A still from the movieBeneath all the sound and fury, Rohit Shetty's Dilwale is an honest attempt at paying tribute to Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol - Bollywood’s most celebrated couple - as they mark the 20th anniversary of their iconic film Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge.
The plot is simple and formulaic - boy meets girl, boys loses girl, boys reunites with girl - just like most Bollywood romantic dramas. But Shetty dilutes vintage SRK-Kajol romance with his trademark pulp fiction. So the protagonists here are progenies of two warring underworld dons in Bulgaria, meaning sparks are bound to fly.
The movie has Shah Rukh-Kajol romance with trademark Shetty pulp fictionWe spent much of our energy wrapping our heads around their love-hate game. So when our lead stars aren’t singing and dancing at exotic and mouthwatering locations across the globe, they are engaged in car chases on mountain tops or busy shooting each other.
Dilwale borrows lines and key plot moments from several hit Shah Rukh films like Baazigar, DDLJ, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Ghum, working out the nostaliga factor ever so well. It also gives the leads enough moments to bounce off each other, letting their much-celebrated chemistry do all the heavy-lifting.
Shetty also presents an ensemble A-list cast to present his story. Varun Dhawan, playing Shah Rukh's younger brother, is confident and goofy at the same time and shows good comic timing. Kriti Sanon, his love interest, looks pretty, walks pretty and talks pretty just as she is expected to, but the youngster also puts in a honest and unpretentious effort compared to the rest of the cast.
Johnny Lever, Sanjay Mishra and Varun Sharma provide comic relief - which is indeed a relief among the divine romance, blazing guns and screeching cars - though the jokes don't flow as easy and unforced as some of Shetty's earlier flicks. There's also Boman Irani, Vinod Khanna and Kabir Bedi who show up in underdeveloped roles and succeed in matching the film's over-the-top tone.
'Dilwale' is a Shetty film all the wayBut predictably the film belongs to its lead pair. Shah Rukh appears as Raj for the seventh time in his illustrious career and seem more than happy to flaunt his signature pose, woo the leading lady, drive fast cars, dodge bullets and break bones with bare arms. Kajol, who is back on the big screen after a five-year-long hiatus, is still in very good form and brings genuine warmth to her part. And it's not just her acting skills, which will allure you in Dilwale; she has never looked better and is absolutely beautiful in every frame.
However, despite the presence of the romance king and queen, Dilwale is a Shetty film all the way. The director remains faithful to his love of gun fights, car chases and explosions, though he does provide a few twists in the story, which will catch you off guard. His sets look gorgeous and enchanting - whether it's Bulgaria or Goa - overflowing with colours and flowers, enabling the film's two lead pairs to fall in and out of love easily.
I'm going with 3.5 out of 5 for Rohit Shetty's Dilwale. You know what to expect from it if you've seen any of his previous films. It plays to the gallery and is the kind of entertainer where the story is an afterthought. But it's also a Shetty-style tribute to the SRK-Kajol jodi. Watch it if you are a fan of either or if you are curious to see them together on the silver screen one more time.
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