What’s Your Raashee

Rating: **

Yogesh Patel,currently of Chicago,flies into Mumbai to find himself a bride. He has ten days to check out twelve potential candidates,each representing a ‘raashee’: Makar or Meen? Capricorn or Pisces?

‘What’s Your Rashee’ has been styled as a rom-com featuring twelve Priyankas and one Hurman. Which,on the face of it,doesn’t sound like a bad deal. But Ashutosh Gowariker’s latest,which stretches close to four hours running time,starts feeling like bargain basement from the get go. It’s much too long,and,despite Priyanka’s valiant efforts,just not engaging enough.

Madhu Rye’s popular Gujarati novel ‘Kimball Ravenswood’ was turned into a delightful Doordarshan serial twenty years ago. Those who can cast back that long will recall the irresistible charms of Mr Yogi aka Y I Patel (played by the late Mohan Gokhale),as he met a new girl in each episode,and finally found his chosen one in a satisfyingly rousing finale. We were happy for him,but sad to see him go.

No such feelings assail us as we wait,and wait,for ‘What’s Your Raashee’ to end.

Hurman’s Yogesh is likeable enough,agreeing to get married post-haste to save his family from ruin even if he doesn’t particularly want to. He is gallant,refusing to make passes at gals who wear glasses,even when they throw themselves at him. But there’s no zest to him. Hurman is as flat as the film.

Priyanka,who plays all twelve girls,tries very hard to lift the film. Hers is quite a difficult feat: to create just that small gesture or tic,apart from the way each girl dresses and does her hair,to make her Anjali/ Jhankana/ Chandrika/ Vishakha/Mallika/Hansa/ Kajal/Pooja/ Rajni/ Nandini/ Bhavna/ Sanjana different from each other. Not all of them are successful,but you can see an actor at work.

The director gives each girl and her ‘raashee’ inordinate build-up time,and,of course,a song-and-dance. In between the costume changes for Priyanka,there’s an alleged comic track between Darshan Jariwala,playing the marriage broker,and the only unreservedly good thing about the film,and an unfunny detective-cum-pundit.

But mostly,‘What’s Your Raashee’ is a drag: Gowariker,coming to this after the success of ‘Jodhaa Akbar’,lets down his source material,and his leads,by his leaden treatment.