The film stars Shah Rukh Khan as Surinder Sahni, a mild-mannered office employee who marries his deceased professor's daughter, Taani, portrayed by Anushka Sharma in her debut.

[5] Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi was released worldwide on 12 December 2008 and marked Chopra's return to direction after an 8-year hiatus, following his previous directorial venture, Mohabbatein (2000), which also starred Khan.

The film was not heavily promoted pre-release by either Khan or YRF, mainly due to uncertainty and apprehensions regarding cinema-market conditions following the terror attacks in Mumbai.

[7] At the 54th Filmfare Awards, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi received a leading 10 nominations, including Best Film, Best Director (Aditya), Best Actor (Khan), Best Actress (Sharma) and Best Supporting Actor (Pathak), and won 2 awards – Best Male Playback Singer (Sukhwinder Singh for "Haule Haule") and Best Scene of the Year.

The film's script was recognized by a number of critics and was invited to be included in the Margaret Herrick Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, just a day after its release.

A short while later, the entire wedding party learns that Taani's fiancé and his family were killed in a traffic accident, causing her father to suffer a heart attack.

During one visit to the cinema, Suri feels inadequate in comparison to the strong, masculine images that Taani admires and later asks his childhood friend Balwinder "Bobby" Khosla (Vinay Pathak), a hair-salon owner, for advice on how to win her love.

Bobby is eager to help and suggests a complete makeover (shaving off his mustache, changing his hairstyle, outfitting him in casual Western-style clothing including aviator-style sunglasses with oversized pastel lenses).

Despite Raj's initial crudeness — a result of Surinder's inexperience with women and his attempt to emulate the "cool" images from movies — he and Taani become friends as they work together on their dance routine.

Suri feels encouraged when Taani does not tie a rakhi (holy thread) on "Raj's" wrist during the festival of Raksha Bandhan (for to do so would indicate that she thought of him only as a brother).

Despite wanting to escape what she believes is a loveless marriage, Taani feels compelled to stay with Suri due to the promise that she made to her father.

Suri also faces an extraordinary paradox: Taani's sheer misery as his wife in contrast to her delight with his fabricated alter ego, Raj.

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi tells a story from the point of view of an ordinary person and, most importantly, conveys a message that being 'ordinary' is cool.

We wake up in the morning, get dressed, go to the office, come back, sometimes for a change we buy things to take home, watch TV, eat dinner and go to sleep.

"[10] In February 2008, Aditya Chopra announced that he would be helming another film titled Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi which would once again star his lucky mascot, Shah Rukh Khan.

The performance of the song includes appearances by Kajol Devgn, Bipasha Basu, Lara Dutta, Preity Zinta and Rani Mukerji.

[24] Aditya Chopra, who is known for maintaining secrecy over his films and not showing them to anyone until the day of release, made an exception and held a special screening on 23 November 2008 at Yash Raj Studios.

[25] There was a huge debate in the industry whether Aditya Chopra's decision to go ahead with the release of the film in the wake of the terror strikes in Mumbai was the right one.

[26] The first poster of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi was released in October in theatres and multiplexes across India, with full-page advertisements in national dailies.

[30] Joginder Tuteja of Bollywood Hungama gave the DVD of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi 3.5 out of 5 stars stating that it is a good choice if you "want to watch a clean family movie at home."

"[33] Manish Gajjar of the BBC gave the film 4 out of 5 stars noting that, "Shah Rukh Khan makes you laugh and cry as the nerdy-looking, clumsy, bespectacled Surinder and all hip and happening Raj.

"[35] Critic and author Maitland McDonagh of MissFlickChick.com stated that the film, "has been dismissed in some quarters as self-conscious and artificial, a coyly self-referential reworking of outdated movie tropes a la Todd Haynes' Far From Heaven, but it works for me in a way that most contemporary Hollywood romcoms don't.

Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN was critical, giving it 2 out of 5 stars and stating that "Aditya Chopra's return to direction after 8 years is marked by a flawed script, which in turn spawns a disappointing film.

Khalid Mohamed, of the Hindustan Times, gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars stating that Surinder "is a soul brother to the mousy Clark Kent-cum-Superman" who "makes you laugh and sob alternately.

"[40] In addition, Sudish Kamath of The Hindu stated that while Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi could have been an interesting art film exploring the dynamics of an arranged marriage, the director instead "treats this character type like Sam Raimi would treat Spider-Man...Superhero 'Raj' slips into costume and out, complaining about how it gets uncomfortable around the crotch, to win over his Mary Jane with not much saving-the-world business to keep him busy.