Aditya Chopra does his best to churn out a screenplay like DDLJ, and almost succeeds until a Japanese Sumo wrestler pulls the mat under his feet.

Rab ne bana di jodi starts off with a predictable done-to-death sequence of a dying father marrying off his ‘responsibility’- a chirpy young lass, Taani (Anushka Sharma) to his eligible student Surinder Sahni (SRK Part 1). The initial premise is interesting– the bubbly as Amritsari lassi Taani is betrothed to the dull as the back of a non-Punjabi truck- Suri. Suri of the thick spectacle-frames fame, with a thicker moustache, loves his yellow lunch box, rides a scooter and politely attends to phone calls at Punjab Power. But he cannot confess his love to his new unwilling bride. He sleeps in a cramped barsaati and crouches over his laptop with his pendrive dangling from the cord around his neck and simultaneously stuck in the port, cranking his neck. He is lovable, quiet as a mouse, prays at the Golden Temple, makes his own toast for breakfast and is everything your regular SRK is not.

Taani finds dance interesting and joins a dance contest to drive away her blues. Enter Suri’s barber dost, played superbly by Vinay Pathak. And Clark Kent becomes Superman by day. The metamorphosis from Suri to the tight jeans clad Raj (SRK part 2)  is interesting, but implausible. If Raj can be articulate in a jiffy, why can’t Suri? If Raj can sway a woman off her feet and flirt with her, why should his alter ego be shy? And if we can see through that disguise, why can’t Taani?

The movie does have its sparkling moments- some good Punjabi-fied dialogues, a great Taani turns Dhoom 3 sequence, Suri waltzing in the finale with his pen firmly in his pocket . And it is light and frothy. But it isn’t DDLJ. The three main protagonists – SRK, Anushka and Vinay Pathak- do justice to their jobs. The dance sequences are spiritless, though Kajol dazzles in the minute long time she is on screen. The phulkari dupattas work, so do some typical Adi Chopra dialogues.

The ‘tujh me rab rehta hai’ song stays with you when you leave. The remaining are forgettable. The end credits with Mount Fujiyama snapshots are a must see. You do leave with a smile. Well, the movie reminded me of my last trip to Amritsar and the Kake da dhaba’s paranthas, so here is a snapshot from my camera.