Critical reception Upon release, the film received positive reviews. Robert Abele of the
Los Angeles Times calls
Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi an "agreeably amusing comedy/romance/musical" noting that, "the magnetic Khan is a skilled enough comic actor with his physical transformation—like a
Peter Sellers-ish recessive turning into a
Jerry Lewis extrovert—that believing Taani wouldn't notice isn't difficult." Rachel Saltz of
The New York Times describes it as "soft, sweet and slow, in the words of one of its songs. It deftly blends comedy, the ruling tone of the new Bollywood, with melodrama, the ruling tone of the old." Manish Gajjar of the
BBC gave the film 4 out of 5 stars noting that, "Shah Rukh Khan makes you laugh and cry as the nerdy-looking, clumsy, bespectacled Surinder and all hip and happening Raj. A true professional in his own right, Khan breezes through his dialogues during the emotional and comic scenes."
Frank Lovece of
Film Journal International argues that it is "smarter and more self-aware of its rom-com contrivances than most Hollywood movies" and notes that while "the movie's cleverness eventually devolves into a simplistic Harlequin-Romance-for-males wish-fulfillment about beauty and the geek, it's a very well-acted variation on a Hollywood staple." Critic and author
Maitland McDonagh of
MissFlickChick.com stated that the film, "has been dismissed in some quarters as self-conscious and artificial, a coyly self-referential reworking of outdated movie tropes a la
Todd Haynes'
Far From Heaven, but it works for me in a way that most contemporary Hollywood romcoms don't." The film also received some negative reviews.
Rajeev Masand of
CNN-IBN was critical, giving it 2 out of 5 stars and stating that "Aditya Chopra's return to direction after 8 years is marked by a flawed script, which in turn spawns a disappointing film. Where's the smart dialogue and the spirited characters that defined his debut film,
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge? There's no trace of either in this film...the problem then, at the root of
Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, is that much like those artificial sets in the film, the emotions too are contrived." Derek Elley of
Variety argues that the film has "a huge, hollow center that sinks the project early on...A paper-thin script drags itself to the finish line amid tiresome mugging by Khan, a huge credibility gap (she never recognises him without his spectacles and moustache?), and a blah score with only one showstopper (featuring 5 famous actresses)." A number of critics have further noted the similarities between this movie and
superhero films. Khalid Mohamed, of the
Hindustan Times, gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars stating that Surinder "is a soul brother to the mousy
Clark Kent-cum-
Superman" who "makes you laugh and sob alternately." Mayank Shekhar from
Mumbai Mirror gave the film three out of five stars and argues that "[The] same person, oppositely twinned, is usually the stuff of superhero films; the kinds of Clark Kent-Superman,
Peter Parker-
Spider-Man etc. You feel entirely lost in this fantasy flick because for the most part, it’s built around something so intimate and real. It’d be much easier to travel to foreign countries around far-fetched situations with fake heroes." In addition, Sudish Kamath of
The Hindu stated that while
Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi could have been an interesting art film exploring the dynamics of an
arranged marriage, the director instead "treats this character type like
Sam Raimi would treat Spider-Man...Superhero 'Raj' slips into costume and out, complaining about how it gets uncomfortable around the crotch, to win over his
Mary Jane with not much saving-the-world business to keep him busy. But while Spidey does it for a bigger reason than just MJ, Raj’s sole motivation is to stalk his wife and play out his fantasy as somebody else. His obsession with his alter-ego reaches new heights when he wants his wife to cheat on the real him—the goofy Surinder Sahni who starts off well."
Box office Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi collected in its opening week. By its fourth week, it had earned , making it Shah Rukh Khan's fifth consecutive blockbuster in 3 years and Aditya Chopra's third blockbuster as a director. The film grossed $8.43 million in the overseas market of which $2.09 million was contributed by the United States and $2.24 million from the UK, and was declared as a blockbuster overseas. At the end of its theatrical run, it grossed worldwide, thus becoming
Yash Raj Films' and Khan's highest-grossing film at the time of its release. It was the second-highest-grossing film domestically and the highest-grossing in the overseas market that year. ==Accolades==