Will You Marry Me?

About the film

Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (transl. Will You Marry Me?) is a 2004 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film directed by David Dhawan and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala. The film stars Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar and Priyanka Chopra with Amrish Puri, Kader Khan, Satish Shah and Rajpal Yadav in supporting roles. Set primarily in Goa, it follows the adventures of two men (Salman and Kumar) who try to win a woman's (Chopra) heart.

Wanting to re-invent himself, Dhawan decided to make a film that would deviate from his signature mass-market comedies in look and feel, approaching it as a romantic comedy. The script was written by Dhawan's longtime collaborators Anees Bazmee and Rumi Jaffery. Although the film is set in Goa, it was not shot there. Instead, principal photography was done on two detailed sets created by Sharmishta Roy in Film City and Mauritius. Additionally, several scenes and songs were filmed on location in Mauritius.

Plot

Sameer Malhotra is ill-tempered and has anger-management issues since his parents died during his childhood. The only person who could calm down his temper was his best friend, Arun. When he beats up a group of goons who tried to assault his girlfriend Roma, she breaks up with him because of his temper. According to his horoscope, Sameer is unlucky in love. To escape further similar issues, he becomes a lifeguard in Goa.

On the train, Sameer's co-passenger Suraj makes him think that he is a thief by asking him where he keeps important things (like money) in his luggage. Sameer stays awake all night to avoid being robbed, while Suraj sleeps after conning Sameer into guarding his luggage. Suraj admits this to Sameer the next morning at the station. Sameer learns that Suraj is a security guard at his resort and puts him on night guard duty for three months. This puts a crimp in Suraj's marriage, and, although he apologises, Sameer is adamant.

Sameer meets his next door neighbour Rani, an up-and-coming fashion designer, and falls in love with her. After a rough start with her father, Jugraj Singh, a former colonel, Rani and Sameer become friends. Sameer's bad luck comes into play; he disagrees with Singh, and Rani becomes angry with him when she overhears him saying bad things about her to Pandit Raj Purohit Jyotshi, an astrologer.

Production

Known primarily for mass-market comedies, David Dhawan wanted to make Mujhse Shaadi Karogi a romantic comedy. Asked about re-inventing himself with the film, he replied: "I have changed with the times. One has to [change]. My trademark style remains unchanged in its basics. Why should I change when my style has kept me going for so many years? I will never change that." Dhawan wanted the make the film different from his earlier releases in look and feel. Anees Bazmee, who collaborated on several films with the director, returned to write its screenplay. Bazmee had adapted the story and screenplay from the 2001 Tamil film Kabadi Kabadi.

In a Times of India interview, Priyanka Chopra said that she had signed for Dhawan's comedy film co-starring Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar; it was the second collaboration between Kumar and Chopra, after the successful romantic musical Andaaz (2003). Chopra said that her decision was based on "the hilarious script" and Sajid Nadiadwala's reputation as a producer. She described Rani, an aspiring fashion designer, as "very innocent and gullible" and a "girl next door": "Rani gets stuck between two boys. She likes both of them and she doesn't know what to do." In an interview with Rediff.com, Kumar described his character as someone who creates many problems in Sameer's life and compared their dynamics to Tom and Jerry: "I harass him all the time."

Principal photography began in September 2003 on a set in Film City, Mumbai. Art director Sharmishta Roy created a detailed set of Goa; according to Hindustan Times, "The set had become the talk of the industry for its fine detailing." Roy built another large set in Mauritius, where the outdoor scenes, the songs and several other scenes were filmed on a month-long schedule beginning on 9 January 2004. Three hundred people made up the unit for the Mauritius schedule.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack album contains eight songs, seven original songs and one remix. Six songs were composed by Sajid–Wajid and the seventh by Anu Malik. Lyrics for five songs were written by Jalees Sherwani, with one song each by Sameer and Arun Bhairav. The vocals were performed by Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik, Sonu Nigam, Sunidhi Chauhan, Sukhwinder Singh and Shabab Sabri. With a background score composed by Salim–Sulaiman, the album was released on 31 May 2004.

The soundtrack of the film was well received by music critics, who praised the album's lyrics and vocals. Bollywood Hungama praised its songs and musical score, highlighting "Rab Kare", "Jeene Ke Hain Chaar Din", "Laal Dupatta" and the title song.

The music topped charts on a number of platforms in India. The soundtrack was one of the best-selling Bollywood soundtracks of the year, with 2 million units sold according to Box Office India.

Marketing and release

Entrances of several theatres in India and abroad were decorated as marriage mandaps (halls) for the film. Sajid Nadiadwala said, "You have to make the entire process of movie-going exciting. Since the title itself talks of marriage, making the entrance of theatres resemble mandaps was the best possible way to attract cinegoers."

Key details