User Reviews

I saw this movie at it's Toronto International Film Festival premier. Having watched the hilarious promos, I was very excited.

For the few who don't know the plot, I'll give a brief outline. Yogesh Patel (Harman) is a MBA student at the University of Chicago. He is supposed to inherit his maternal grandfather's wealth once he gets married. In order to pay back his brother's huge debt he is forced by his family to get married and being the emotionally sensitive that he is, he gives in to his family's plead. He then decides to see 12 girls (all played by Priyanka Chopra), one from each Rashee (sun sign) in 10 days and decide the one he likes the most.

Okay, now to the actors. Each of the 12 characters's stories are unique and well detailed. Priyanka does a fantastic job at playing each role to perfection, well almost, there are some hiccups here and there. But, one has to really commend her growth as an actress. Harman was okay and still showed signs of immaturity as an actor. Though it was big improvement from the horrendous Love Story 2050.

The movie is 192 minutes long and you can feel it. Ashutosh really needs to make his movies shorter. The direction otherwise is top-class. The THIRTEEN songs are not that bad, but nowhere close to the expectations one would set for an A-list movie. I personally only liked the title track.

What let's it down is the storyline. The story gets slightly boring at times but it picks up and manages to keep you hooked and laughing for 180 minutes. It's what happens in the last 10 minutes is what ruined it, the ending is one of the worst I have ever seen. They build up such a suspense through out the move and it is perfectly poised for a big climax... and nothing. It ends in a lull.

I definitely recommend the movie for Priyanka's hilarious and outstanding performance and romantic comedy fans will surely love it. But, it was definitely not worth the $45 I spent on the premier, I would have preferred waiting for a week and watched it for 1/4th the price.

Ashutosh Gowariker has become a brand over the years, he has made milestones like 'Lagaan', 'Swades' & 'Jodhaa Akbar'. Expectations are bound to be there, reading his name creates a excitement in a cine-lover, and I being his die-hard went & watched his latest outing 'What's Your Raashee?'. Sadly, The Ace Filmmaker misses the bus this time!

On the whole 'What's Your Raashee?' is long, boring and complicated. Accomplished filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker disappoints big time with his latest outing. Plus, the excessive running time will prove to be a major disadvantage. 13 good songs {though they appear very boring in the film}, good performances & decent camera-work can't save, when a tacky screenplay is aside. As a fan of Gowariker, I am hugely disappointed. The Academy-Award-Nominated Filmmaker makes his weakest fare in 'What's Your Raashee?'.

Pluses: The first hr, to an extend is entertaining. Music by Sohail Sen is fantastic; but looks forced in the film completely. Camera-work is decent. Performances are good: Priyanka is remarkable. She plays the very first character & the part of the doctor exceedingly well. Harman is likable. Darshan Jariwala is superb, so are Anjan Shrivastav, Dilip Joshi & Rajesh Vivek.

Minuses: The screenplay. The film is very very lengthy, and the songs are a major bore. In fact if some songs were deleted, the movie could've been a bit better. Plus, the Darshan Jariwala-Anjan Shrivastav-Rajesh Vivek track seems forced.

Let's hope that the next time Ashu returns as the captain of the ship, he makes a hell of a good film.

How many of you were waiting for this one from Gowariker? i know many! Sadly for all Gowariker fans, What's Your Rashee is absolutely disappointing. Based on Madhu Rye's novel Kimball Ravenswood, WYR's script is as flat as it can possibly get.

What's Your Rashee's story revolves around Yogesh Patel(Harman Bhaweja) an MBA student studying in Chicago, who is forced to return to India after receiving a message about his father's deteriorating health. On reaching India is when the family of Yogesh let out the actual reason. Yogesh is then told about the share scam committed by his brother and the family's huge debt. He's also told about the solution offered by a astrologer according to whom, If Yogesh gets married on the 20th, huge wealth is to follow the family on the very day. He's given a mere 10 days to decide a girl and get married. It does not take long for his family to convince Yogesh and he's then out looking for brides. After a lot of confusion about the brides shortlisted by his uncle, Yogesh comes up with a bizarre idea of meeting one girl from each of the 12 zodiac signs. And the plot leading upto Yogesh deciding his soul mate among the 12 is for you to watch it yourself.

Gowariker seems to have failed miserably with WYR provided the quality of movies that he

made previously. The movie fails to take off and the plot of the movie does not really convince you at any level. The one and the only thing that is impressive with WYR is Priyanka Chopra's impeccable performance playing 12 different characters. She's absolutely mind blowing with each of the 12 characters and probably the only thing that makes you sit right through the exhausting 3 hours 15 minutes. Harman Bhaweja is good and tries his best to make an impact with his honest acting supported well by rest of the cast. The funnier parts that were supposed to be funny are not funny and it just frustrates you more.

The music by Sohail Sen is ordinary and the 12 songs used for 12 the different characters are not impressive either.

Reviewed By- Raghav Ramaiah

Originally Posted at talkingpopcorns.com

Looking at the project as a whole, I had my doubts on whether Ashutosh will be able to create the same magic with Harman Baweja, as he previously did with Hrithik Roshan in the role of an unimaginable Akbar. With a shaky subject in hand and mediocre songs on air, I was not sure of another polished product from the director with a big stature in the Industry. And all my doubts proved right as "What's Your Rashee" came out to be just a below average movie with an unbearable long length, not so impressive content and many unwanted ordinary songs.

Said to be based on the novel by Madhu Rye, the story (which is quite predictable) moves around a young NRI boy who is here in India to marry a girl within a week. To make a good choice he decides to meet a girl from each sun sign and then take a decision. Unfortunately, the interesting idea, fails completely in its uninspiring screen adaptation. Other than the twelve different girls brilliantly portrayed by Priyanka Chopra, there is no particular scene in the movie to rave about. In fact if you see the movie, ignoring the truth that it has been directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, then you will just take it as a debut project of any budding director and nothing more.

The biggest disappointment in the movie is its extra long length and completely uninspiring music. The length is fine when we are watching a movie like "Lagaan" or "Jodha Akbar", but you cannot make every project close to four hours of duration just for the sake of it. Ashutosh could have easily edited out most of the songs in the movie as they are not anywhere a part of the progressing storyline. The run of the mill soundtrack stands nowhere, if compared to the scores of Gowariker's earlier projects. Yes, he had the great A. R. Rahman on his side in all those musical masterpieces, but there were also good hummable songs in his "Baazi" too, which proves that he indeed has a good choice of melodies. Surprisingly in "What's Your Rashee" out of more than 12 songs, we don't even have one particular track to stay in our mind except the obvious title number.

Apart from its length and music, the monotonous act of seeing girls again and again becomes quite boring and annoying after a while. There is a very silly explanation given about the similar faces of all 12 girls in the start which puts you off straight away. The completely avoidable and poorly written detective angle in the script fails to make an impact. It also does not reach any conclusion since Ashutosh simply forgets about this added sub-plot towards the end and moves on. There is no proper justification given about how & why Harman makes his choice in the climax as everything just gets sorted our very easily and quickly.

In few words, it's a Priyanka Chopra movie all the way, where she acts, dances and emotes in 12 different ways in a fantastic manner. Unarguably, it's one of the best performances of her career till date. On the other hand, I really feel sad for Harman Baweja, who is a true hard worker, but still hasn't got the lady luck smiling at him. When it came to Harman's turn, even the man with a midas touch, lost his golden stroke and failed. May be it's all destiny that whatever the boy does, he always gets compared to Hrithik Roshan, because of their naturally similar looks.

All other character artists in the movie have simply performed their allotted roles as a duty towards the director. Cinematography serves the purpose well and visual graphics are nice to see on the screen. Especially the graphical presentation of all the sun signs at the start reminded me of the famous James Bond opening credits, known for their brilliant graphics and girls.

A few decades back we had a T.V. Serial called "Mr.Yogi",where also a young NRI selects few girls to meet before his planned marriage. In each episode he used to meet a new girl from a different family and background. And I still remember, that I enjoyed the T.V. serial many times more than the current "What's Your Rashee". In all, a big disappointment from the director who's all last 3 movies, are there in my "Movies To See Before You Die" list.

Okay, I watched this because it was on Netflix's list of films being deleted for instant play. I guess they ran out of server space or something. I'm not that familiar with Bollywood films, but this is not my first one.

I'll skip the synopsis. As an American, I found Yogesh's American-ness and Priyanka's (whichever version's) endless chicago references very entertaining. Outside of that, The Pros: 1. Priyanka. If you just want to watch her all day, it's a good movie for that.

2. It's actually funny most of the way through, even the awkward bits with the debt and the spying. The parents of Priyankas (Priyanki?) were also very entertaining.

3. The music, mostly. There are several good Indian songs, and maybe a couple western style ones that didn't work so well. There's one in there that reminded me of scandanavian metal.

4. Dancing. I get that this is the best part of a bollywood film. American movies haven't been up to this since the 1950s.

The Cons: 1. Length. At 3+1/2 hours, you have to have a lot of story, and WYR runs out after about 2 hours, like any romantic comedy. Everything about the situation has already been said, and we roll on with less interesting stuff. If it's too long for you, just skip ahead to the Priyanka scenes you're probably watching it for.

2. Social Messages. I see a lot of people saying this was a plus, but I felt like the film was hitting me over the head with political correctness. I suspect if I were an Indian I'd be actually offended. It's the movies job to entertain us, not reprogram us.

3. Not everything quite works in the story. It misses the opportunity for a play on Priyanka playing all the girls, and plot development threads don't really go anywhere. That in mind, it's okay to skip through them to browse for pure entertainment.

Overall it was as substantive as a western romantic comedy, but no more, so light on content, but very entertaining.

Evry1 criticizes the length of the director's movie, but i have to give him credit fr backing up this vision. With WYR?, the length is not the issue, but weakly adapting this story and the cast not delivering their roles to the extent of being repetitive nd boring. Since a t.v adaptation stretched week after week w.episodes giving ample amount of time for interactions between yogesh patel and 12 women, the length was not the question of why movie doesn't works. Its romantic nd funny w.o having major suspense, the excitement factor works due to kind of women yogesh meets(played by 12 actresses not 1). You don't have to know too much about zodiac signs ,nd whole story is self explanatory why yogesh goes about choosing a girl based on rashees. However, the excitement factor is lost in the '09 movie and leaves little room for a genuine interaction, rather presenting caricatures of character study. Sure, the idea of choosing is not based on looks(that's why 1 actress)but on inner qualities,but movie did focus on looks,style,nd costumes nd it came out to be caricatures. The focus was more on how 1 actress can portray 12 roles to get an award, rather than focusing on interesting stories w.different women. This cud have justified movie's length nd add excitement to make it fun and difficult for the guy.

Whats your Rashee is a good movie..............................;;;;;;;; very enjoyable It Gets you involved---------------------------------- in it and you wont Get up from your seat until the very end............... There are some Funny moments and the songs are treat to our ears,,,,,,,,, they are very------------------------------------------------------------ good!!! ------------------------------------------------------------------ Both priyanka and Harman have done good acting.. On the whole nice one go watch it... ignore other comments ! ! ! !!

"What's Your Rashee" would make you wonder if he is the same director who wielded the megaphone in "Lagaan", "Swades" & "Jodha Akbar". It wouldn't be no rocket-science to state that the starting point namely the book "Kimball Revenswood" by Madhu Rye is the culprit. I would also add another state that translating a book to screen requires a different sensibilities altogether and this was sadly big time missing.

And shouldering Priyanka Chopra to breathe life into all the 12- characters was indeed an herculean task. Don't get me wrong but she put an effort into each character more than humanly possible. But it gets inanely boring after a few characters pass by. If twelve different popular actress'es were chosen instead, it would have taken the movie to a different level altogether. Harman Baweja is imprisoned into poor man's Hritik caricature.

The length of the movie adds to the woes, especially after 7th Priyanka, the audience wishes to fast-forward to the climax to find who becomes the better-half of Mr. Yogesh Patel.

The comedy track was mundane and hardly evokes mirth. Music by Sohail Sen is different but misses the bulls-eye.

Good luck next time ASHu. You are a phoenix and will surely rise from ASHes.

PS: My mind is still afresh with the spectacular performance of Late Mohan Gokhale who breathed life into Mr. Y I Patel in "Mr. Yogi" on good old Doordarshan which has had similar storyline.

I like all Ashutosh Gowarikar's earlier creations, but when I read the reviews of "Whats your rashee?" I decided against watching the movie. It was forcing of my 3 1/2 year old son which made us go to theatre to watch the movie, believe me its an amazing movie. I don't know why critics love to hate good movies, people like Rajeev Masand think themselves to be god and write whatever they want. But once you watch the movie you will see the brilliance.

People are hating 12 songs but those songs take movie forward, length of the movie might be long but I didn't get bored for a single second. No character looks out of place. of course critics like to watch some steamy scenes but this movie does not have one hence critics don't like that. Movie progresses so nicely. Priyanka Chopra steals the whole show but without the support of Harman Baweja it wouldn't have been possible.

The whole plot seems so convincing. This is a must watch movie. Please don't go on length of the movie and the thought of 12 songs may be stopping you from going to theatre but those 12 songs are short and sweet. I am not a very big fan of Ashutosh Gowarikar, but this movie just blew my mind off. Go watch it now.

There was lot of concern if this film would succeed because of an unknown actor. The actor is not Hrithik Roshan, but he is well co-ordinated for a debut actor and his acting is mediocre. He is the type of an actor who grows on you as the film unfolds but not strong enough to sustain without a versatile actress like Priyanka Chopra.The funniest was the Anjali character (where she deliberately sticks her upper lip)with a lisping speech,cacophony laugh, the clumsy walk and poor etiquette. The twelve characters, even though have varying backgrounds the acting is of three distinctions-dumb,demure and crazy. There is certain suspense as to the next Raashee carnation would be-same token there is a nonchalant expectation too. The scene where they stare at each other on the balcony is poignant probably the best part. The story is original and unique but the spying part of the story drags the film down to a B-movie-not inline for someone like Gowariker. stature. The movie could have been tight-suffers from poor editing and long drawn out dances. Music is not the calibre of A.R. Rahman-his absence has definitely made a dent in the film. Overhaul this is a good comedy which bashes the NRI and at the same token brings up lot of social injustices.

Ashutosh Gowariker's What's Your Raashee? is an excruciatingly painful film to watch. For the most part humorless and misguided, the film lumbers along for an unforgivable three-hours-and-thirty minutes, during which even the most patient viewers might contemplate suicide. Harman Baweja stars as Yogesh Patel, an unmarried Gujarati boy working in Chicago, who is desperately summoned home as the last rescue for his debt-ridden family in Mumbai. He will inherit his grandfather's property on marriage, and hence his folks persuade him to tie the knot immediately so they can pay off their loans. Despite his reluctance, Yogesh succumbs to the emotional blackmail and says yes to be married in ten-odd days, after agreeing to meet a dozen prospective brides, one each from the 12 zodiac signs or raashees. Using what is unquestionably an interesting plot device, the director casts Priyanka Chopra as each of the dozen girls. Within the film, however, the resemblance between the prospective brides is justified by using a ridiculous explanation offered by Yogesh's grandfather. The encounters between Yogesh and each of the girls get repetitive soon enough, and the screenplay slips into something of a cyclic mess, with each meeting-scene between boy and girl predictably followed by a song. It takes extremely skilled writing and superlative acting to create 12 distinct characters using the same actor; and while Priyanka Chopra throws herself into the challenge, she is let down by a poor script. Apart from a few characters that stand out because they're sharply written and convincingly performed, most of the girls appear as clones of each other because the only thing separating them is a single quirk and their costume. So you have a gawky small-town college girl, a sexy microbiologist from Kampala, a die-hard romantic raised on the movies, an honest middle-class girl hoping to rebuild her life after a break-up, a dominating businesswoman looking for a contract marriage, a kooky damsel who's convinced she knows Yogesh from a previous birth - and at this point, you still have six girls left to go. As if this story wasn't tiring enough already, Gowariker squeezes in two pointless sub-plots - one about Yogesh's philandering uncle and a detective hired to track his movements; the other about a loan-shark's henchmen stalking Yogesh's brother to return the money he's borrowed from them. The humor in What's Your Raashee is of the broad, juvenile variety, the kind that might amuse six-year-olds. If you survive the film's plodding pace and make it to the final act, you're expecting to be gratified by a smart ending. After all, which girl does Yogesh Patel eventually choose? Prepare to be disappointed by a cop-out climax that clearly indicates the writers had no idea how to clean up this mess they made. In sharp contrast to Madhu Rye's novel, Kimball Ravenswood from which it is adapted, What's Your Raashee is a regressive, old-fashioned picture that suffers on account of too many silly jokes, too many unlikable characters, and way too many songs. Even the references to such social evils as child marriage and dowry are fleeting and appear gratuitous. Despite the earnest efforts of Priyanka Chopra, the actress can't pull off the impossible task of making every single one of these characters a credible, flesh-and-blood person. Truth is, I'm not sure anyone in her place could. Harman Baweja, meanwhile, is endearing in a role that doesn't demand much. Director Ashutosh Gowariker who's delivered compelling dramas previously, appears out of his depth here tackling urban comedy. Like his epic-sized victories, Lagaan and Jodhaa Akbar and even the well-intended, cult-favourite Swades, Gowariker's What's Your Raashee? is unfortunately an epic-sized failure. Here's hoping his next effort will erase the memory of this film forever.

I think every one have there own choice to watch the movie , but to recommend this movie to other is awful .

Movie Worst Thing's .

1) 12 Priyanka is not digestive in this movie , If they took 12 different girls in movie then it will look pretty much different .

2) Length of movie is 3+ hrs another worst thing.

I Really appreciate those who watch this movie in Hall :) , But More surprising Ashutosh Made this Movie after (Lagaan & Swades ) So guys u r mind , don't waste u r money .

Songs are good in movie but still not pretty much fit on movie themes only 4 listening is good .

There is plenty to criticize about Ashutosh Gowarikar's What's Your Rashee. For instance its infinite length, fact that Harman can't act Saala, some Gujju not so funny dragging sections, but there is one thing that really can't be ignored is Priyanka Chopra on screen in twelve different forms with costume designer working on her wardrobe one after another and mostly handing her almost backless Cholis. Guy is Chicago settled NRI Yogesh (without h) Patel who is being tricked to fly back India (same as in Hadippa second in this week), has a task at this hand. Find a bride in seven days, marry the girl possibly rich and payback the debts of his uncle with dowry and fortune he will be inheriting for writing birthday cards to his rich maternal grandfather. Jetlagged or strained on one insomniac night he picks up a book same as film's title and decides to meet one girl of each rashee (sun sign).

He meets one after another caricature girl with distinct trait, a good natured Virgo doctor, a sensuous sagi saadhvi (astrologer), a mysterious Scorpio with passion for modeling, a business hotshot looking for contract marriage and prenup agreement, a minor Gaaon Ki Gori, a Cancerian with a past, a plucky Gemini, odd fish Pieces who believes in reincarnation and soul mate and there are many more. Most of them come with a song-n-dance routine and many are good distracters.

Astrology is fascinating stuff. I remember jumping on Goodman's Love sings and Sun signs, parallel cross checking with each girl guy traits I know of. It was fun and sometimes astonishingly interesting read. So does our reputed director of Lagaan and Swades trying reinventing himself with a comedy cum musical succeed? Not really and I am not surprised. There is already a problem with this kind of premise as twelve characters will be fighting for screen time, limiting character developments and lack of coherent story but at the same time it can be funny vignettes quilted together with a common thread. Unfortunately writer-director Ashutosh Gowarikar lacks the comic flair required for this kind of material to pull off an interesting encounters one after another. He seriously needs a good editor who can chop and cut the flab instead of stuffing it with each and everything you shoot (three hours plus for a comedy? come on!). Harman Baweja is as bland and flat as they can get. Leading guy demands charismatic persona that can click with audience as a groom running on stopwatch looking for the perfect bride in game of luck and chance. Gowarikar also can use a new casting- director.

So saving grace is Priyanka Chopra with her screen presence keeps it going. Despite limitation of script she survives the challenge and walks out clean from this astro-mess of a story. Honestly I wasn't grossly disappointed as I switched off my brain when found what movie is up to (it took half an hour to introduce Priyanka Chopra). Instead, fancied lying on couch on one of those late nocturnal sleepless nights in front of my TV set with a glass of beer. If you decide to watch it anyway, my advice will be, don't take any of it serious, feel like catching it on tube and you might enjoy it rather than resenting. And watch if for Piggy Chops.

You can't believe that this movie came from a director who was rising the standard of Indian Cinema with every movie that he made. Lagaan was right on top...Swades got even better...Jodhaa Akbar was epic! Now, Gowariker is probably back to his pre-Lagaan days with this movie that bores u to the core. The major errors in the movie are - 1. Casting Harman Baweja. He is a ridiculous actor, can't even act like he is flirting (don't know how he dated Priyanka Chopra). And his acting is almost always annoying and unacceptable.

2. All the 12 roles played by Priyanka Chopra had very less screen time and it was definitely not enough for the audience to absorb. So every time Harman meets a girl of a Raashee, you forget the name and character of the girl of the previous Raashee. In the climax, when Harman says Chandrika or Hansaa, you would keep scratching your head to figure out which girl it is and what her raashee is.

3. Music. I am very very sure that the music made a lot of difference, negatively for this movie though. Ashutosh should have just waited for Rahman to get back after Slumdog Millionaire. This new comer is not bad but Rahman could have at least made the movie look a little better. More often than not, Rahman's music covers up poor acting display or poor storyline(for eg- u don't really find a scene romantic because of the acting. Rahman's bgm can make u feel romance in the scene)

4. Songs - Too many songs. a song each for each raashee...ashutosh should have done away with the songs and given more screen time for each of the 12 characters of Priyanka Chopra.

To put in short, you won't believe even in your funniest dreams that this movie was made by the director of Lagaan, Swades and Jodhaa Akbar.

The reason why I wrote this tile is, because you won't remember the names of Priyanka in this movie, if the same character comes back in a movie you would be in deli ma that who is she? even if the name is mentioned you keep forgetting the character.Well, that was funny and interesting too.

I got nothing to do and this movie was still unwatched so thought why not give it a try but trust me you wont regret.

You may say that its too long but its script demand you may feel boring but still you would sit and watch only because it will hold you till the answer is found of what your rashee? well at the end you won't find the answer to whats your rashee but you would find that love returns surprisingly and no one knows (Herman or Priyanka) that they love each other.

This movie can either have very good ratings or very bad ratings, the reason I believe is because of screenplay, its too long for regular cinema. Also Herman got nothing much to do except meeting different girls.

But I must say all 12 characters are well developed and well differentiated with true meaning and also holding to tradition and culture.

One character that touched my heart was 'Hansa' played by Priyanka who loved one guy in neighborhood and he left her, her honesty and loyalty the expression that Priyanka brought in was awesome.

Music may be another let down except song 'Shu chhe Shu Chhe' none were impressive.

So in all watch it, its a great way to tel about belief, thinking, demand, desire and situation in marriage.

First of all, WYR is based on a pretty interesting premise - the 12 zodiac signs. It has universal appeal as almost everyone has read their daily horoscope and is familiar with the sun signs. However, the interesting part stops right there and the movie is treated in a very banal manner. Every girl in the zodiac gets a song of her own - quality and brevity suffers as a result. Perhaps a better idea might have been to have just one-verse songs - it would be innovative while not taking away from the film-maker's vision. For some reason Gowariker sticks to the tried and tested. What we end up is a 200-minute movie. I looked up at my watch at least 5 times, and that is never a good sign.... The best thing about the movie is Priyanka Chopra who is able to create 12 distinct characters and essays contrasting roles be it a simple Gujju village girl or an uber-cold professional with relative ease. Harman has his moments especially when he is empathizing with other characters and remains understated. The rest of the cast is real and authentic for the most part and keeps moving the story forward unlike the songs. All in all, WYR had the potential to be a rom-com with small sub-plots - almost a la PG Wodehouse. However, it turns to formula and ends up in the mediocre realm.

What's your Rashee is a good movie. It is a light hearted film. The performance of the cast is also good.

The only drawback was the number of songs. 13 songs is too much, also these songs made the movie lengthy. It cost this good movie big time.

If you have time and nothing to do then you can surely watch WHAT'S YOUR RASHEE. u won't be dissapointed.

The movie went all around places with useless songs and confused long storyline, Priyanka chopra was at peak of her career when the movie was released and clearly this movie is a bad choice for her. Watching this movie on an OTT platform after 13 years I still feel this movie could be much better!

It is time someone put a stop to this trashing of a perfectly fine film that has been crafted with much thought and creativity. Is the movie very long? Yes, it is and SO WHAT? This may not be Oscar material, but Priyanka shines in every single role she dons, and Harman is a neat foil to her with his gentlemanly persona and apt acting (he too has come under very unfair criticism, our "superstars" would have looked out of place as Yogesh Patel).

The music is superlative, since the movie was to take 13 songs, Sohail Sen has made a real effort to make each not just melodious but also very contextual. "Bikhri Bikhri" is superbly composed, its inspiring lyrics (Javed Akhtar) have been ably handled. The title song, a Jazz number, with which the movie opens is mesmerizing. "Aaja Lehraate" has been on the music channels and gives Harman enough scope to showcase his dancing skills.

Now the story, it is not meant to be taken too literally and too seriously, although almost every character that Priyanka plays has something to say about the society we live in; nothing too preachy but yes it does make you think a bit. The most touching are the Priyanka who admits to having had an affair and the Priyanka who is tutored to act Western but is too clumsy to pass as such. The comedy does not have the people falling off their chairs in desperate throes of howling laughter, but it certainly puts a smile on most faces.

Gowarikar has done a good job, instead of asking for edits I would say he should have made WYR I and WYR II, each two-hour long, both released within a space of 3 months. At least people would have stopped complaining about its length!

Let us for once appreciate something that dares to be different and is yet entertaining.

Gem of A Movie, Don't know why the low rating, Agreed the movie was a little bit long in Running, but was the need of the hour, Such Good Performances by both lead actors. Harman could have been the next Big thing for Indian Romantic Cinema, But Alas, Worth Recommending even, After 13 years of it's Theatrical release. GO FOR IT.

The lead actor needs serious acting lessons, he might have the looks, somewhat the dance moves too. But his acting is a mess and very hard to stomach. This movie rests solely on the lead actress, which is seriously impressive. The story is not bad at all with minor tackles of serious issues like child marriage. A very enjoyable movie if you are willing to ignore the previously mentioned let downs. I wonder though how much research was put in actual personalities of each rashee. A lot of the characteristics were missing that are hallmarks of each horoscope personality. Again Priyanka did a phenomenal job, while Mr Baweja failed.

I've been following the films made by Ashutosh Gowariker, who has helmed huge epics and worked with the biggest names in Bollywood today, such as Lagaan with Amir Khan, Swades with Shah Rukh Khan, and his previous film Jodhaa Akbar starring Hrithik Roshan and Ashwarya Rai Bachchan. And it's a fact that his films have runtimes of about 3.5 hours, which goes by real quickly as he keeps the story engaging, and the production values for this films are nothing less than magnificent. So naturally my interest was piqued as the auteur has now turned his sights on a romantic comedy, and I wonder exactly how a filmmaker such as he would be able to tackle this mass-appeal genre.

Based on the novel "Kimbali Ravenswood" by Madhu Rye, What's Your Rashee? (or translated as star sign for the English speaking audience) has all the ingredients that would allow for the runtime to stretch to a typical Gowariker length, but that's only because the challenge is to present all 12 female characters representing their respective star signs with attempts at equal runtime for each, with a song being inserted during the whirlwind courtship, clocking 13 tunes when the typical production averages 5. Think of it as an extreme speed dating where we get to know the opposite sex in some detail, with some travelling involved as the production showcased different districts in Mumbai, which of course is an eye-opener for one who has never visited India, yet.

The story's actually nothing sophisticated, and by romantic comedy standards quite predictable at times. Basically Yogesh Patel (Harman Buweja), an Non-Resident Indian living in Chicago has been summoned back to India because his parents learnt of his multi-million dollar inheritance from his grandfather should he get married, and the family now needs that kind of money to pay off his brother's debts. He reluctantly agrees of course, and sets himself up to meet initially hundreds of girls, but inspiration struck and he decided that he should be 12, one maiden under each star sign.

The main draw of the film is of course actress Priyanka Chopra, who has taken on possibly her most challenging film to date, playing 12 characters with more than 12 personalities. Why I say this is because some of her characters are putting on a facade, thus allowing more room for Priyanka to showcase her acting chops, which she did, with the help of stylists decking her out in beautiful dresses, varying make up, wigs, contact lenses and prosthetics even. That's only the physical outlook – you would be amazed at the physical presentation at how chameleon-like this ex-Miss World can be – and she takes her roles on with gusto to make you feel with some, laugh at some, and endear towards some through some wonderful pieces of acting. Not to mention that she broke the record set by Kamal Hassan, who tackled 10 characters in his movie Dasavatharam.

Unfortunately for Harman Baweja, who's in need for a booster to his fledging career after the flop Love Story 2050 (which incidentally also co-starred Priyanka), and the lacklustre Victory, his role as Yogesh, quite obsessed with doing the right thing each time, finds himself constantly upstaged and overshadowed by Priyanka's performance. It's a little pity of course, given that if it's anyone who can help him it'll likely be Gowariker given the director's strengths, but this was not to be as it's pretty much the leading lady's vehicle. But that's not to mean that Gowariker's film here is without flaws. Amongst his works to date, I feel that this was perhaps the weakest of the lot, suffering from a number of subplots which provided nothing more than a distraction to the meat of the story, such as that involving the infidelity of his uncle and marriage-consultant (Darshan Zariwala), and that of the loansharks who pop up now and then for unnecessary comic relief.

However, its strengths more than compensated for its drawbacks, such as how Priyanka just ran with her opportunities to shine, 12 times. The story also provided some insights into how arranged marriages, with dowries and all, are still conducted and quite a cultural thing, and the plights that some family face with having too many daughters, and wondering how best to have them married off. As the encounters with the different women were rather stand- alone, each allowed for the examination of traits and characteristics that will make you love, or loathe, and generally applies across the board, which allows you to identify with such instances.

But for all its narrative twists in secrets that cannot be kept, for its fleeting discussions on honesty or lack thereof, what I enjoyed most was the quasi-explanation of why the females that Yogesh meets, all share a striking resemblance with one another, which other characters don't seem to agree with, but only to the male protagonist. I liked how it was mentioned that we all have this preconceived idea of how our soul mate would preferably look like, and from then we tend to project this thought onto whomever we think would have a chance with, or at least tend to take those physical bits into consideration, only for their inner character, when revealed, to be anything but adhering to our dreams.

What's Your Raashee? for the romantic in me, worked wonders, and will leave you guessing at the end just who Yogesh would end up with, since Gowariker deliberately kept you hanging in suspense for as long as he possibly could. I'd recommend it as a date movie anytime if you're looking for something different from the usual Hollywood fare. Just remember to empty your bladders before the show starts, or you'll have to plan to hit the loo just about the time Leo gets introduced, for that inbuilt intermission.