akshay shah

Ashutosh Gowariker returns to us after the magnum opus JODHAA-AKBHAR with a some-what long-drawn, far-stretched and overly long rom-com which misses the mark.

N.R.I return Yogesh Patel (Harman Baweja in yet another flop film) is given limited time (10 days to be exact) to find his wife and settle down or he loses out on a huge sum of money. To give true love his best shot, he decides to meet 12 girls, one of each star-sign. Enter Anjali / Vishakha / Kajal / Hansa / Mallika / Pooja / Rajni / Nandini / Bhavna / Jhankhana / Sanjna / Chandrika all played with a stunning array of versatility by Priyanka Chopra who delivers yet another knock-out performance after FASHION!

Ashutosh-the director fails due to a faulty narrative. The story had immense potential to be a feel-god rom-rom as well as a interesting satire on modern day arranged marriages, however the film turns in to a long-drawn, somewhat pointless saga which ends up a flat note completely. There are some interesting portions like the subject of dowry and under-age marriage, however these are only touched upon infrequently and too briefly to really matter.

Instead we’re treated to each girl being introduced separately one after the other and each one getting a song or two to herself as well. It takes a while to warm up to the personalities, and this is clearly an over-indulgent piece of work in need of some serious editing. I haven’t read the novel so can’t compare, however WHATS YOUR RAASHEE would’ve worked way better as a T.V Serial then a full-fledged movie.
Sohail Sen’s music is a ,mixed bunch, some are melodious while others fail to hit the mark. Furthermore, the songs don’t really move the proceedings in anyway, and when you’ve got a song at 3 hours 5 minutes in to the movie which lost you a long way back you know you’re in trouble.

Harman’s final choice doesn’t come across as much as a surprise as it does a compromise as he takes the “easy” route. There were far more interesting choices to have explored the film further in my view. His performance is a mixed range, at times he comes across extremely bored, while others surprises us with his subtlety and maturity. However the real star of the show is Priyanka Chopra who is truly fabulous slipping in to the persona’s of each of the 12 girls with effortless ease.

The supporting cast are a mixed bag and fail to leave much of a mark. The entire gangster sub-plot felt totally unnecessary and slackened the film till no end. WHATS YOUR RAASHEE is a failure despite a few scattered moments and a terrific act by Priyanka!