The story has a definite (and intentional) been-there-done-that feel, but Khan is the reason to watch it all one more time. Shah Rukh Khan has a definite gift for creating complex characters who don't fall easily into good-guy, bad-guy categories, and Chalte Chalte's Raj is one of those characters. Gone is the bratty charmer of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge: this Raj is a mature, sensitive lover, and a bumbling husband, willing in the end to sacrifice even his male Indian pride for his love. Even in those moments when Raj is rampaging over his wife's well-intentioned betrayal, or on his knees humiliating himself in a crowded airport in front of Priya's snooty relatives, begging her not to leave him, Khan never goes over the top in his acting. Usually prone to bursts of hammy over-acting, in Chalte Chalte he is restrained and controlled in every scene. Khan is brilliant, and totally believable as a middle class business owner, struggling to keep up with everyday life. Coming after the opulent success of Devdas, and the larger than life Asoka, Raj is Everyman, a regular guy with money problems, wife problems, ego problems, problems, problems, problems. But this movie belongs to Shah Rukh Khan, and no mistake. With her exotic amber eyes and husky voice she is spellbinding in all her scenes, an intriguing mixture of sexy sophistication and little girl charm rolled into one.
She exudes a warmth, a naturalness and a realness that makes you want to be her best friend, or her lover. Rani Mukerjee, in my opinion one of India's best actresses, is stunning, both in appearance and in her acting.
The usually shrill and obnoxious Johnny Lever shows some welcome restraint this time, and creates an endearingly poignant character who helps tell the story in yet another way. The supporting players, including Satish Shah and Lilette Dubay are wonderful, and though a handful of new-comers intrude on the flow of the film from time to time, their presence helps develop the story and provide narration and a bit of comic relief. Most of the performances in Chalte are solid. The film works best for me on its most mundane level: arguments over wet towels on the bed, shoes on the floor, appointments missed, arguments about anything and everything, and then the making up, the kissing and cooing and apologies before starting another round. The problems Raj and Priya face are problems that all married people the world over face every day: disapproving in-laws, money problems, personality clashes, and on and on. Just real people doing the best they can with what they have, and with whom they've chosen. The charm, or the drawback, depending on how you view it, is that the film has no real plot, no villains, no heros. Chalte Chalte provides a mature look into a marriage, not of two movie stars, but of Mr. Now daily life intrudes, and Raj is left trying to keep the grand promises he so easily made when Priya was a prize to be obtained. The rest of the film switches from sun and sea drenched beauty of Greece to the mundane colors of Mumbai, and Raj's messy apartment. Your typical Bolly romance would be running the end credits about now, but we're just at the interval. Raj, not wanting to spend the rest of his life regretting `if only' follows Priya to Greece to convince her that he, not Sameer, is the man of her dreams. Love blossoms, but the road to happiness is never smooth in Bollywood: Priya becomes engaged to her childhood friend, Sameer, a wealthy businessman from Priya's world of money and privilege.
Also a bit of a snob, she assumes Raj is merely a truck driver and snubs him accordingly. Priya is organized and efficient passionate, but always proper. One day he bumps into Priya (Rani Mukerjee), a beautiful, sophisticated upper-class fashion designer born in Greece and raised in luxury. Raj is messy, impulsive, quick tempered: a guy who acts in haste and repents at leisure. Start with Raj (Shah Rukh Khan), a middle class guy who owns a small transport company. Instead of leaving you at the altar to assume that `they lived happily ever after', Chalte Chalte takes you inside the marriage after Boy meets Girl, Boy wins Girl, to experience Man faces the realities of life with Woman. Chalte Chalte (`Walk Along') is a mainstream Bollywood romance that goes one better.