Rab ne bana di hanson ka joda

Rajshri Production's newest soap Do Hanson Ka Joda looks, sounds and feels like YRF's 2008 blockbuster Rab Ne Bana Di Jodiu00a0

Un-hip glasses. Check. Looping moustache. Check. Girl dreaming about sapno ka rajkumar. Check. Girl disappointed in her shaadi ka joda with not happening pati. Check. Suryakamal and Preeti. Check. Do Hanson Ka Joda and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodiu2026 check.

Television shows borrowing from film is nothing new till about a few months ago when, probably exhausted by film themes, soaps turned to other soaps for inspiration instead.

But as the promos of NDTV Imagine's latest Do Hanson Ka Joda reek of Yash Raj Films' blockbuster Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (he even adjusts his spectacles and murmurs "Preetiji" like Shah Rukh Khan blushed, "Taaniji," in the film), it looks like the trend is back.

Do Hanson Ka Joda, a post-marriage love story, launches tomorrow night.

It's ironic considering just weeks ago, YRF broke into television with eight shows on Sony, none of them looking anything like their fluttering-chiffon-and-sarson-ke-khet big screen cousins.

Married to a 'regular guy'

Kavita Barjatya of Rajshri Productions, the makers of Do Hanson Ka Joda, says, "Preeti thinks life's like the movies and that her husband will be like a filmstar. But circumstances intervene. She gets married to a simple, regular guy, Suryakamal, and comes face to face with reality," she says.

Umm, does sound like Anushka Sharma shaking a leg on the morning of her wedding and then ending up marrying Shah Rukh, a few hours later on the same day.

The story of Do Hanson Kau2026, Kavita adds, is basically about how two diametrically different people are actually soulmates, people who compete with each other.

Still sounds quite like the loud, dancing and laughing Taani and the painfully shy, soft-spoken Suri, and how the twain meet. "Our show focusses on the three pillars which make a great marriage: tyaag, dheeraj, samarpan," she explains.

Kavita admits to have watched and enjoyed Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, though she chooses not to elaborate on it. "I don't see the point because this show is not like it," she says firmly.

Suri does it

That Shaleen Bhanot's look is like Shah Rukh's Suri in the movie is something she doesn't entirely deny, though. Kavita says, "He does probably look like Suri, but it wasn't intentional. Shaleen is a good face on television, so we needed him to look different for this show." Shaleen himself sees it as a general look. "A small-town shy guy who doesn't follow fashion of any kind, is an introvert and totally family-oriented, would look like that," he says.
Shubhangi Atre, who plays dreamy-eyed Preeti, echoes both her producer and co-star's thoughts. "Bilkul similar nahin hai," she protests, adding, "It could be an inspiration but it's definitely not a copy." She explains that the show involves simple day-to-day emotions and there isn't any drama or major death, which was the basic premise which shaped Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi.

"It's about a very idealistic sanskaari girl who dreams of Prince Charming, but whose mother chooses Suryakamal. She's unhappy but she goes ahead and marries him because she knows her mother has her best interests at heart," says Shubhangi.

Not one, but many jodis

Shaleen adds, "She realises that he may not have a body like Salman or be a superstar like Shah Rukh but he's a real-life hero. Take Mahatma Gandhi for instance. He didn't look like a hero, but he was one, wasn't he?"
Apparently, Do Hanson Ka Joda doesn't stop at Shaleen and Shubhangi, it also talks of other couples on the show. "Each one is a meant-to-be couple. The larger cast includes Ali Merchant, Vineet Raina and Reema Lagoo," reveals Kavita.

YRF doesn't seem to mind one bit. Rafiq Gangjee, VP, marketing and communication, states, "Yash Raj Films has the highest regard and respect for Rajshri and we are certain that a responsible production house like theirs would ensure that there is no infringement intended and believe that any resemblance, if at all, is probably just incidental and not a breach of any copyrights." We'll be watching!