What's Your Raashee? (2009) Reviews

• Had potential, but...

  Bond_9112009-09-19

  I saw this movie at it's Toronto International Film Festival premier. Having watched the hilarious promos, I was very excited. For the few who don't know the plot, I'll give a brief outline. Yogesh Patel (Harman) is a MBA student at the University of Chicago. He is supposed to inherit his maternal grandfather's wealth once he gets married. In order to pay back his brother's huge debt he is forced by his family to get married and being the emotionally sensitive that he is, he gives in to his family's plead. He then decides to see 12 girls (all played by Priyanka Chopra), one from each Rashee (sun sign) in 10 days and decide the one he likes the most. Okay, now to the actors. Each of the 12 characters's stories are unique and well detailed. Priyanka does a fantastic job at playing each role to perfection, well almost, there are some hiccups here and there. But, one has to really commend her growth as an actress. Harman was okay and still showed signs of immaturity as an actor. Though it was big improvement from the horrendous Love Story 2050. The movie is 192 minutes long and you can feel it. Ashutosh really needs to make his movies shorter. The direction otherwise is top-class. The THIRTEEN songs are not that bad, but nowhere close to the expectations one would set for an A-list movie. I personally only liked the title track. What let's it down is the storyline. The story gets slightly boring at times but it picks up and manages to keep you hooked and laughing for 180 minutes. It's what happens in the last 10 minutes is what ruined it, the ending is one of the worst I have ever seen. They build up such a suspense through out the move and it is perfectly poised for a big climax... and nothing. It ends in a lull. I definitely recommend the movie for Priyanka's hilarious and outstanding performance and romantic comedy fans will surely love it. But, it was definitely not worth the $45 I spent on the premier, I would have preferred waiting for a week and watched it for 1/4th the price.

• A major letdown...

  namashi_12009-09-25

  Ashutosh Gowariker has become a brand over the years, he has made milestones like 'Lagaan', 'Swades' & 'Jodhaa Akbar'. Expectations are bound to be there, reading his name creates a excitement in a cine-lover, and I being his die-hard went & watched his latest outing 'What's Your Raashee?'. Sadly, The Ace Filmmaker misses the bus this time! On the whole 'What's Your Raashee?' is long, boring and complicated. Accomplished filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker disappoints big time with his latest outing. Plus, the excessive running time will prove to be a major disadvantage. 13 good songs {though they appear very boring in the film}, good performances & decent camera-work can't save, when a tacky screenplay is aside. As a fan of Gowariker, I am hugely disappointed. The Academy-Award-Nominated Filmmaker makes his weakest fare in 'What's Your Raashee?'. Pluses: The first hr, to an extend is entertaining. Music by Sohail Sen is fantastic; but looks forced in the film completely. Camera-work is decent. Performances are good: Priyanka is remarkable. She plays the very first character & the part of the doctor exceedingly well. Harman is likable. Darshan Jariwala is superb, so are Anjan Shrivastav, Dilip Joshi & Rajesh Vivek. Minuses: The screenplay. The film is very very lengthy, and the songs are a major bore. In fact if some songs were deleted, the movie could've been a bit better. Plus, the Darshan Jariwala-Anjan Shrivastav-Rajesh Vivek track seems forced. Let's hope that the next time Ashu returns as the captain of the ship, he makes a hell of a good film.

• Excellent movie

  parvez-52009-09-28

  I like all Ashutosh Gowarikar's earlier creations, but when I read the reviews of "Whats your rashee?" I decided against watching the movie. It was forcing of my 3 1/2 year old son which made us go to theatre to watch the movie, believe me its an amazing movie. I don't know why critics love to hate good movies, people like Rajeev Masand think themselves to be god and write whatever they want. But once you watch the movie you will see the brilliance. People are hating 12 songs but those songs take movie forward, length of the movie might be long but I didn't get bored for a single second. No character looks out of place. of course critics like to watch some steamy scenes but this movie does not have one hence critics don't like that. Movie progresses so nicely. Priyanka Chopra steals the whole show but without the support of Harman Baweja it wouldn't have been possible. The whole plot seems so convincing. This is a must watch movie. Please don't go on length of the movie and the thought of 12 songs may be stopping you from going to theatre but those 12 songs are short and sweet. I am not a very big fan of Ashutosh Gowarikar, but this movie just blew my mind off. Go watch it now.

• A Nutshell Review: What's Your Raashee?

  DICK STEEL2009-09-26

  I've been following the films made by Ashutosh Gowariker, who has helmed huge epics and worked with the biggest names in Bollywood today, such as Lagaan with Amir Khan, Swades with Shah Rukh Khan, and his previous film Jodhaa Akbar starring Hrithik Roshan and Ashwarya Rai Bachchan. And it's a fact that his films have runtimes of about 3.5 hours, which goes by real quickly as he keeps the story engaging, and the production values for this films are nothing less than magnificent. So naturally my interest was piqued as the auteur has now turned his sights on a romantic comedy, and I wonder exactly how a filmmaker such as he would be able to tackle this mass-appeal genre. Based on the novel "Kimbali Ravenswood" by Madhu Rye, What's Your Rashee? (or translated as star sign for the English speaking audience) has all the ingredients that would allow for the runtime to stretch to a typical Gowariker length, but that's only because the challenge is to present all 12 female characters representing their respective star signs with attempts at equal runtime for each, with a song being inserted during the whirlwind courtship, clocking 13 tunes when the typical production averages 5. Think of it as an extreme speed dating where we get to know the opposite sex in some detail, with some travelling involved as the production showcased different districts in Mumbai, which of course is an eye-opener for one who has never visited India, yet. The story's actually nothing sophisticated, and by romantic comedy standards quite predictable at times. Basically Yogesh Patel (Harman Buweja), an Non-Resident Indian living in Chicago has been summoned back to India because his parents learnt of his multi-million dollar inheritance from his grandfather should he get married, and the family now needs that kind of money to pay off his brother's debts. He reluctantly agrees of course, and sets himself up to meet initially hundreds of girls, but inspiration struck and he decided that he should be 12, one maiden under each star sign. The main draw of the film is of course actress Priyanka Chopra, who has taken on possibly her most challenging film to date, playing 12 characters with more than 12 personalities. Why I say this is because some of her characters are putting on a facade, thus allowing more room for Priyanka to showcase her acting chops, which she did, with the help of stylists decking her out in beautiful dresses, varying make up, wigs, contact lenses and prosthetics even. That's only the physical outlook – you would be amazed at the physical presentation at how chameleon-like this ex-Miss World can be – and she takes her roles on with gusto to make you feel with some, laugh at some, and endear towards some through some wonderful pieces of acting. Not to mention that she broke the record set by Kamal Hassan, who tackled 10 characters in his movie Dasavatharam. Unfortunately for Harman Baweja, who's in need for a booster to his fledging career after the flop Love Story 2050 (which incidentally also co-starred Priyanka), and the lacklustre Victory, his role as Yogesh, quite obsessed with doing the right thing each time, finds himself constantly upstaged and overshadowed by Priyanka's performance. It's a little pity of course, given that if it's anyone who can help him it'll likely be Gowariker given the director's strengths, but this was not to be as it's pretty much the leading lady's vehicle. But that's not to mean that Gowariker's film here is without flaws. Amongst his works to date, I feel that this was perhaps the weakest of the lot, suffering from a number of subplots which provided nothing more than a distraction to the meat of the story, such as that involving the infidelity of his uncle and marriage-consultant (Darshan Zariwala), and that of the loansharks who pop up now and then for unnecessary comic relief. However, its strengths more than compensated for its drawbacks, such as how Priyanka just ran with her opportunities to shine, 12 times. The story also provided some insights into how arranged marriages, with dowries and all, are still conducted and quite a cultural thing, and the plights that some family face with having too many daughters, and wondering how best to have them married off. As the encounters with the different women were rather stand- alone, each allowed for the examination of traits and characteristics that will make you love, or loathe, and generally applies across the board, which allows you to identify with such instances. But for all its narrative twists in secrets that cannot be kept, for its fleeting discussions on honesty or lack thereof, what I enjoyed most was the quasi-explanation of why the females that Yogesh meets, all share a striking resemblance with one another, which other characters don't seem to agree with, but only to the male protagonist. I liked how it was mentioned that we all have this preconceived idea of how our soul mate would preferably look like, and from then we tend to project this thought onto whomever we think would have a chance with, or at least tend to take those physical bits into consideration, only for their inner character, when revealed, to be anything but adhering to our dreams. What's Your Raashee? for the romantic in me, worked wonders, and will leave you guessing at the end just who Yogesh would end up with, since Gowariker deliberately kept you hanging in suspense for as long as he possibly could. I'd recommend it as a date movie anytime if you're looking for something different from the usual Hollywood fare. Just remember to empty your bladders before the show starts, or you'll have to plan to hit the loo just about the time Leo gets introduced, for that inbuilt intermission.

• Stop the unfair criticism of WYR!

  analyze-joe2009-10-02

  It is time someone put a stop to this trashing of a perfectly fine film that has been crafted with much thought and creativity. Is the movie very long? Yes, it is and SO WHAT? This may not be Oscar material, but Priyanka shines in every single role she dons, and Harman is a neat foil to her with his gentlemanly persona and apt acting (he too has come under very unfair criticism, our "superstars" would have looked out of place as Yogesh Patel). The music is superlative, since the movie was to take 13 songs, Sohail Sen has made a real effort to make each not just melodious but also very contextual. "Bikhri Bikhri" is superbly composed, its inspiring lyrics (Javed Akhtar) have been ably handled. The title song, a Jazz number, with which the movie opens is mesmerizing. "Aaja Lehraate" has been on the music channels and gives Harman enough scope to showcase his dancing skills. Now the story, it is not meant to be taken too literally and too seriously, although almost every character that Priyanka plays has something to say about the society we live in; nothing too preachy but yes it does make you think a bit. The most touching are the Priyanka who admits to having had an affair and the Priyanka who is tutored to act Western but is too clumsy to pass as such. The comedy does not have the people falling off their chairs in desperate throes of howling laughter, but it certainly puts a smile on most faces. Gowarikar has done a good job, instead of asking for edits I would say he should have made WYR I and WYR II, each two-hour long, both released within a space of 3 months. At least people would have stopped complaining about its length! Let us for once appreciate something that dares to be different and is yet entertaining.