Rab Ne bana di Jodi analysis Free Essay Example, 750 words

Rab Ne bana di Jodi† analysis Introduction: This report is an analysis of a scene in the film â€Å"Rab ne bana di Jodi† – the scene where the protagonist Surinder, i.e. , the character played by actor Shah Rukh Khan, first meets his young wife in his new disguise of a hot young honcho and ends up being paired with her for dance classes. This scene is the most important one in the film because it produces a new identity for Surinder on the basis of events which occur completely by chance, leading on to the development of Surinder’s alter ego. Synopsis: This is the story of Surinder, an older man who is married to a much younger wife; the daughter of his good friend and mentor. Being somewhat reserved and anxious not to displease the beautiful young woman, he tried to be as good a husband to her as he can be. But he is not very successful in establishing a good relationship with her and a distance begins to creep in; the once vivacious young woman become morose and withdrawn after the death of her father. We will write a custom essay sample on Rab Ne bana di Jodi analysis or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now Finally, in desperation, Surinder, with the help of his somewhat radical hairdresser friend, assumes an alter ego – one that appears much younger due to his style of dressing. As Surinder, he grants permission to his young wife to join dance classes in order to enter a dance competition and during the first session, he presents himself to her as her partner for the dance competition. Throughout the rest of the film, he preserve his dual identity – of the straightforward, somewhat boring and staid husband in a kurta pyjama versus the dashing young man dressed in tight jeans and T-shirts, named Raj. The first scene where Raj finds himself paired to his wife and discovers that she does not recognize him with his changed appearance and style of dressing is one of the most important scenes in the film. This leads on to several sequences where Raj slowly gains the young woman’s confidence and ultimately finds out how much affection a nd regard she holds for her husband. Analysis of scene where Surinder meets his wife for the first time as a stranger Raj: In this scene, Surinder turns up at the place where his wife is scheduled to start her dance classes. He is dressed in tight jeans and a T shirt, which he is uncomfortable wearing, but his anxiety to observe his wife and what she is doing overpower his discomfort. Although he had originally intended to merely take a peek and leave, he ends up bumping against his wife and discovers she does not recognize him as well; hence he introduces himself as â€Å"Raj† – actually the name of his friend. This scene capitalizes on the phenomenon of Vivacity described in Scarry’s article (Scarry (1995:4), where the gap between the reality and the perceptions of the viewer influence the response to the material being presented, whether textual or visual. Until this particular scene occurs in the film, the viewer perception of Surinder is that of a rather boring, staid young man. This perception is heightened by the kind of costumes the actor wears, his dialogues and prissy behaviour. As his dress code changes, Surinder in his anxiety to appear as different from his real self as possible, talks and presents himself in a completely different manner from what he is in reality. As the viewer watches this scene, the reality he is seeing is therefore very different from his/her hitherto perception of the character of Surinder. This gap between perception and reality helps to heighten the viewer experience of the film. According to the mental imagery process described by Sadolski and Paivio (141), both verbal and non verbal representations will contribute towards the effect that a narrator is trying to achieve. In the film, during the scene where Surinder meets his wife for the first time as Raj, it is not just the words he says which promote his image as Surinder’s alter ego, it is also the non verbal cues, such as the bold gestures the physical familiarity which Raj engages in that Surinbder would never have done. Other film elements: The impact of the film upon the viewer is enhanced through clever editing. The mise en scene and the building up of suspense that contributes to the drama of the narrative occurs through the musical scores and the use of the correct background props as well. For example, the scene where Raj reveals his love to his dance partner is done with a great deal of dramatic flair. The young woman suddenly finds all lights going off in Bombay and she gets a view from her high vantage point of the lights in the city spelling out the message â€Å"I love you†. Subsequent to such a dramatic and heartfelt declaration of love, the subsequent scene shows the young woman at a gurdwara with her husband in his real avatar of Surinder, where she is required to treat him like a respectful wife. The mise en scene in these contrasting scenes spells out the choice the young woman has to make – the flashy, romantic love of Raj or the sober, reliable, old fashioned love of her husband. At the end of the film, the young woman chooses her husband’s love over that of the young dancer, quite unaware that they are both the same person. The background and non verbal cues in these scenes, i.e. , the young wife with her head covered bending down and touching her husband’s feet symbolizes the reliability and durability of traditional values. As opposed to this, during the scene where Raj’s love is revealed, he is not present, thereby symbolizing the ephemeral nature of his love and the doubts associated with its durability. The composition of these non verbal cues when combined with the actual dialogues and music, as well as the acting and expressions of the main actors, do help to heighten the viewing experience for a film goer so that the film resolution akes eminent sense. References: Sadoski, M., and Paivio, A. (1994). A dual coding view of imagery and verbal processes in reading comprehension. In R. B. Ruddell, M.R. Ruddell, & H. Singer (Eds. ),Theoretical models and processes of reading (4th ed. , pp. 582-601). Newark, DE: International Reading Association. Scarry, Elaine. â€Å"On Vivacity: The Difference Between Daydreaming and Imagining-Under-Authorial-Instruction. † Representations. 52 (1995), 1-26