What's Your Raashee?

Story:

What’s Your Raashee? is a Hindi romantic comedy film written and directed by Ashutosh Gowariker and produced by Ronnie Screwvala and Sunita A. Gowariker. The movie stars Harman Baweja and Priyanka Chopra, with supporting roles played by Darshan Jariwala and Dilip Joshi.

The story, based on the Gujarati novel Kimball Ravenswood by Madhu Rye, follows Yogesh Patel, a Gujarati NRI who must marry within ten days to save his brother. Yogesh agrees to meet twelve potential brides (all portrayed by Chopra), each representing a different zodiac sign.

Gowariker, who always wanted to make a romantic comedy, was inspired to adapt Rye’s novel after seeing a play based on it. He acquired the rights and co-wrote the screenplay with playwright Naushil Mehta, making several plot changes for the film, including the resemblance between the twelve girls and the ending. Instead of using prosthetics, Chopra distinguished each character through body language and voice. Filming took place at sixty-seven locations across Mumbai, as well as in Baroda and Chicago.

The soundtrack, featuring thirteen songs (one for each astrological sign and a compilation track), was composed by newcomer Sohail Sen with lyrics by Javed Akhtar, replacing Gowariker’s usual collaborator, A. R. Rahman.

What’s Your Raashee? premiered at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival and was released on 25 September 2009. Despite a box office gross of ₹17 crore, it was not a success and received mixed reviews, with criticism aimed at its over three-and-a-half-hour runtime and screenplay. However, it was praised for its soundtrack and Chopra’s performance, which earned her a nomination for the Screen Award for Best Actress. Chopra also made history by playing twelve roles in one film, a feat considered for the Guinness World Records.