What's Your Raashee?

What's Your Raashee?
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Ashutosh Gowarikar
Produced by	Ronnie Screwvala Ashutosh Gowarikar
Screenplay by	Naushil Mehta Ashutosh Gowariker
Based on	Kimball Ravenswood by Madhu Rye
Starring	Harman Baweja Priyanka Chopra
Music by	Sohail Sen
Cinematography	Piyush Shah
Editing by	Ballu Saluja
Distributed by	UTV Motion Pictures Ashutosh Gowariker Productions
Release date(s)	25 September 2009
Running time	195 minutes
Country	India
Language	Hindi

What's Your Raashee? (Hindi transliteration: वॉट्स यॉर राशी?, translation: What's Your Zodiac Sign?) is a Hindi film directed by Ashutosh Gowarikar. The movie is based on the Doordarshan TV serial Mr. Yogi and US-based Gujarati writer Madhu Rye's novel Kimball Ravenswood, and stars Harman Baweja and Priyanka Chopra.

Priyanka Chopra plays 12 different characters depicting the twelve signs of the Zodiac. Each character has traits related to its respective astrological sign. Chopra is the first actress in the world to play twelve different characters in a single film. Though film was criticised for its length and slow pace, Priyanka Chopra's performance was highly appreciated and she also received Star Screen Award Best Actress nomination for her performance.

Plot

The movie starts off in a quaint rural village where an elderly man, Yogesh's grandfather is eagerly awaiting the postman. Upon the postman's arrival, he gets a card addressed to him from his youngest grandson Yogesh. He decides then and there that his inheritance will go to Yogesh.

The scene then flips to Mumbai, where Yogesh's family is consulting an astrologer to find out whether their eldest son Jitu, is destined for jail, as he has many pending debts. They are relieved to hear he is not, and gives the astrologer their younger son, Yogesh's birth date to find out what his future is. The astrologer is astonished to see that Yogesh, will come into much money if he is married on the 20th of that month, and right then a phone call comes. The family is overjoyed to see that their grandfather has made Yogesh the sole heir to his property.

The movie then flips to Chicago where you see Yogesh, a very successful young man with a high paying job. He gets an SMS that his father has had a heart attack and comes rushing to Mumbai. When he arrives he finds out that he was lied to by Jitu. The family then explains the situation that, Jitu owes a very rich man 2.5 crores, which he whiled away in gambling, and if Yogesh doesn’t marry on the 20th, then Jitu will go to jail. Yogesh is adamant at first that he will NOT marry, but then Jitu pulls him aside and tells him that there is more. He had also borrowed 1.5 crores from a mob boss who was on his tail to pay him back and that if he doesn't, he is afraid he will be killed. His parents don’t know about it and he wants to keep it that way. Yogesh is annoyed but agrees to marry. At this time they are standing outside the apartment where they live when two rough looking men come up to Jitu and say that boss wants to meet you, they then take Jitu and Yogesh to meet him where Jitu promises the mob boss that his money will be delivered on the day of the wedding during the reception. The mob boss agrees but threatens them that if he doesn’t get his money, he will cut their fingers off.

Yogesh then goes to meet with his uncle and father. His Uncle Devu had posted an ad with Yogesh's photo, and 176 girls had replied. Yogesh realised he couldn’t see so many girls at once so he decides that he will see one girl from each raashee (zodiac sign) after reading a book about raashee's the previous night. After their meeting, Uncle Devu’s wife comes to ask a favour from Yogesh's father. She asks for him to assign a private detective to follow her husband because she suspects that he is cheating on her. When his father tries to find one he finds out the astrologer is also a private detective. They agree that he will tail Devu to find out the girls name and address. Then Devu takes Yogesh to meet the girls.

The plot then evolves into a series of meetings with each of the twelve girls, and many songs corresponding to each one. (See Characters played by Priyanka Chopra for a list of all the girls.) During this time, the sub-plot with the detective moves forward as well, and he identifies the mistress as a lady named Anila.

When Yogesh has met with most of the girls, one of them, Sanjana meets him and asks if they can talk in private. He agrees and while he packs his things from his bedroom Sanjana talks to him about how a boy has agreed to marry her and her uncle and aunt are ignoring her refusal. She asks that Yogesh accepts her proposal long enough for her to figure out something about her boyfriend. He accepts after telling her about his own problems with Jitu. Sanjana is touched that Yogesh is still willing to help her even with all of his problems and hugs him. Right at this moment Devu walks in and thinks he has interrupted their "moment". Sanjana wants to explain to him that he has got it all wrong and runs after him. Downstairs the private detective is still tailing Devu. He doesn't know that Devu has been staying with Anila at the hotel and watches the meeting between Sanjana and Devu take place. He watches Devu talk to her, then Sanjana shows him a picture, but when he says something, she gets angry and tries to leave. Devu stops her and she bursts into tears crying into his shoulder while he holds her. They then get up and go to Devu's car and drive off. Yogesh's father arrives at the hotel because the detective sent him the pictures he snapped of Sanjana and Devu as Yogesh himself is coming down the stairs. The private detective tells them he believes that Devu is having an affair with Sanjana. Yogesh thinks back and realises that it's true. After seeing the pictures that the detective took, he is certain. Yogesh asks the detective to send the pictures to his phone. Then Anila comes downstairs asking where Devu is. He shows her the photos and says that the detective says he and Sanjana went to Khandala, a hill-station near Mumbai. The detective tells Devu's wife the same thing. Both find Devu at a hotel with Sanjana. Anila and Devu's wife both ask who the other is. Sanjana says hi to them politely but they take no notice. The scene changes to Yogesh and Devu getting in a car, both are angry with each other because Devu thinks that Yogesh betrayed him and Yogesh is angry at him for messing around with Sanjana.

After seeing the last girl, that night, Yogesh's mother talks to him, and apologises for making him go through this trouble, and tells him to choose who his heart wants, not his mind. While dreaming, Yogesh sees all the girls (in the song "Chehre Jo Dekhe Hain") and in the morning, decides who he will marry. He arrives at Rajni's office, obviously going only because she offered 5 crores of dowry, even though Yogesh refused, when he discovers that his friend and Rajni are to be married. He leaves, very relieved and goes to his Devu's place. He says that he wants to marry Vishakha, and Devu dials the phone only to reject her. He says that there is no need to marry her, because he has found out about Jitu's debt, and says that he will choose Yogesh's bride himself.

The next day he asks his uncle to tell him the name of his bride, but Devu says to be patient. When the bride enters, Yogesh cannot tell, because they all looked the same. When they are finished with the rounds around the marriage pyre, Devu welcomes the father of the bride as Sanjana's father. Yogesh is staggered, and at this time Yogesh's grandfather appears and brings with him all the money needed to pay off Jitu's various debts. He explains that Devu called him and explained what was going on. While the pay off is occurring, Yogesh pulls Devu aside to ask him how he had arranged for Sanjana to marry him.

Devu explains that the afternoon where Sanjana had followed him to explain that she and Yogesh were not romantically linked she had shown him a picture of her and her boyfriend together. He said he had been shocked because he had seen the same man in Khandala kissing another woman. This was why Sanjana had been angry, and ended up crying so he took her to Khandala to prove to her that he had been right. That's why he had been at the hotel because Sanjana had gone to confront her boyfriend. In the end she was crying on his shoulder, when Anila and his wife Kanta both showed up. He then asked Sanjana if she would marry Yogesh and she agreed instantly because she realised she loved him. Upon hearing this, Yogesh realised he loved Sanjana as well. They are happily married and the movie ends with everyone asking Yogesh what his raashee is.

Cast

• Harman Baweja as Yogesh Patel
• Priyanka Chopra as Anjali / Sanjana / Kajal / Hansa / Rajni / Chandrika / Mallika / Nandini / Pooja / Vishakha / Bhavna / Jhankhna. See Characters played by Priyanka Chopra
• Dilip Joshi as Jitu, Yogesh's brother
• Darshan Jariwala as Devu, Yogesh's uncle
• Anjan Srivastav as Yogesh's father
• Manju Singh as Yogesh's mother
• Rajesh Vivek as Astrologer/Detective
• Yuri Suri as Moolraj, mob boss
• Daya Shankar Pandey as Chaand
• Marcell D'souza as Suraj
• Visswa Badola
• Bhairavi Vaidya
• Geeta Tyagi
• Ajita Kulkarni

Characters played by Priyanka Chopra

Character name	Zodiac sign	Description	Positive aspects	Negative aspects
Anjali Patel	Mesh/Aries	Anjali, a dorky small-town girl who's having trouble speaking English properly.	For Yogesh, she seems to be a girl of clear intentions; they find a comfort zone for each other.	Yogesh doesn't feel as romantic as he is friendly with her. She pretends to a fashionable girl thinking that's a type Yogesh would like. She has only done her schooling.
Sanjana Shah	Kumbh/Aquarius	Sanjana, an attractive and successful microbiologist.	NRI (non-resident Indian) and well-educated, she has a lot in common with Yogesh. He is instantly attracted to her.	She asks Yogesh to reject her, because she has a secret boyfriend.
Kajal Khakhar	Mithun/Gemini	Kajal, a fashionable, high-class, and romantic college girl.	She is very outgoing, a good dancer, and loves to have a good time. She is into music, like Yogesh. Educated and a brilliant all-rounder. They find themselves to be compatible for each other. She likes him very much and wants to marry him.	She argues a lot though Yogesh doesn't get bothered about it much. Her ideas vary from his, especially about love. She wants the marriage to take place after one year.
Hansa Parekh	Kark/Cancer	Hansa, an honest, dedicated and educated girl whose own love affair was a failure.	Quiet, traditional, honest, hard-working and educated. Yogesh respects her more when she exposes the truth (that she is not a virgin) that her family members had told her not to tell him.	She is still getting over her previous love affair but confides in Yogesh that she would be a good wife; she cannot assure him that she will love him unconditionally.
Rajni Parmar	Tula/Libra	Rajni, a successful and ruthless business tycoon.	Well-balanced, has established strong foothold over her business.	Too bossy, sees marriage as a contract. Her pre-nuptial agreement shocked Yogesh. Strict and rude, wants to use Yogesh.
Chandrika Jamnadas	Meen/Pisces	Chandrika, a traditional naive girl, daughter of a rich jeweller.	Sweet and elegant.	Hesitant and fearful at the start but later, gets little too out of the world, thinking she and Yogesh were lovers in the previous life. Overly possessive. Father is extremely controlling and proud.
Mallika Desai	Simha/Leo	Mallika, a successful performer, works for an NGO.	Charity worker, has a great sense for fashion and is a magnificent theatre dancer.	Quick-tempered, has strong preconceived notions about NRIs. Rejects Yogesh.
Nandini Jassani	Vrishchik/Scorpio	Nandini, an ambitious small-town girl who has big dreams of becoming a model one day in Chicago.	Beautiful, passionate, knows a lot about Chicago where world's top model agency is situated.	Hides her real image and a bit "in-your-face". Yogesh feels Nandini only wants to marry him so that she can achieve her goal.
Pooja Goradia	Kanya/Virgo	Pooja, a dedicated doctor who works to help Indian villagers.	Educated, caring and loving. Yogesh and Pooja begin to like each other very much after their first meeting.	Is adamant on not wanting to settle abroad.
Vishakha Zaveri	Vrishabh/Taurus	Vishakha, the beautiful daughter of a very rich cotton industrialist.	Beautiful, energetic, fun-loving, friendly and playful person.	Pretends to be very immature to test Yogesh's intentions, to see if he's interested in marrying her only for her money, thus making him think that it would be difficult for both of them to adjust.
Bhavna Shukla	Dhanu/Sagittarius	Bhavna, a religious and superstitious girl.	Very pretty, expert in astrology, religious and spiritual in nature.	Relies too much on stars and horoscopes, and realises that she and Yogesh are incompatible. Unsuccessfully tries to seduce him.
Jhankhna	Makar/Capricorn	Jhankhna, a 15-year-old village girl.	Simple, quiet, lives in her own little world, wants to study more.	Nervous and aloof. Yogesh is shocked to hear she's only 15 years old.

Crew

• Presenters: UTV Motion Pictures & Ashutosh Gowarikar Productions
• Director: Ashutosh Gowarikar
• Producers: Ronnie Screwvala & Sunita A. Gowariker
• Screenplay: Naushil Mehta & Ashutosh Gowarikar
• Dialogue: Naushil Mehta, Amit Mistry & Tapan A. Bhatt
• Music & Background Score: Sohail Sen
• Lyricist: Javed Akhtar
• Cinematography: Piyush Shah
• Art Director: Nitin Chandrakant Desai
• Costume Design: Neeta Lulla
• Make-Up: Madhav Kadam
• Visual Effects: Red Chillies VFX
• Sound: Stephen Gomes
• Choreographers: Chinni Prakash, Rekha Prakash, Raju Khan, Lollypop, Terence Lewis and Rajeev Surti

Production

Development

What's Your Raashee? is a romantic comedy dealing with marriage. The author, Madhu Rye, calls the novel a side-splitting tingly comic, which studies human nature. It has many devilish characters and can be termed even as a sex thriller. But he also said that Ashutosh Gowarikar might make few alterations in the plot to make it more appealing. The movie is Ashutosh Gowarikar's first romantic comedy film. In a press interview, Gowarikar said: "It is a genre that I have always loved and I had always wanted to attempt. My favourite films of this genre are Roman Holiday and When Harry Met Sally, amongst several others. I'm also a great fan of Chupke Chupke and all romantic comedies of Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Basu Chatterjee".

The film began shooting in Mumbai on 6 December 2008. It was shot across 65 different locations in Mumbai. The director said that shooting for this movie was more challenging that his previous effort, 2008's Jodha Akbar, since it's not in one location and the crew has to continuously move around, which is time-consuming. The production of the movie entered its second schedule in the midweeks of January. A few parts of this schedule were shot in Chicago as well as Baroda. What's Your Raashee? was shot in a single start-to-finish schedule. The final wrapping of the shooting was in April 2009.

The song "Aaja Lehraate" was shot in one take. It was a draining process for Priyanka Chopra and Harman Baweja, as every mistake they made would require them to shoot the song from the beginning, which happened many times. Priyanka Chopra fell ill due to the stress of shooting the film, and filming had to be delayed while she rested.

Casting

This is the second movie that Harman Baweja and Priyanka Chopra have been paired in pivotal roles after Love Story 2050. According to the director, Harman was signed for this movie before Love Story 2050 was produced. Later, Priyanka Chopra joined the cast. Priyanka plays twelve different characters, each representative of a zodiac sign, each with its unique look and personality.

Promotion

After finishing the first schedule of the movie, Ashutosh Gowarikar wanted Nabeel Abbas to design the first look of the film. Ashutosh and Nabeel came up with the unique concept for the first look of the film. The teaser poster was released on 20 January 2009. The poster looked like a book cover that, according to Gowarikar, "will not reveal much about the film at the same time will have a feel of the film."

Reception

Critical reception

What's Your Raashee? premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 19 September 2009. The initial reviews of the movie were negative, especially blaming the film's run time. Rob Nelson of Variety wrote, "the film stretches to a 211 minutes, even Bollywood aficionados will consider breaking the engagement. Two or three peppy songs prove woefully insufficient to sustain a 3½-hour trifle, however good-looking."

Despite these reviews, Priyanka Chopra was widely praised for her performance. Taran Adarsh wrote, "What's Your Raashee? belongs to Priyanka Chopra. No two opinions on that. Words would fail to do justice to the remarkable portrayal of twelve different characters by this actor. This is her finest work to date." Another review states, "What’s Your Raashee is a film based on performances, rather than story. And in this context, you cannot help but applaud Piggy Chops. The efforts she has put in bringing across 12 different characters shows and is praiseworthy." According to Rediff Movies review, "And boy, what a lady! Priyanka Chopra transforms into 12 new skins with astonishing distinction, voice and spirit. The actress reinvents herself into this unique individual every single time ranging from batty, bashful and boisterous. This is simply her show." Chopra was nominated for the Star Screen Award for Best Actress.

Box office

The film had a poor opening at the box office, it earned only Rs.12 Crores during its full run and was declared as a flop by Box Office India. It is Harman Baweja's third film in a row which failed at the box office with the other two turning out to be disasters. The telecasting rights for the film have been sold to Tata Sky for their 'Showcase' Premiere.

Awards

• Nominated – Star Screen Award Best Actress- Priyanka Chopra
• Nominated – Stardust Star of the Year Award - Male- Harman Baweja
• Nominated – Stardust Awards, Standout Performance By A Music Director- Sohail Sen
• Nominated – Stardust Awards, New Musical Sensation – Female – Bela Shinde – Su Chhe
• Nominated – Stardust Awards, New Musical Sensation – Female – Tarannum Malik – Salone Kya

Soundtrack

Main article: What's Your Raashee? (soundtrack)

The music of the film was composed by Sohail Sen and the lyrics were penned by Javed Akhtar. The album was released on 18 August 2009 and consists of 13 songs: one introductory song and 12 songs one for each zodiac sign and character played by Priyanka Chopra.

External links

• What's Your Raashee? at the Internet Movie Database
• Official Website
• Official Facebook Application