The
recipe
is
simple
and
uncomplicated...
Take
My
Fair
Lady.
Add
Dulhan
Wahi
Jo
Piya
Man
Bhaaye.
Spray
Naseeb
Apna
Apna.
Sprinkle
Dilwale
Dulhania
Le
Jayenge
and
Rab
Ne
Bana
Di
Jodi.
Hey
presto,
Dulha
Mil
Gaya
is
ready
to
serve.
In
fact,
My
Fair
Lady
has
been
a
hot
favourite
of
Bollywood.
Recall
Man
Pasand
[Dev
Anand,
Tina
Munim]
or
Hum
Tere
Aashiq
Hain
[Jeetendra,
Hema
Malini].
Similarly,
a
number
of
storytellers
have
rehashed
Rajshri's
all-time
hit
Dulhan
Wahi
Jo
Piya
Man
Bhaaye
[Prem
Krishen,
Rameshwari]
in
various
avtaars,
over
the
years.
Dulha
Mil
Gaya
is
a
mix
of
the
above-named
films.
Like
they
say
in
filmi
lingo,
it's
old
wine
in
new
bottle.
So
what?
How
different
can
a
love
story
be,
since
this
genre
has
been
done
to
death
in
Bollywood?
Point
noted,
but
the
narrative
ought
to
be
engaging
if
it
has
to
strike
a
chord
and
that's
where
Dulha
Mil
Gaya
falters.
Merely
assembling
A-listers
and
filming
the
movie
at
panoramic
locations
isn't
enough.
The
film
ought
to
have
meat
and
that's
missing
here.
Let
me
elaborate.
Debutante
director
Mudassar
Aziz,
who
has
also
penned
the
script,
borrows
from
the
past,
going
for
the
tried-and-tested
stuff,
but
the
narrative,
already
low
on
fuel,
comes
to
a
grinding
halt
by
the
time
it
reaches
its
finale.
Donsai
[Fardeen
Khan],
a
young
commitment-phobic
debonair,
is
petrified
with
terms
like
marriage
and
long-term
relationships.
Samarpreet
[Ishitta
Sharma]
is
a
quintessential
Punjabi
girl,
for
whom
relationships
are
to
be
cherished.
Shimmer
[Sushmita
Sen]
is
a
diva
from
the
world
of
glamour
for
whom
love
and
relationships
aren't
important
in
life
as
independence
and
success
are.
Pawan
Raj
Gandhi/PRG
[Shah
Rukh
Khan]
is
a
suave
multi-millionaire
whose
heart
still
remains
larger
than
his
bank
balance
and
for
whom
winning
love
is
the
only
victory
there
is.
When
paths
cross
for
these
four
characters,
they
not
only
land
up
influencing
each
other
with
their
outlook
on
relationships,
but
also
get
influenced
themselves
and
learn
a
whole
new
meaning
of
the
term.
Something
that
got
ignited
with
D.D.L.J.
continues
to
shimmer
to
this
date.
Our
stories
continue
to
travel
from
firangi
land
to
the
fields
of
Punjab.
Dulha
Mil
Gaya
too
does
that
[initially],
before
My
Fair
Lady
and
Rab
Ne
Bana
Di
Jodi
take
over.
To
give
the
credit
where
it's
due,
Dulha
Mil
Gaya
has
some
interesting
moments,
but
the
problem
is
they
are
few
and
far
between.
One
expects
things
to
perk
up
when
SRK's
character
is
introduced
[in
the
post-interval
portions],
but
your
hopes
go
crashing
as
nothing
worthy
of
note
occurs.
The
writing
has
gaping
flaws,
which
are
difficult
to
absorb
after
a
point.
The
girl
travels
all
the
way
from
Punjab
to
Trinidad
and
Tobago,
but
not
once
do
her
concerned
parents
call
to
enquire
how
she
is.
Strangely,
even
the
girl
doesn't
feel
the
need
to
inform
them.
If
that's
not
enough,
Sushmita
takes
upon
herself
to
tame
Fardeen,
giving
you
the
impression
that
she
thinks
from
her
heart.
But
when
it
comes
to
her
relationship
with
Shah
Rukh,
she
behaves
in
a
rather
odd
manner.
SRK,
on
the
other
hand,
seems
completely
besotted
by
her,
even
though
she
never
reciprocates
his
feelings.
Hence,
her
somersault
in
the
end
-
just
because
Ishita
has
given
her
some
bhashan
-
doesn't
look
convincing.
Mudassar
Aziz's
direction
is
a
shade
better
than
his
writing.
And
that's
not
saying
much.
Given
the
fact
that
newer
stories
are
being
attempted
in
these
fast-changing
times
and
in
view
of
the
fact
that
he
had
some
of
the
best
talents
on
board,
Mudassar
should've
seized
the
opportunity
and
told
a
refreshingly
different
and
absorbing
tale.
But
he
doesn't.
Sure,
a
few
sequences
are
clever
and
smart,
but
that's
not
enough.
The
music
is
of
a
mixed
variety.
'Akela
Dil'
is
groovy,
while
the
title
track
is
strictly
okay.
Cinematography
is
appealing.
Sushmita
excels
in
a
role
that
demands
her
to
be
hoity-toity.
She
enacts
her
part
effortlessly.
One
wishes
to
see
her
more
often
on
the
big
screen!
Fardeen
does
a
good
job,
especially
towards
the
end
when
he's
about
to
confess
something
vital
to
Ishita.
Ishita
delivers
a
sincere
performance.
It's
a
pity
that
a
superstar
like
Shahrukh
is
terribly
wasted
in
an
inconsequential
role.
It
may
not
go
down
well
with
his
fans.
Mohit
Chadha
has
screen
presence,
but
gets
no
scope.
Johny
Lever
is
wasted.
Ditto
for
Tara
Sharma.
Suchitra
Pillai
and
Howard
Rosemeyer
are
passable.
Parikshit
Sahni,
Bina
Kak
and
Viveck
Vaswani
are
as
usual.
On
the
whole,
Dulha
Mil
Gaya
doesn't
work!