Opened: 18 December 2015
Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Varun Dhawan, Kriti Sanon, Varun Sharma, Johnny Lever, Sanjay Mishra, Mukesh Tiwari, Boman Irani, Kabir Bedi, Vinod Khanna
Director: Rohit Shetty
Producer: Rohit Shetty & Gauri Khan
Rating: ★

Now here's the thing. I'm all for leave-your-brain-at-home cinema. Heck I even enjoyed Bol Bachchan and Chennai Express.

Dilwale though? Such a wasted opportunity. You have the greatest jodi in a generation and what you squander it for a few fragmented scenes?

Protracted and painful to watch, Dilwale is punctuated only by the presence of the star pairing.

When Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol appear together I won't lie, sparks fly. It's electric. You're transported to two decades ago – you remember those good old days when all Raj had to do was open his arms and you would run into them gladly, readily.

We've moved on Raj. We've changed. We've grown up and we demand more than nostalgia. We deserve more than a few regurgitated dialogues from DDLJ.

This goes for the rest of the cast too. The new kids Kriti Sanon and Varun Dhawan? They have no chemistry and Varun's character is annoying as hell.

Boman Irani? Hamming it up like a true vaudevillian.

Johnny Lever? Rolling your eyes and using a funny accent and broken Hindi just doesn't cut it. Not anymore anyway.

Kabir Bedi and Vinod Khanna appear briefly but they may as well have not bothered, their impact is completely negligible.

There's a couple of laugh out loud moments but they're too few and far between to be memorable.

The one true redeeming factor in Dilwale is Kajol. We all gasped because time seems to have stood still for her. As Meera, she's feisty, and she still shares that chemistry with the film's leading man. Her song sequences with him especially 'Gerua' summon 'Suraj Hua Madham' memories with all those sweeping saris and searing looks and for a moment, just for a moment mind, all is forgiven. Once the song finishes though, you're snapped out of the reverie and it's back to drivel.

You're worth much more than sub standard scripts SRK. You are the original anti-hero. Where's all the charm and charisma you're known for? Perhaps I'm being harsh and overly critical. Perhaps I expected more. In truth I expected nothing but I received even less. Watch it at your peril.