CAST: Anil Kapoor, Neetu Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Kiara Advani, Maniesh Paul, Prajakta Koli, Tisca Chopra
DIRECTED BY : Raj Mehta
BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT
Kukkoo (Varun Dhawan) is married to his childhood love Naina (Kiara Advani) and lives in Canada, Kukoo’s fragile male ego hurts because his wife is doing seemingly better in her career than he is while manning a nightclub. Her success hits a sour note with his male entitlement and makes him feel an insecure, a lesser entity in the relationship.They decide to divorce and to break the news after his sister ( Prjakta Koli’s) wedding in India. But before Kukoo can break the news of divorce to his father Bhim Saini (Anil Kapoor), Bhim tells him that he is contemplating separation from his mother Geeta (Neetu Kapoor) as he has fallen in love with Meera (Tisca Chopra), a math teacher, who has brought romance back into his life.
THE MEAT AND THE POTATOES
Basically, in a loud, pompous way, so that your ear drums hurt by the time the movie is over, you must know that the choice is no longer between whether your marriage is a traditional arranged or a modern love or how long you may have known each other as a couple. If the couple has no faith or respect for each other, the relationship is bound to get destroyed.
Now you wrap this in yards of big fat punjabi wedding sheen and here is JugJugg Jeeyo in its glory.
Add to that really reused songs from near and far and choreograph the hot bods to it and that’s viral content.
It was a pain to watch this in Dolby because the sound was so shrill that it made the ear drums quiver. Watching the movie was physically a painful experience.
Why punjabi culture has to be so stereotypially loud beats me. Learn a thing or two from the makers of Tabbar or even the most recent Masoom and get a grip please.
Now, coming to the story. We are suppoed to find comedy in the situation of two couples of different age groups not getting along. Whereas the gravity of the rift between the younger couple is based on the man’s insecurities, the older couple’s needs are trivilized in humor as if this is what people in their older years deserve.
Apart from that the whole mockery of women who are self-loving like Meera.
On the one hand the film openly belittles Meera’s self-reliance and dismisses her sense of self-worth as an unwillingness to fulfil the “husbandly” duties that the housewife lovely pativrata Geeta has silently fulfilled for so long. This to be make Geeta “shine” ? Seriously?
The film spends enough time in explaining how the reason for Bhim -Meera attraction is not a late hormonal surge, but the film does not have the space to discuss the deeply entrenched patriarchy ipassed on from father to son.
The whole caricaturization of Bheem’s love affair is such a disserve to ageism and so sexist that the entire slapstick is tasteless.
IN THE KNOW
What could have been a good commentary on patriachy and toxicity in relationships became a joke because for some reason it was sought that they trivialize and make fun of older people finding love or laugh away infidelity and decidely look the other way at serious patriachy, male entitement and classic chauvisnism.
Does the diector and the writers have no faith in their audiences?
Raj Mehta’s Jugjugg Jeeyo – written by Anurag Singh, Rishhabh Sharrma, Sumit Batheja and Neeraj Udhwani tries to talk about all relationship issues but tries to soften the narrative by wrapping it up in humor pills. The problem with that is that it doesnt land. A few jokes do maybe but the issues get trivialized. And that is a blow.
Anil Kapoor and Varun Dhawan’s comic chemistry are some memorable highlights of the movie. Kiara Advani looks and performs very well. Maneish Paul adds to the screen with his comic timing.Tisca Chopra is hardly given any legs. Neetu Kapoor is barely there in the first half and its only in the fag end of the second half that we really get to see what we came to see her for in the scene between the daughter, daughter-in-law and mom.
The movie is a desperate attempt at first stating something feminist and then softening that stance by adding something vile and patriachial around it to balance out every criticism of a husband’s infidelity or selfishness in a marriage with tomfoolery.
What was the whole point in faux feminism then?
Will the audience not like it?
