleton Surinder Sahni (Shah Rukh Khan), who is a geeky common man living in the city of Amritsar, and her not-so-satisfied-in-love wife Taani (Anushka Sharma), who is bound forcefully to Surinder as his wife, because of a wish taken by her father on his death-bed, shortly after Taani's fiance dies tragically on the eve of their wedding.
Surinder secretely loves Taani, but is disappointed on the very first day of his marriage, when Taani makes it clear that she would not be able to love him, and it is merely a compulsion for her to live with him. To woo her, Surinder then trasforms himself into the cool and flamboyant dude, Raj,with the help of his friend Bobby (Vinay Pathak).
The main problem with Rab Ne... is that it underestimates the intelligence of the audience, and rather than building up on the refreshing premise of the story, it tries to mould it into a masala story, and ends up as a disaster.
The second half simply drags on, keeping the viewers waiting for the credits. The songs are very badly placed, and act as toilet-breaks for the audience. Even some of the good dialogues and touching scenes of the movie cannot compensate for the mindless and not-so-funny sequences, such as the "fight scene" between SRK and a sumo wrestler.
Shah Rukh looks great as the calm and down-to-earth Surinder Sahni, and strikes the right note with audience. But in the role of the cool dude Raj, he seems to be over-acting, and I can say that its not one of his most memorable acts. Anushka Sharma is just OK, and her act is easily forgettable. Vinay Pathak is decent as a side-kick to Shah Rukh. Overall, Rab Ne... can surely be given a miss.

RATING: A 2.5/5 for decent acting, and a lukewarm romantic comedy.