'Prem Ratan Dhan Payo' - Movie Review

'Prem Ratan Dhan Payo' - Movie Review

'Prem Ratan Dhan Payo'
U; Drama/Romance
Cast: Salman Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Armaan Kohli, Anupam Kher, Deepak Dobriyal, Swara Bhaskar
Director : Sooraj Barjatya
Rating:

What would you expect from a Sooraj Barjatya-Salman Khan collaboration? 'Prem Ratan Dhan Payo' has all that and err... just that... Their most successful film together, 'Hum Aapke Hain Kaun' had charmed us off our feet with its simple story, good-hearted lead pair, melodious music and a family crisis. Barjatya, seems to have woken up from a Rip Van Winkle brand of slumber to serve us the same syrupy sweet dish in a new, shiny plate. It obviously didn't occur to him that the simplicity that was endearing twenty years back, can end up looking incredibly silly now.

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A still from 'Prem Ratan Dhan Payo'. Pic/Santa Banta

In what is definitely designed as a double treat for Salman Khan fans, he gets to play two characters. One, Prem Dilwale, a good-hearted, mischievous actor in a local Ram Leela troupe and the other's the stiff prince Vijay Singh of Preetampura.

The story (more or less like a desi ethnic version of Amitabh Bachchan's stylish 1978 film 'Don') is about how Prem Dilwale gets to live the prince's life for a few days, due to some unavoidable circumstances. It helps that the girl (Sonam Kapoor) Prem has a crush on, happens to be the prince's fiancée.

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In Prem's role, Salman is his charming self, doing what comes naturally to him, buffoonery and prancing around. But in the uptight prince's role he looks as uncomfortable as someone would if they were put in a straitjacket.

Swara Bhaskar, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Anupam Kher, and the others give good support. Sonam looks gorgeous and is sincere.

The sets are beautiful, the clothes are dreamy and the locales are immensely pleasing to the eye. But then what do you do with a beautiful woman who has nothing interesting to tell you?

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With a screenplay that's so lacklustre, dialogues so mediocre and settings so outdated, it might have been less torturous had the film not been painfully long at close to three hours. Mr. Winkle would have wanted to go back to sleep if he had been subjected to watching this one.

I was kept awake by the non-stop cheering and whistling by the 'Bhai' fans around me at the 'First Day First Show'. So, watch it if just looking at him on screen is paisa vasool for you.