It is obvious that Sooraj R. Barjatya has spared no expense or effort in erecting the ornate sets and designing the unabashedly garish look of Prem Ratan Dhan Payo. But one crucial aspect of the film that would have cost little or no money (the director is himself the writer) but taken far greater effort – the screenplay – is completely neglected.
As a result, this overlong and bloated story of a sad and lonely prince – a man who would be king – is told in an old-fashioned, overly melodramatic style that simply does not work in this day and age. This painfully dreary and tedious film relies far too heavily on Salman Khan – he plays a double role – to liven things up. The swaggering superstar who was a Hanuman acolyte earlier this year in Bajrangi Bhaijaan, is, one of his avatars here, a devoted Ram bhakt this time around. He plays Prem Dilwale, the star attraction in a Ram-leela troupe based in Ayodhya.
