Enough said about films that still fall [in literal
sense] for 80’s/90’s standard set of emotions to put the cash-registers ringing
at the box-office! No, they aren’t nostalgic anymore. Do not hide your sorry
state of creative drought behind the curtains of so-called ‘classic age-old
charm’! Kings do exist in today’s world; I am aware of some leading that
extravagant life in those grand forts of the ‘half palace-half heritage hotel’ nature
but trust me, there is no ‘Praja’ in any part of the country that dresses homogeneously
in pink sarees and in white kurta-dhoti. But for that tiny little piece of insight,
Sooraj R. Barjatya needs to get up from his dining table which serves a daily
dose of ‘Sanskar’ more than the reality. Rajshri Productions Pvt Ltd’s PREM RATAN DHAN PAYO is the
most confused film I have come across in my life. It neither bores you with its
trademark spell of ‘gyaan’ on true Indian values in a ‘softer than melting
cheese’ tone nor does tickle you with the all well-bred, polite and ‘cultured’ idea
of romance.
PREM RATAN DHAN PAYO comes from the house of traditions where
a copy of Ramayana should constantly be there on your study table, no matter
how old or young you are. Though the plot takes its cues from THE PRISONER OF ZENDA-
an 1894 novel by Anthony Hope and Mark Twain’s THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER, you
can easily find the inspirations and the aspirations straight from the Ramayana.
The king of ‘Whatever-pur’ [Sameer Dharmadhikari] had 3 wives like King
Dashrath had. Two of the wives being legal and one being often called as ‘mashooka’
of the king, there sure is plenty scope of step-brothers and step-sisters to
deal with.
So, the elder son Vijay [Salman Khan] has Ajay [Neil
Nitin Mukesh], Chandrika [Swara Bhaskar], Radhika [Aashika Bhatia] as his
step-siblings and all the setbacks a family of such nature could have. Just a
couple of days before his coronation; the prince meets a schemed fatal accident
and now, the trustworthy associates [Anupam Kher and gang] have no other choices
left but to replace him with his look-alike Prem [Salman, again] to save the
situation. Sonam Kapoor plays Maithili- the princess engaged to the real prince
but is now reinventing love in the fake one.
PREM RATAN DHAN PAYO is a shoddily directed film where
the scale is intentionally big but the soul in the content hardly makes an
appearance. Film opens in Ayodhya (a dream location for Rajshri] where Prem is
seen switching his accent carelessly and shamelessly from Awadhi to Rajasthani.
The battleground for the plot supposedly finds its root in a location 50 Kms
away from Ayodhya but can clearly be judged as some rocky royal place in
Rajasthan. Aren’t Google maps free to double-check? It’s not that Sooraj doesn’t
show any evolution in his mind. There is a constant joke on Anupam Kher being a
virgin and I think that’s an achievement for a Rajshri film. So what if in the
same film, the cleavage showing girl has to be the wicked one or vice-a-versa
and the short-skirts can only be worn behind the closed doors. In a scene; when
asked by a reporter if the coronation is not an out-dated procedure in today’s
times, the prince intimidates him with, “do you think traditions are funny?” I wish
I could answer on his behalf, “No sire, they aren’t funny but looking at what
you [Mr. Barjatya] suggest, they are definitely too plain, painful, pale and pointless
to be on screen”.
On the performances, I would not dare rate Mr Salman
Khan. Though he’s completely comfortable and contented in his zone, his fans
would certainly miss a lot of his ‘I don’t give a damn’ mannerism and slapstick
action. Sonam Kapoor tries hard, as usual. Arman Kohli as one of the conspirators
looks all bulky, grisly and ‘suit’able to the part but acts no better than Neil
Nitin Mukesh. Deepak Dobriyal impresses in a scene or two. Swara is so typecast
you would hardly notice if she’s from the sets of RAANJHNAA. And what was
Sanjai Mishra doing here?
At the end, I don’t see why and how this PREM RATAN DHAN
PAYO will entertain families in today’s times especially when there is no ‘Sanskar’
to look up to, no ‘Prem’ to feel shivers of emotion and no cinema [apart from
the grand sets and the heavily aspirational designer clothing] to at least calm
your senses. There is a scene having a camel gulping down Salman’s diary and suddenly
Salman starts calling it ‘Kamil’ for no rhyme and reason. Well, Kamil is none
other than the lyricist of the film Irshad Kamil and the joke is not at him but
at the makers as how ‘Sanskari’ you are towards your people of strength! Anything
3-hr long can be a drag but this one sets the milestone. ‘Raja-rani ki kahani’
still works to put you to sleep! [1.5/5]
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