Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (), also known by its initialism as RNBDJ, is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Aditya Chopra and produced by his father Yash Chopra under their production banner of Yash Raj Films. It marked Aditya Chopra's return to direction after an eight-year hiatus following Mohabbatein. The film stars Shah Rukh Khan as Surinder Sahni, a mild-mannered office employee who marries his deceased professor's daughter, Taani, portrayed by Anushka Sharma in her debut. His friend, played by Vinay Pathak, eventually transforms him into the fun-loving "Raj Kapoor" to win Taani's love. The film's music was composed by Salim–Sulaiman.

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi was released worldwide on 12 December 2008 and received positive reviews from critics. It performed strongly at the box-office, grossing over to become the highest-grossing Hindi film of the year overseas, and highest-grossing film of Khan's career at the time. The film received limited pre-release promotion due to the concerns regarding cinema attendance following the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

At the 54th Filmfare Awards, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi received a leading 10 nominations, including Best Film, Best Director (Aditya), Best Actor (Khan), Best Actress (Sharma) and Best Supporting Actor (Pathak), and won 2 awards – Best Male Playback Singer (Sukhwinder Singh for "Haule Haule") and Best Scene of the Year.

The film's script was recognized by a number of critics and was invited to be included in the Margaret Herrick Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, just a day after its release. The script is accessible for research purposes only; students, filmmakers, writers, and actors are among the regular patrons.

Plot Shy and introverted Surinder “Suri” Sahni, an employee of Punjab Power, falls in love with Taani Gupta, the daughter of his former professor, during preparations for her wedding. When Taani’s fiancé dies in a traffic accident, her father suffers a fatal heart attack and asks Suri to marry her so she will not be alone. After Taani's father dies, Suri and Taani get married and move into Suri's ancestral home. Later on, Suri's office colleagues and his best friend Bobby invite themselves to his house for a party after learning of his marriage despite Suri trying to cover it up. Suri feels akward as he cannot make a depressed Taani meet them, but is later surprised when she shows up. Taani explains she can never love him.

While living in Amritsar, Suri treats Taani with kindness but is unable to express his feelings. Seeking excitement in her otherwise unhappy life, Taani joins a dance class. Feeling inadequate compared with the confident men she admires, Suri adopts the flamboyant alter ego “Raj,” with the help of his friend Bobby. Disguised, he enrolls in the same dance class and becomes Taani’s partner in a dance competition. Unaware of Raj’s true identity, Taani gradually grows close to him.

Raj eventually confesses his love for Taani, placing her in a dilemma between her growing feelings for him and her sense of duty toward Suri. Although she briefly considers eloping with Raj, a visit to the Golden Temple leads her to reflect on Suri’s devotion and believe their marriage is divinely ordained. She decides not to run away.

At the dance competition, as Taani waits for Raj, she is surprised to see Suri appearing. As the couple starts dancing, Taani in a flashback realizes that Raj and Suri are the same person. Confronting him backstage upon conclusion, she learns of his love and tearfully accepts him after confessing how she feels. The couple reconcile after Suri comforts her, win the competition, and leave for their honeymoon in Japan.

Cast

Special appearances in the song "Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte"

Preity Zinta as Sharmila Tagore Kajol as Nargis Rani Mukerji as Neetu Singh Bipasha Basu as Sadhana Shivdasani Lara Dutta as Helen

Production

Themes Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi tells a story from the point of view of an ordinary person and, most importantly, conveys a message that being 'ordinary' is cool. The filmmakers were confident that it would be able to strike a chord with millions because the film has ordinary people as its target audience:

"As middle-class people, so many of us have a routine life. We wake up in the morning, get dressed, go to the office, come back, sometimes for a change we buy things to take home, watch TV, eat dinner and go to sleep. And then we repeat this day after day, week after week. Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi talks about one such man who lives a routine life. It is a simple film at heart."

Casting In February 2008, Aditya Chopra announced that he would be helming a film titled Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi which would once again star his lucky mascot, Shah Rukh Khan. It was initially speculated that Sonam Kapoor was cast as the lead actress, and that the film is inspired by the 1964 Hollywood film My Fair Lady, however Kapoor eventually dismissed reports about her inclusion in the film. The female lead was to be a newcomer who would be chosen following a massive talent hunt for a young, demure woman with quintessential Punjabi features. In May 2008, Yash Raj announced the casting of the 20-year-old model Anushka Sharma as the leading lady opposite Khan. Yash Chopra commented: "We were looking first for someone who could truly embody the spirit of small-town Punjab. We know we have found her in Anushka. While she has no previous acting experience, we have seen that unique spark in her that makes us confident that she will be a standout even opposite Shah Rukh."

Sharma was chosen over hundreds of girls for this role and was kept hidden from the media during the filming. When asked about that, Khan said: "The idea was not to keep her a secret; we wanted her work to speak for her. When new actors come into films, it is important for people to see their work and then question them. It becomes easier after the film releases." Vinay Pathak was cast to play an important role in the film, making it his first commercial outing.

Filming Principal photography began in May 2008 with producer Yash Chopra present at the shoot. A portion of the film was shot with Khan at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab. Khan had to lose the six-pack abs he developed for the song "Dard-E-Disco" from Om Shanti Om (2007) since he was playing the role of a very normal, regular person.

Music

The soundtrack of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi was composed by Salim–Sulaiman, with lyrics written by Jaideep Sahni, marking their second collaboration with Khan after Chak De! India (2007). The album was mixed by Vijay Dayal at YRF Studios in Mumbai and was mastered by Brian "Big Bass" Gardner at Bernie Grundman Mastering in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California.

The song "Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte" pays homage to Bollywood actors Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Shammi Kapoor, Rajesh Khanna and Rishi Kapoor and actresses Nargis Dutt, Sadhana Shivdasani, Helen Khan, Sharmila Tagore and Neetu Singh. The performance of the song includes appearances by Kajol Devgn, Bipasha Basu, Lara Dutta, Preity Zinta and Rani Mukerji."Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi's music fails to excite", rediff.com, November 2008.

Serbian pop singer Jelena Karleuša remade the song "Dance Pe Chance" as "Insomnia" in 2010. Bulgarian pop singer Ivana also made a copy of the same song as "Nedei".

The soundtrack of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi was released on 14 November 2008. It is the first Bollywood soundtrack to reach the top 10 album sales for the iTunes Store. According to the Indian trade website Box Office India, with around 19,00,000 units sold, this film's soundtrack album was the year's second highest-selling.

Release

Theatrical Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi was released across 30 countries worldwide on 12 December 2008 on over 1,200 screens, including approximately 300 prints for the overseas market, making it the first time a Bollywood film was released on such a wide scale. Before release, the film witnessed a large volume of advance bookings. Aditya Chopra, who is known for maintaining secrecy over his films and not showing them to anyone until the day of release, made an exception and held a special screening on 23 November 2008 at Yash Raj Studios. The screening was attended by Khan and his family, Karan Johar, Yash Chopra, and debutante Sharma.

There was a huge debate in the industry whether Aditya Chopra's decision to go ahead with the release of the film in the wake of the terror strikes in Mumbai was the right one. With the trauma of the terrorist attacks on Mumbai city from 26–29 November still fresh, there was divided opinion on the release schedule. While some felt that Chopra should go ahead with the release because the public, tired and depressed after watching news of the attacks and the aftermath on television screens, would be waiting for a true entertainer to divert its mind, others thought he should postpone the film release as the audiences, not just in Mumbai but all over the country, were still not in a mood to visit theatres.

Promotion The first poster of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi was released in October in theatres and multiplexes across India, with full-page advertisements in national dailies. The first theatrical promo was released on 14 November, with Karan Johar's Dostana. Initially very little was known about the movie, and there were many theories floating around on the Internet about the story. The first music promo of the song "Haule Haule" was released on 2 November 2008, across all leading television channels to coincide with Khan's 43rd birthday. The song promo had received praise from the public.

Home media Joginder Tuteja of Bollywood Hungama gave the DVD of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi 3.5 out of 5 stars stating that it is a good choice if you "want to watch a clean family movie at home." The DVD includes the documentaries, The Making of the Film and The Making of the Songs ("Haule Haule", "Dance Pe Chance", "Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte"), as well as a number of deleted scenes and interviews. The film, was released on Blu-ray a year after its theatrical release. The movie is currently available on Netflix.

Reception

Critical reception