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Review: In Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, it's Salman Khan all the way ‒ dipped in desi ghee

Review: In Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, it's Salman Khan all the way ‒ dipped in desi ghee

The bulky star is the best thing about Sooraj Barjatya’s family saga about inheritance, betrayal and reconciliation
13 Nov, 2015

After playing a human version of the god Hanuman in Bajrangi Bhaijaan earlier this year, Salman Khan returns as an avatar of Lord Ram in Sooraj Barjatya’s Prem Ratan Dhan Payo.

The title has been inspired by the Hindu prayer Payoji Maine Ram Ratan Dhan Payo, and the whole movie genuflects before the powers of the screen god who holds every character big and insignificant in thrall.

Barjatya made Salman Khan a star with Maine Pyar Kiya in 1989, and 26 years later, Khan has clearly outgrown his mentor. He is in nearly every frame of the movie, and nothing works in his absence.

Khan plays Prem, a Ramlila performer from Ayodhya who is the spitting image of Vijay Singh, the duty-bound and humourless prince of the fictitious kingdom Pritampur. Vijay Singh is at war with his step-brother Ajay (Neil Nitin Mukesh) and step-sisters Chandrika (Swara Bhaskar) and Radhika (Aashika Bhatia), and as the date for his crowning as Pritampur’s king approaches, his heart grows heavy. Is that the reason he chooses such an antiquated mode of transport as a horse-drawn carriage?

Vijay is removed from the scene by an accident engineered by Ajay and his co-conspirator Chirag (Armaan Kohli), followed by the chance spotting of Prem at a marketplace by the prince’s loyalists. The commoner takes the place of the royal, and the movie moves into Bawarchi mode.

Prem starts correcting Vijay’s minor wrongs and wins the heart of his reluctant fiancé, the princess Maithili (Sonam Kapoor). Aided by the faithful family retainer known only as Bapu (Anupam Kher), Prem emerges as the maryada purush, or idealised Hindu male, that Vijay should have been.

Formula food

Barjatya’s latest overcooked family opus is dipped in the same batter of clarified butter and sugar from which emerged Hum Aapke Hain Koun, Hum Saath Saath Hain and Vivah.

The expected ingredients are all there -- the importance of the family unit, the emphasis on propriety and good public behaviour, the celebration of mercantile culture, the worship of wealth and social status, the assigned roles for men and women. This is the fairy tale world of Disney movies, but with Indian touches.

Rajshri films are to Indian cinema what Vicco Vajradanti is to the toothpaste industry – locally produced and proudly conservative – but the family-owned banner has been forced to acknowledge that popular taste has shifted since the mid-1990s.

Prem Ratan Dhan Payo contains what might constitute radical alterations to the Rajshri template. Sonam Kapoor’s princess has the temerity to wear a strapless black dress and gets clingy and cuddly with Prem. Some of Prem’s dance moves fit right into the average Salman Khan movie, and his overall personality is a milder and more controlled version of the typical streetwise devil-may-care Salman Khan type rather than the polite and dutiful Rajshri hero.

The star swallows up the character whole, but it works in this case, since Prem Ratan Dhan Payo has nobody else in its sights. The characters of Sonam Kapoor and Anupam Kher are the most fleshed out in an otherwise sketchy narrative.

Barjatya shows his hand while directing the tender family moments but he doesn’t have any feel for thrillers. The conspiracy that replaces Vijay with Prem is mostly forgotten, and the real question is not whether or not Vijay will return, but who will walk away with the bride.

Sonam Kapoor is 20 years younger than Khan – she was four when Maine Pyar Kiya was released – and the age gap is painfully apparent in the numerous romantic moments. Yet, she doesn’t have a fourth of her senior’s energy. Salman Khan works harder at his twin roles than he has in recent movies, and he turns on the charm for the director who set him on his remarkable career.

Prem Ratan Dhan Payo muddles through its 174 minutes, neither hitting the highs expected from such an expensive and high-profile project nor the lows that plague mid-career filmmakers. Like its intended audience, the movie sticks firmly in the middle.


This article was originally published at Scroll.in, and has been reproduced with permission.

Comments

Kiran Nov 13, 2015 02:33pm
Sonam Kapoor is 20 years younger than Khan – she was four when Maine Pyar Kiya was released – and the age gap is painfully apparent in the numerous romantic moments . Great analysis :)
Recommend
Jawaid Islam Nov 13, 2015 04:14pm
Rajshri productions since Hum Aapke Hein Kon, have overdone family emotions, overdone animal parts' feels so artificial!
Recommend
Raja Parekh Nov 13, 2015 04:30pm
Just yesterday watched this movie painfully. Bakwas. A trash and mahabore.
Recommend
Sunil Nov 13, 2015 04:38pm
Still the movie will gross more than 100 crore, as there are typical Salman Khan fans, who do not care about script.
Recommend
Khalid Nov 13, 2015 05:11pm
The story of The Prisoner of Zenda copied and poorly displayed. The producer should have saved the budget for something original.
Recommend
Dipak Singh Nov 13, 2015 05:19pm
Common we need break from these oldies...
Recommend
Insanely Atheist Nov 13, 2015 05:58pm
Just follow your heart, If you liked the trailer you would love the movie.
Recommend
Brohi Nov 13, 2015 06:19pm
Who cares about story. People follow celebrities. Salman khan 's stars are in full swing. :)
Recommend
aashish Nov 13, 2015 06:33pm
One of the most disappointing movies of Salman Khan
Recommend
Pardesi Nov 13, 2015 08:25pm
Payoji maine is a Meera Bhai bhajan and not a prayer for God's sake!
Recommend
Let's prey! Nov 13, 2015 09:37pm
@Pardesi : Meera Bai fell actectically in spiritual love with Lord Krishna, and it appears became disillusioned after her marriage to a prince resulting in clinical depression. Her bhajans, like all bhajans, are prayers in deep adulation of Lord Krishna --unless your definition of prayer is to ask God for something?
Recommend
Zeeshan Soomro Nov 13, 2015 11:17pm
Salman Rocks & Sooraj Flops!. Salman however tried to adj in PRDP. Sooraj spends 2 years for writing PRDP story which have no legs nor twist, Just invested on lavish sets and huge crew. As Rasjshri /Sooraj Fan I must say Sooraj can do it best but he have to come fwd by keeping rajshri style backward as he did in MPK. Salman truly said "AGAR KOI AUR DIRECTOR HOTA TOH BAHIR PHIKWADETA BUT FOR YOU (SOORAJ) I WILL DO IT".
Recommend
a Nov 14, 2015 12:05am
@Pardesi Meera Bhai ?? And what is a BhaJan ? Not a prayer song ??
Recommend
Pankaj Nagpal Nov 14, 2015 12:53am
movie is awesome...it depends on your taste...family values shown in movie are awesome...
Recommend
Pankaj Nagpal Nov 14, 2015 12:54am
movie is awesome..it all depends on your taste...
Recommend
Abdul Karim Nov 14, 2015 03:45am
He is not a Pakistani for your info.
Recommend
Jabbar Nov 14, 2015 05:28am
@Pardesi Correct.
Recommend
Jabbar Nov 14, 2015 05:29am
Correct
Recommend
Hasan Nov 14, 2015 08:10am
SALMAN is one of the 'S' that sells like hot cake in India...
Recommend
Dipak Singh Nov 14, 2015 10:10am
@Pardesi Not Meera Bhai, its Meera Baai.
Recommend
san Nov 14, 2015 07:21pm
@Raja Parekh Very true. Maha Bakwas movie.Not expected from SurajBarjatya.It's just waste of time and money.Movie was weak from Acting, direction, story line point of view. Yes ..the only fascinating thing was colorful costumes.
Recommend
crazybrain Nov 14, 2015 07:58pm
Who cares about the story when actor is Salman Khan.. Financially this movie will do wonders.. But it will not have Bajrangi Bhaijaan type of effect...
Recommend
sikandar Nov 14, 2015 08:12pm
@Khalid I too agree with u when I seen I also a onserveved the same t prdp is juce of titanic, romio Juliet, muhabatein, dhoom-3 n prisoner of zinda thems, but making is excellent.
Recommend
Shakeel Ahmed Nov 14, 2015 08:42pm
Disappointing Film. Better watch Marathi films 'Katyar Kaljat Ghusali' and Mumbai to Pune 2. Splendid performances by Shankar Mahadevan and Sachin. It is a Marathi-Urdu film with great music. Sachin's Urdu is too good.
Recommend
Nalin Chauhan Nov 15, 2015 03:21am
Definitely not worth watching. Watch instead Marathi movie 'Katyar Kalajat Ghusal', great musical drama.
Recommend
Haseeb Khan Nov 17, 2015 12:28am
Excellent movie salman bhai rocks... Its all about loving ur family... Dats it.... If ur caring for ur family.... Den u lik the movie... Its all about love..... Bas aur kuch nhi... Its not having item song n masala n all dats y public dnt lik but who really cares loves to his or her family definately liks the movie most i promise u dat... Go n watch the movie... Kuch seekhne milega.... Sab ko... For me its an excellent n fantabulous movie......
Recommend
Haseeb Khan Nov 17, 2015 12:37am
Best part of family u can watch dis movie n njoy dis movie together its neat n clean movie no valgur scene no valgur words used only family bonding emotions tries to show in the movie..... PRDP.. Salute to salman bhai jo itni achi film release kiye at the mubarak tim of diwali..... So dat full family can watch the movie together n njoy together n tries to teach dat forget about ur egos rudeness n solve the grivancies from love..... Bcz familier is a familier....
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