Movie review: Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na review

Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na movie review:

Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na is like a cake without an icing. It does not really stand upto Aamir Khan’s Productions' USP of giving fresh and unique films like Lagaan or Taare Zameen Par. This one has a simple script and there is nothing novel or new about it. Nevertheless it is better than the load of films that has been releasing in quite some time now. And yes, A.R.Rahman is one of the reasons for the movie to cut across to the audience.

Story of Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na: Jai Rathore(Imran Khan) and Aditi(Genelia D’ Souza) are fast friends who do not think that they could ever be lovers. Do you smell Kuch Kuch Hota Hain here? Jai is the “have peace” kinda guy who does not like to get into fights and arguments; and if he does he talks his way out smoothly. Aditi is the girl who is a firecracker of a woman. Aditi’s parents even fix Jai for marriage to her, but both Aditi and Jai disapprove because they can only take each other as friends. Jai finds a girl for himself and Aditi goes the engagement way with another guy. But then latent emotions surface, and they root for each other silently. Aditi’s fiancé slaps her as his suspicions about her having a relationship with Jai makes him insecure. Aditi leaves for foreign shores to pursue her film course and Jai rushes to the airport before the flight takes off to propose to her , in true film ishtyle.

Technicalities of Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na:

Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na is no short of interesting one liners but the emotional scenes in Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na do not carry the impact. Also the editing is flawed. It looks like certain scenes have been snipped short before they could finish while others for instance the dinner table scene with Meghna’s(Manjari Fadnis) parents are stretched). Though there are some neat lines, in the film, there is no scene that really stands out.

There could have been top notch ‘friendly’ or ‘romantic’ moments which are amiss. Instead irrelevant things like ‘the picture frame’ Ajay Singh Rathore’s (Nasseruddin Shah) constant harping that his son is a born rajput make the plot look outlandish.

The worst thing is the way Jaane Tu Ya Jaane has not made use of the immense power of music A.R.Rahman pumped in the movie. The beautiful song “Jaane Tu Mera Kya Hain” by Runa would have definitely caught up with a lot of people as it had tremendous potential. But it was shocking to know that the song was skipped altogether in the film. Another song “Kahin Toh Hogi who” is cut and the best portion are left out. Imagine if three good song of Jab We Met were cut, how the impact would be! The same goes for Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na.

Best scenes in Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na:

1. Imran Khan rescuing Manjari Fadnis from the likes of Sohail Khan and Arbaaz Khan is rip-roaringly funny.

2. The on-screen brother and sister relationship between Prateek(Smitha Patil’s son)and Genelia are likeable and can be instantly relatable to a normal brother and sister relationship.

3. The picturization of the “Aditi” song is a sure winner.

Minus points of Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na:

1. Absence of songs like Jaane Tu Mera Kya Hain and snipping of Kahin Toh Hoga track Wonder if Abbas Tyrewala isn’t interested in getting his movie bag awards for music. No one listens to audio much. If good songs are a part of the movie, they tend to catch on.

2. Irrelevant scenes involving Paresh Rawal and a couple of actors who wouldn’t have really mattered in the film. Ratna Pathak's vocation is not clear, nor do we know why she has a problem with the inspector Paresh Rawal.

3. Naseeruddin Shah doing a Priya Tendulkar of Hum Paanch, gives a déjà vu feeling.

Performances of Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na:

Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na has the lead pair doing very well. Genelia is easily the fresh face of Bollywood. Like Ayesha Takia, this bubby wonder is an effortless actor and one wonders why she wasn’t cast so well in her previous Bollywood ventures. Imran Khan is promising and has a striking screen presence. Though he has a chocolate boy role here,Imran Khan appears to be effective in intense roles. Ratna Pathak Shah and Naseeruddin Shah need no comment-they are always good. Prateek Babbar has given a beautiful performance and he does stand out in a reserved role.

The verdict:

Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na will work because it is well-targetted towards the youth with the apt lingo and fresh appeal of the lead actors. The music has already given it a ticket to box office riches.