What would you do if I sang out of tune?
Raja Sen
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5Rediff P4C Classifieds
July 04, 2008 11:46 IST
My favourite moment in Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na --
and there are many -- comes early on, when Ratna Pathak Shah, playing
Jai's mother, is shocked to see a sobbing Aditi being led into the
house. Jai (Imran Khan) explains that she has just realised college is finally
over. Aditi (Genelia D'Souza)
nods, saying she doesn't know where the last five years vanished. Shah,
fantastically supercilious and affectionate at once, delivers a line
that will have mothers in the audience blowing wolf-whistles: 'On the
phone, beta. On the phone.'
* Also Read: Showcasing Jaane Na...Ya Jaane Tu
It's this kind of candid, relatable freshness that characterises Abbas
Tyrewala's delightful directorial debut, a deftly made film about friendship,
fibs, and falling for the obvious. Right from the film's opening, when AR
Rahman's gloriously jazzy Tu Bole track floats Dolby-exploitingly from speaker
to speaker, with just the
film's name for on-screen company, a smile is thrust almost forcibly
upon you. This is a film about 'feel,' your gut says -- and damn, it
feels good.
There's
a pretty distinctive line between films trying to be innocent, and
films that actually come across as charmingly naive as this one. On
this thick line fall the saccharine and the overdone, the
eager-to-please and the collegekids-aged-40, but what makes Jaane Tu special --
as is the case with most films about friendship -- is a
rock-solid ensemble cast that is mouthwateringly perfect. Take a bow,
casting director Pakhi, this is a helluva nice set of good actors, with
refreshingly unfamiliar faces.
* Also Read: Imran excels in Jaane Tu...
There's
Imran, smooth enough to look like he shaves thrice a day, and a
disarmingly natural actor who grows on you sneakily. Before you know
it, you're totally buying his act. And it's a simple, candid, relatable
act -- no frills, no fuss, no muscles, no attitude. For an actor to
generate Like is much harder than to strike Awe, and Imran does
laudably well in this regard. It's a solid, restrained acting job
carried off with more dazzle than is evident. Heck, I don't know if he
can bowl as fast as his namesake, but he could certainly wheedle his
way out of the match even before the toss.
Khan
plays the peace-loving Jai Singh Rathore, and he's the straight man in
his madcap gang: Alishka Varde does well as Bombs, the slow one; Karan
Makhija adds character as the pessimistic Rotlu; Nirav Mehta is
excellent as Jignesh, the one persistent yet affectionately etched
caricature in the film; and then there's Sugandha Garg as the spirited,
nickname-giving Shaleen, full of spunk and so hot she makes you want
her number.
Seriously though,
the acting is top-notch all around. Ratna Pathak Shah is magnificent,
and every single Hindi movie could do with some of her, Prateik Babbar bestows
the film with angst and maturity, Jayant Kripalani and Anuradha
Patel make a great affable couple, Rajat Kapur's fun, and -- I've been saying
this for a while -- there is ample demonstration of the great, great good that
can be had by a stay order coming in the way of Paresh Rawal [Images] being
wasted by Priyadarshan [Images].
This, plus three awesome cameos. The first features a senior actor who finally
looks like he's found a film to just have fun in; and the second two follow
that up very well, a pair of siblings playing desi Marlboro Men with bindaas
aplomb, and resultantly delivering the finest performances of both their
careers.
The
story? The scenes? Oh come on, go in fresh for this one and enjoy it
unfold. It's anything but unconventional, an ImtiazAli-esque
warm-blooded romance replete with confusion, off-key singing and a
narrative cribbed from Forget Paris. The magic here, however,
lies in the lines, the characters, the words, and yeah, a 'feel' as
fresh as a spanking new acoustic guitar composition by a old jazz vet
trying to make the kids smile. And smile they do.
As for producer Aamir Khan [Images], after Lagaan [Images], Taare Zameen Par
[Images] and this one -- I'll eat your hat if it isn't a tremendous success --
it must be said that he's setting a new benchmark in terms of Hindi
film production. Every technical aspect of the film is honed to
perfection -- be it Rajeev Soorti's vivid cinematography or AR Rahman's
marvellously fountain-of-youth soundtrack -- and the final product is so bloody
polished it'll have other movie
posters looking jealously at it in the foyer. And Aamir understands
that God lies in the details, which is why it's no coincidence that
Imran's bedroom sign 'deadlines amuse me' returns to bite the character
in the posterior during that insane climax.
And
ludicrous or not, the climax -- like a majority of this film -- works
because of The Girl. Genelia is an absolute corker, all firecracker
eyes and irrepressible smile. She has always been super in this genre
-- check her out in the Telugu Bommarillu -- but seeing her in
this film just makes you conscious of the spark that has been missing
in Hindi cinema for well over a decade now. She's spirited and natural,
playing a wildcat and a whimperer, and it's very hard to resist her.
Abbas has used her perfectly, bringing her Aditi in every time your
inner cynic might need a shut-up-and-smile punch. And she's a knockout
each time, not just Kabhi kabhi.
* Also Read: Genelia takes time out for her fans
Abbas
underscores what the pretty Mala (Renuka Kunzru) realises at the
airport, that the magic of a story lies in its telling. And the rag-tag
bunch of narrators he's created do an absolute bang-up job. Sure it's
the hero's vehicle -- and you can earmark this Imran lad as one to
watch for -- but all love stories which have you falling for the girl
are automatically magical.
For no matter how maddeningly filmi the climax, Aditi's smile makes you believe
-- and love.
Rediff Rating:
