Dilwale is low on content and the plot lines seem to be borrowed from repetitive old Bollywood movies. The screenplay is not so cohesive and has many lowbrow dialogues. There is a sparkle because of big Bollywood stars but Dilwale is an absolute disaster. Nothing happens in the first hour or so of the film. As the plot unravels, involving rival gangster families and a bullet-ridden past the film goes dimly through the motions, not even bothering to tickle laughs out of us. The plot is not merely average but unpardonably flat.  Dilwale is a crowd pleaser, best enjoyed with a tub of popcorn. A pleasure for SRK and Kajol fans but if you want something substantial, look elsewhere.

Two decades after the duo conjured up unforgettable magic in DDLJ, and five years after they were last seen on the big screen in My Name is Khan, the Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol pair isn’t exactly dry gunpowder. But the two stars together can still generate a fair bit of pop and sizzle when the dice rolls in their favour in a rather uneven game that is an erratic cocktail of romance, action and comedy. Whether it is just the force of nostalgia or a case of pure class asserting itself, Dilwale sails along just fine as long as SRK and Kajol are on the screen. The lead pair is all heart. The film they are trapped in is, unfortunately, utterly soulless. Well, Kajol is fantastic. Dilwale isn’t. The lead actress matches SRK move for move. But she definitely deserved a more sensible screenplay for her comeback. To put it simply, Dilwale is a bizarre love story. SRK has done his share of bizarre love stories in his time, but this one just doesn’t get off the ground despite the superstar’s best efforts. There is more hate and distrust in Dilwale than love. No amount of good-natured clowning and old school romance can save it from sinking into a deep pit a patchiness. Watch it for Kajol and, to a lesser extent, for SRK. The rest of the actors on this vehicle, barring Varun Sharma on an occasion or two, are mere passengers.

We expect insignificant froth from the director, but this particular can of Rohit Shetty has been lying open too long. The contents are not merely un-fizzy but, unforgivably, flat. Nothing, for example, happens in the first hour or so of the film. A lot of grown men share hugs and talk about how they love each other, all moist-eyed and overwhelmed, but this is too generic to care about and, disturbingly, too straight-faced to laugh at. Hamming, of course, is the sensible option in a film this badly written. No actor in the world could have lifted this material, and Khan cleverly chooses to play his part -- lips q-q-q-quivering, eyes 'intense' -- with such showiness that it looks like he's in on the joke. It is this tomfoolery, to be fair, that somewhat makes the second half bearable -- in relative terms, I must stress, but there is only so much Sanjay Mishra is allowed to do in a film of this sort. Even the car stunts -- something Shetty is known for -- are unoriginal, coming to us from Goldeneye and The Fast And The Furious movies, and so Dilwale, which, in its convoluted, sloppy fashion, tries to pay homage to Mukul Anand's Hum -- a highly compelling action melodrama -- was always going to be an uphill climb. What we end up with barely gets off the ground. Ho-Hum.

There’s nothing new in ‘Dilwale’, which steals moments not just from Rohit Shetty’s ‘Golmaal’ films, but also from Hollywood rom com ‘Love Actually’. Rohit Shetty is back in his favourite Goa, choosing to use sets which look like sets, done up in blindingly bright colours ( it’s almost as if the scenarist is scared to miss out a single hue in the palette). The film also takes a detour to Bulgaria (Why Bulgaria? Who cares?) for a most improbable back-story, involving the main lead pair, gangs, and guns and bullets, but gets back to its tiresome old haunts and habits soon enough. Yes, cars do play a big part here, as they do in most Shetty films. And yes, a couple blow up most satisfactorily. But ‘Dilwale’, on the whole, is a plotless drag : the slaphappy antics you see on screen are a random jumble of light, camera, action, done in the broadest sense. In this rigmarole, SRK is the only thing worth watching when he switches on the wattage ( Kajol can shine, too, when she chooses to), but his twin parts—a ‘car modifier’ named Raj, and a gangster called Kali (yes, that’s right), are both familiar and bland. When old hands SRK and Kajol look into each other’s eyes, they can still make you feel it, except it doesn’t happen enough. Not by a long shot.

Rohit Shetty's films are big-ticket adventures; a genre unto themselves. Low on content — plot lines borrowed (in this case Hum and Kasme Vaade), incohesive screenplay and lowbrow dialogues (Sajid-Farhad) — the film leans heavily on Shah Rukh's mega-stardom, Varun's effervescence, breathtaking locales (Iceland and Bulgaria), orchestrated car chases and over-the-top situations, which have you chuckling. Where Comedy Nights with Kapil and Comedy Nights Bachao are staples, Rohit Shetty is big boss! So just LOL! Or even better just seek solace in SRK's outstretched arms.

Let's start by saying that don't have any preconceived notion about 'Dilwale' before you plan to book your tickets. It's not just a romantic saga where two people meet and fall in love, there's certainly more to it. Rohit Shetty is known for his brand of cinema—where stars meet amidst colourful modified cars and they do the talking. Here, in 'Dilwale' when you have superstar Shah Rukh Khan and the beautiful Kajol with you—even Rohit's cars are actually used as just 'cars' (hope you get what I mean)! The music by Pritam is a ten-on-ten and singer Arijit Singh has once again spilled magic with his voice. Gerua's picturisation will want you to jump to Iceland next very moment. The rainbows, ice and sun—everything is real and so beautiful. The last dialogue between Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol completely sums up why you need to watch ' 'Dilwale'.