…the predictable plotting and the lazy characterization never really allow you to be invested in any of the film’s characters or to even care for them. Make no mistake, Salman Khan is the sole draw of this film, and he works hard for his top billing. The actor is in good form – terrific in the comic scenes, and earnest in the emotional ones – turning on the charm to help you survive, and even enjoy, this nearly 3 hour film that’s crammed with songs, and over-styled to a fault.

…draws heavily from Sooraj Barjatya’s previous work, with one glaring cosmetic difference : he sets it not in homes that people like you and me live in, or relate to, but in a grand palace.

The trouble is, fun-filled scenes turn into tearjerkers in PRDP in a moment, and you don’t know what’s hit you. It has everything a quintessential Hindi ‘masala’ family film would crave for. But take our advice: Go with a full packet of tissues, you will need all of them. To me, PRDP stands for ‘Poor Rich Devout People.’

With everything seeming right, and bringing out his point of living together as a family, director Sooraj goes a bit overboard. After the family has let go off their differences, Sooraj goes on with additional scenes of bonding which are painful to watch. The film does give you a few ‘values’ to take back home, but it takes some patience to sit through it, especially the second half. For all those who love family sagas, drama and 90’s style romance, this is one royal ride you might want to take.

A lot of visible effort has gone in designing Prem Ratan Dhan Payo’s opulence and scale but ultimately it is just lacklustre, recycled fare from a man stuck on men versus women sporting contests, midnight kitchen rendezvous and the pristine aura of Prem.

The last one still holds good. Rest is just rah-rah.

The overwrought PRDP might not be that bad, but it is syrupy to the point of being unendurable. Only for Salman Khan fans.

Straight away, Prem Ratan Dhan Payo is Salman Khan’s triumph. Salman simply blows the top off the theatres with a double role that makes you laugh, gasp, sigh – and cry.

Salman Khan saunters onto the screen, pretends to emote, and then bursts into song and dance. Sonam Kapoor is particularly grating – more than ten minutes of her on screen and you might want to look away. Right from Kapoor’s attempts to appear subdued and coy, to the fake waterfall gushing under the palace, “Prem Ratan Dhan Payo” is a spectacle that rings hollow. This is not the Diwali gift you were waiting for.

PRDP is a must-watch for all Salman fans and will be best enjoyed with your family. Because no family film gets bigger than this one!

In all, the film works for both Salman Khan and Sooraj Barjatya’s specific audience bases. While a Salman fan might miss his super-human antics at times, he does a great job otherwise. Watch the film for Salman.

…is not everyone’s cup of tea! It is a family watch and best for those who love to watch happy endings with emotional undertones. This is a typical Rajshri affair so watch it only if you can digest it.

…is the perfect Diwali entertainer for the entire family. The film will win abundant love [prem], while its investors will reap a harvest [dhan], making it a memorable Diwali for all concerned. This one’s a record-smasher — scoring from East to West and from North to South, scoring at plexes as well as single screens, scoring at metros as well as non-metros, scoring in the domestic market as well as in the international arena. B-L-O-C-K-B-U-S-T-E-R!

I could go on and on about the banality of the entire plot narrative but I will just suffice it to say that there really is no point investing into this family drama helmed by Salman Khan. Somewhere after ‘Maine Pyar Kiya’ (1989) and ‘Hum Aapke Hain Kaun’ (1994), Sooraj Barjatya lost the plot. His saccharine sagas of unconditional familial love are unbelievably corny and tacky in equal measure.

Despite its flaws, PRDP manages to entertain you. It’s long yes, and most of its story is almost too sentimental. But the it works, especially if you like family dramas with a dash of style and humour. This is definitely worth a watch.

…a Diwali cracker that goes phus. It’s an archaic story told in an archaic manner. Sooraj Barjatya takes 174 minutes to tell you this tale that has no meat, no soul, nor a proper push forward. By the time it gets over, you have gathered enough aches as you keep adjusting yourself in the seat.

With a screenplay that’s so lacklustre, dialogues so mediocre and settings so outdated, it might have been less torturous had the film not been painfully long at close to three hours. Mr. Winkle would have wanted to go back to sleep if he had been subjected to watching this one.

…is solidly grounded in family values. At a time when the joint family is getting fragmented here is a film from two people who would die for their family.

For Sooraj and Salman, it’s all about loving the family.And we love it…

Critics may find holes in the plot, and there are many, yet, what works for the film is Barjatya himself, who unapologetically uses the story’s very simplicity as its biggest advantage.

Not surprisingly, this Barjatya film is as nice, predictable, old fashioned and sweet as a Diwali laddoo. Full of emotionally engaging, PG-rated Prem leela.

Frankly, spending so much time writing such a long review is in itself giving more credit than is due to this half-baked, lifeless, low-IQ film with its juvenile humour and family politics that resembles circumstances in the cheapest saas-bahu soaps now running on Hindi fiction TV.

…will be loved by one section of the audience and will not find favour with youngsters initially, but it will, in the final tally, emerge as a comfortable box-office winner for all concerned. It will do huge business at the ticket windows. Despite its high cost (investment of Fox is to the tune of Rs. 235 crore), profits are assured. In fact, the film may go on to earn very well if the ladies audi­ence patronises it in a big way – which is a very big possibility.

Should you watch the film? The question you need to ask is “Are you a Salman Khan fan?” You will find your answer… like all those happy audiences did that poured out of the theaters alongside me after watching this magnum opus from Rajshri!

If you plan to go for Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, you know what you are getting into. So make an informed choice. It’s really all about your “prem” for Salman and the hilarious Rajshri memes that deserve full family viewing.

The director has tried his best to keep the ethics of Indian culture right at the centre of his screenplay. The movie is a sureshot family entertainer, without any uncomfortable scenes. However, it does take a while to digest that such a perfect family and ethics can co-exist in today’s time.

…will not be the best bhai movie you’ll have watched or even the best Rajshri movie for that matter. There are several problems with the movie; whether it is the hackneyed storyline or mediocre performances but you’ll do well to give this a watch because you know like every Rajshri movie, this one has a heart too and it is in the right place.

Sooraj Barjatya should never be blamed for believing in the goodness of the nineties and incorporating it in today’s cinema. But what needs to be blamed is that he still sticks to the old style film-making and expects the audience to accept it. That’s where Prem Ratan Dhan Payo as a film fails. What could have been Salman Khan’s sweetest Diwali gift to his fans turns out to be so depressing that you wait for this festival to get over asap! If you are a true Salman Khan and have patience to bear melodrama for more than 3 hours, go enjoy the challenge!

…an endlessly long saga with a sheesh mahal at the end of a treacherous precipice propped up by illegitimate children, fake football matches and overly made-up actors. You can imagine brides-to-be making mental notes of which lehengas and saris they want copied as they watch this opulent, colour-coordinated costume drama.

The film has its faults, but with Salman Khan’s dual force (yes, he plays a double role), a lilting romance, and the ODing on traditional values – this one’s sure to hit the right spots with the family junta. Salman is real ‘ratan’ in this tradition-soaked romance, likely to bring in enough dhan for the makers!

A coronation set in present day India – it is fantasy world, alright. Within that framework too though, Prem Ratan Dhan Payo doesn’t have an interesting tale to tell. Neither do you quite ‘get’ the characters’ motivations nor their greivances. Also, all the extravagance you see in the trailer is all there is. The rest of the film is a visual drab too.

Being a Khan film releasing on Diwali, it would be hardly surprising if this one clocks the big three digits at the box office. But before investing 174 minutes (the runtime) of your life in watching this tale of a middle-aged raja wooing a rani half his age, be warned. Some of the dubsmashes of the title song are far more watchable (especially the one featuring a snake trying to ape Sonam’s thumkas).

Wish the dialogues had a little more punch. Wish Sooraj reflected a little more on the darkness beneath the light but overall it is a family get together that you don’t mind attending in festive mood.

The onus of the success of this film is on Khan. It is only “prem” (love) for this man that can bring the people into the theatres.

Despite its lows, Salman shines as Prem; it is his character that makes the film fairly watchable. For Sonam Kapoor, she has been decorated well and is an unmissable part of set design. More than Sonam, it’s Salman’s chemistry with Anupam Kher that is one of the high points of the film.

Through PRDP, Sooraj Barjatya has once again laid emphasis on family values and spreading love. There is romance, drama coupled with some action sequences towards the end make this movie a wholesome entertainer. All in all, PRDP is a perfect treat for the families this festive season.

If you are a true Salman Khan fan, you shall enjoy it, otherwise not so much! For people who have loved Rajshri films in the past may also like it! It ain’t that bad, but it ain’t that good either! One time watch only!

I knew it was a Rajshri film, where people play jewellery-jewellery in their living rooms, wear saris and sherwanis to bed and roll red carpets to their loos. But Prem Ratan Dhan Payo takes the Dhan part way too seriously.

The film may appeal more to senior citizens and middle aged people who are now hooked to TV soaps. Sooraj Barjatya may succeed in pulling these folks back to the cinema hall as PRDP follows the typical template that is shown in family soaps nowadays and is a throwback to Indian films of the 70s and 80s.

… makes for a sparkling watch this Diwali. Fall for the grandeur, reconnect with values and try not to seek much of a story. Though we must warn you that sitting through a three-hour long film can be daunting in times of web-series and short films. But that’s what Barjatya is all about. Take some time out of your busy schedules to return to a bygone era, of simpler things, family films and Prem – who is waiting for you with his arms open.

…muddles through its 174 minutes, neither hitting the highs expected from such an expensive and high-profile project nor the lows that plague mid-career filmmakers. Like its intended audience, the movie sticks firmly in the middle.

‘Prem Ratan Dhan Payo’s storyline is not as commendable as the filmmaker’s previous efforts neither is the music. Except Salman and Anupam Kher, the rest of the cast are not quite up to the mark. Of course the film is high on lavish sets and grandeur, but the storyline is not something very special and fizzles out. Watch ‘Prem Ratan Dhan Payo’ only if you are a die-hard fan of Sooraj Barjatya’s films or if you have nothing better to do this weekend.

The wait has been long — both for a Sooraj Barjatya film (nine years) and a Sooraj-Salman collaboration (16 years). The wait has indeed been worth it, and Barjatya can well relax, for he has managed to connect in times when the positive values he likes to project in his movies are considered laughably archaic.