Prem Ratan Dhan Payo - The Music of Barjatya's another Hindu Family Saga does not offer anything
Once again Rajshri Productions returns with a big Blockbuster, Bollywood Dhamaka all set to be released this Diwali, 12th Nov 2015. After a long haul of 15 years Salman Khan has joined hands with Sooraj Barjatiya’s ‘Prem Ratan Dhan Payo’ (PRDP) in his most loved romantic character ‘Prem’. The film also stars Sonam Kapoor, Swara Bhaskar, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Deepak Dobriyal and Arman Kohli. Well, needless to say this movie is a family drama that is all about ‘Sanskars’ emphasising family values and relationships. The family values that come first before love develops. Prem Ratan Dhan Payo has exquisite, larger than life settings, colourful traditional costumes and extravagant song and dance numbers. The Royal palace, with hundreds of dancers dressed in traditional Rajasthani costumes, the trailer and the title track are reminiscent of Barjatya’s Hum Saath saath Hain and Hum Aapke Hain Kaun. PRDP’s poster along with a few scenes in the trailer also bear an uncanny similarity with ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’.
Sonam Kapoor, the lead lady in the movie, who is better known as India’s fashionista with her fabulous slim figure dons some of extravagant Bollywoodised costumes in colour and style. Sonam has been doing some good films and has proved her mettle, we would want to see her deliver something more on the line’s of Madhuri in Hum Aapke Hain Kaun, maybe it sounds a bit wishful… but who know what Sooraj Barjatya has up his sleeves this time for his heroine.
In the title song “Prem ratan Dhan Payo”, music director Himesh Reshammiya has given a very average song that is not able to live to the Barjatya’s earlier films music… which were instantly catchy and were very popular… this song in the voice of singer Palak Muchhal sounds passable. This one-dimensional song though seems to be straight from Sooraj Barjatya School of music, fails to bring something new, as it safely treads within the tried and tested Bollywood music fare. Yet again the naming of movie seems to be reflecting the past. Even though Salman has had movies with names like bodyguard, Kick And Bajrangi Bhaijaan which had different package altogether more rustic and non traditional movies, but in PRDP this movie he brings in the Barjatya brand of family values, sentiments and traditional approach that immediately reminds you of Hum Aapke Hain Kaun” or “Hum Saath Saath Hain”… hope it offers something more than what Barjatya’s have rehashed many times before. The trailer of the films sets the stage for the audience to expect a to watch a long Bollywood film that will have include possibly all the Hindu family drama elements, with splattering of Hindu religious traditions, rituals, family values… and in between all these celebrations it will portray and flaunt the love story between the hero and heroine through extravagant song and dance sequences… hmmmm… did I just spell out Barjatya’s film formula? Well, I hope this movie will put us back into mood of dreaming about the prince charming, at least for most of us female audience! Nevertheless, there is a buzz around this movie… it is after a long time that Salman Khan and Sooraj Barjatya have come back together to create another traditional Hindu family fare… which surely is going to get people flock to the theatre… So lets gear up for 12th November release of this epic melodrama with Salman Khan and Sonam Kapoor with the hope that it offers much more than Barjatya’s last outing with Salman Khan - “Hum Saath Saath Hain”.
A review by Puspa Narayan