Imagine a world where your biggest problem is deciding which Priyanka Chopra clone you should marry.
It is this world in which director Ashutosh Gowariker's romantic-comedy asks you to spend three-and-a-half hours. What's Your Raashee? is a film that works in parts but the parts that don't work are just full of glaring flaws. Starring Harman Baweja, Priyanka Chopra, Priyanka Chopra, Priyanka Chopra, Priyanka Chopra, Priyanka Chopra, Priyanka Chopra, Priyanka Chopra, Priyanka Chopra, Priyanka Chopra, Priyanka Chopra, Priyanka Chopra and Priyanka Chopra, "Raashee" has music by newcomer Sohail Sen. So, what's the plot-shee?
Yogesh (Baweja) is a student in Chicago who works very hard. He is the favorite of his grandfather who decides that Yogesh will inherit all of his wealth on the day of his marriage. Upon hearing this, Yogesh's family tricks him into coming back to India to get married so that they can use the money to pay off Yogesh's brother's gambling debts. He has only ten days to get married (a deadline given by the don). Thus he is taken by a family friend to meet twelve different girls - each of a different Raashee or horoscope. The reason he does this is because since he does not have time to properly fall in love, he decides that he can figure out with which girl he can learn to love if they are humraashees. Thus begins the search for the perfect girl!
By now we all know that each girl is played by Priyanka Chopra. Here is a list of the twelve characters, their featured song and a short review for each. They are in order of appearance:
Anjali - Aries (no song)
Priyanka's acting is superb here, providing Anjali with a whole different accent. It is funny and sweet and you kind of want Yogesh to marry her.
Sanjana - Aquarius (Jao Naa)
Sanjana is bland; this is the Priyanka we've seen many times before. She looks stunning but the only difference between Sanjana and PC's other roles is Sanjana's jungle fever.
Kaajal - Gemini (Aaja Lehraate)
Kaajal is adorable and endearingly naive. Harman Baweja has great chemistry with this avatar but you know they're not meant to be.
Hansa - Cancer (Bikhri Bikhri)
This is my personal favorite. Priyanka does amazing acting here, and she does it all with her eyes and body language. Yogesh represents a shimmer of hope for Hansa and I immediately decided that he has to marry her. He doesn't, the jerk.
Rajni - Libra (Maanunga Maanunga)
This is the second dud. It could have been funny but the writing fails the cast. Priyanka looks great but we all know her to be too nice to effectively play the tough-as-nails character in such a short time.
Chandrika - Pisces (Sau Janam)
By time you get to Chandrika, you have to go to the bathroom and your patience is being tested. While there are some good/funny moments, poor writing again gets in the way. The song goes on way too long also. Luckily, Chandrika is close enough to the intermission to solve that bathroom issue.
Mallika - Leo (Dhadkan Dhadkan)
This starts out as another bland role for Priyanka but the sequence is elevated by some unexpected comedy.
Nandini - Scorpio (Aa Le Chal)
If the Cancer segment had the best dramatic acting, then this is by far the funniest one. Priyanka gets to show off her inherent flair for comedy especially in the part where she... you know what, I won't spoil it. It is just that funny.
Pooja - Virgo (Pyaari Pyaari)
The problem with the Virgo vignette is that it starts off very adorably, becomes romantic through the song and then just ends. Pooja, a doctor who wants to work in poor villages, declares that she won't move to the US (which honestly should have been cleared up prior to their meeting) and that's it. All of the chemistry just goes out the window.
Vishaka - Taurus (Su Chhe)
This one was just really frustrating. Vishaka is a rich heiress who pretends to be insane to test her suitors. Okay, fine, except that Yogesh rejects her for that reason and yet he never learns that the insanity was an act. Maybe they could have made it? Priyanka's acting and the wonderful "Su Chhe" video save this one.
Bhavna - Sagittarius (Salone Kya)
I loved the concept of the Bhavna vignette. See, Bhavna, who strictly adheres to astrological signs, says that she needs to sleep with Yogesh now otherwise their marriage will fail within a year. So she tries to seduce him with the song (my favorite song, actually). Except that Ashutosh Gowariker was too afraid to get risque and instead gives a frustratingly tame sequence and musical number. Missed opportunity, Ashu!
Jhankana - Capricorn (Koi Jaane Na)
This one was just heartbreaking. Jhankana is a fifteen-year-old girl but her parents are trying to pass her off as 19. Understandably, Yogesh rejects her and tells her parents to let her continue her studies and enjoy her childhood.
The big question is: Does Priyanka succeed in creating 12 different characters who are unique and identifiable as separate beings? The answer is a resounding YES! While some of the Raashees are better than others (the top four being Scorpio, Cancer, Aries and Capricorn, pictured in that order), all of the characters are fully realized women with different habits, dialects and personalities. Even the ones that leave a lot to be desired (Taurus, Pisces, Libra and Sagittarius being the four worst) are a treat to watch purely for the spectacle of seeing Priyanka fully embody multiple characters.
Harman Baweja, on the other hand, just is not as good an actor. I applaud him for being secure enough to accept a role where the focus will always be on the heroine(s). He's charming and not painful. But he's not AMAZING either.
The supporting cast is terrible. They're all from the 1970s and they just don't know how to act credibly or subtly. This movie belongs to Priyanka and Harman and they have no help from anyone else.
11 of the 12 Raashees have their own song and there are 2 versions of the title song. The songs are all awesome on CD. There is a lot of diversity and the choice of singers is very well-done.
But, a little less than a third of the movie is song. Usually I'm never a fan of cutting songs in half for the movie (a common plight of Rahman songs) but for this movie it just seemed necessary. Some songs like "Aa Le Chal" and "Aaja Lehraate" are the right length (3 to 3.5 minutes). But some songs like "Sau Janam" and "Maanunga Maanunga" are way too long. The first half of "Sau Janam" takes place in real time and then the second half switches to a dream sequence (a parody of 90s love songs). They could have just kept the dream sequence and axed the real time portion.
Poor editing choices run rampant in the movie. Extraneous sub-plots and unnecessary scenes are plentiful and this is what brings down what could have been a great movie. It's almost as if Ashu was so in love with the rough cut that he just couldn't part with any of it. His movies have always been long but this one just feels longer and harder to sit through.
And, it takes them forever to get to the first Raashee. It's almost as if they know that we've come to see Priyanka so they held her off for as long as possible.
So, should you see this movie? Well, yes. Why would you miss out on one of the finest displays of acting talent that I've ever seen? Just be prepared to sit through everything you don't want to see. It makes me sad that Priyanka Chopra (and to an extent, Harman Baweja) have to deal with all of the unnecessary parts of the film along with all of the wonderful parts. This is one to watch only for Priyanka Chopra and her awesomeness. What's Your Raashee? rates a 6.5/10.
