I think this thread is about jodis who sucked during their first meet and deserves a second look. And only one pair comes to my mind, and an infamous choice here: Katrina-SRK.
Yeah I know Kat is among the worst actress(most 99% the worst) to pair opposite SRK. And SRK-Kat failed to create a chemistry and aura which people usually associate with Yashraj jodis.
but call me revisionist but I don't think SRK Kat were that utter gobshite , yeah you can say I am making excuses but IMO JTHJ had a bad script and stupid story which ultimately mixed with Katrina's wooden acting lead to an ultimate disaster showcase of SRK-Kat jodi.
And you know what I can do it better!. What is Katrina's strength? Her good looks(yes they have gone down in years but she still is more pretty than half of the industry), her dancing and she still has that "haath there naa aani" aura.
What is SRK's strength? He has the charm, intelligence and when disciplined can act really well.
What is Katrina's weakness? She is outright bad when she has to act seriously, she is tolerable when she has to be goofy, but when the getting goes tough, she is horrible. Plus her accent is off-putting.
What is SRK's short coming? Nowadays he does not at all looks like a loverboy he was during his prime. Plus in sad scenes. he has the tendency to ham like no tomorrow.
So how to over come this? We need a script which will have Katrina play up a role which will require her to be more herself than a character.
Herself meaning in the movie she will have a character who will be quiet and chewing words with "I am feeling awkward with this dude" type of attitude during her interaction with SRK initially ,later slowly opening to him to be herself, a sweet girl with good sense of humour and ability to have fun, just like . Not the gali ki gundi berail raisjadi like in JTHJ.
Her character should be more realistic and layered, and not the OTT mahaan aurat as she was shown in JTHJ.
SRK should play a middle aged divorcee who is now only serious about his job. He also reserved but not the macho-angry man that heros in daily shop generally are. That would make his character clinched and kind of takes away the charm that SRK has. His character should be someone who is quite and reserved, but also caring, respectful and insightful. He will take part in fun activities that Katrina will do later on. but he will always be in backseat, he will join her and let her do the "utpatang stupidity with her own bubbliness", but he would be there more as a cover to save her(which will never be required as Kat's character is self sufficient). Basically the reason he will not lead during fun times, so it shows his age and maturity, does not make his character go OTT or silly. Basically it should be like Jug in DZ, but not philosophical or eloquent.
The plot will be basic, because Katrina cannot survive in complicated plots. She needs a simple beginning-middle-end kind of plots to really shine and not have weakness exposed.
The plot will be a mid-thirties single girl slowing but steadily falling in love with a 50 year old divorcee. Like SRK will be Katrina's best friend's brother, who recently after his divorced has decided to move in London. And since he happens to have his new house in the same neighborhood as Katrina. actually just next to her house. And her sister requests Katrina to look after her brother as he is new in the town. So basically it leads to initial awkwardness from both, later on they develop a friendship and gradually leads to a love confession and live happily forever. Only problem in between? Katrina has an ex-boyfriend who tries to confront SRK, but SRK easily handles him.
Story will be clinched as to be brutally honest, their is hardly any freshness left in romance genre, especially traditional heterosexual romance . And another brutal reality is Katrina cannot survive in more serious environment, which exposes her and makes the product ultimately weak.
Anyways that is my take.
1