JBJ: Much Ado about Nothing

Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, the latest film from Yash Chopra camp comes out as a surprise (pleasant or unpleasant is left on viewer’s discretion!) First let me tell you what the film is not. It is not a conventional Yash Chopra movie. It neither has chiffon clad heroines dancing their way to glory on the snow-capped mountains of Switzerland, nor the daily dose of gyan about the traditional Indian values. If you are looking for blasphemy, illicit relations, estranged lovers, muscle-flexing villains, and a few controversial, once there now gone sex scenes, this film is certainly not for you. If you are looking for some movie that can tingle your intellect, I would advice you to stay away from this one. So, what is the movie all about? Well I must admit I was unable to find any story as such in the film. I am not sure if Mr. Sherlock Holmes would have faired any better. Rikki Thukral [Abhishek Bachchan], our munda from Bhatinda, who lives in London; bumps into a London born Pakistani, Alvira Khan [Preity Zinta] on the platform of a busy London station, Waterloo. While waiting for the train which gets delayed, they end up sharing their own short and sweet “how I met my fiancé” stories. As time passes by, and the delayed train gets even more delayed in a true India style, Alvira and Rikki find themselves getting alarmingly attracted to each other! As for the performers on screen, Amitabh does his job as the "Sutradhar", by popping up every now and then in his hideous Jack Sparrow inspired outfit and dancing all around the place. However, this movie proves that he can give Mallika, Shilpa, and even his bahu Aishwarya a run for their money when it comes to doing item numbers. Abhishek Bachchan as Rikki Tuggral is brilliant with his comic timing and his dialogue delivery and avenges Aishwariya for her smooch with Hrithik (Dhoom2), by locking lips with the ummlecious Lara Dutta. Bobby Deol brings with him a breeze of fresh air and livens up the screen as the suave and sexy Steve as well as the nervous, ever nail biting, Mom’s darling, Satvinder. His comic timing comes in as a pleasant surprise. The film sees Lara Dutta in one of her best performance till date as plays the suave French Anaida, as well as the desi, crude; prostitute Laila, with same élan. As for Preity Zinta, well I seriously couldn’t discern anything good in her performance. This once lively, bubbly, spirited and sweet lady tries hard to play her old self but fails. One can’t help but miss Miss.Rani as London-born Paki, Alvira Khan. But, what made me like the film was the off screen cast, the exceptionally good cinematography by Ayananka Bose and the fact that the director at least tries to break away from the typical Bollywoodish style of filmmaking and goes to Hollywood for inspiration instead. Unlike copying a plot what Shaad Ali tries to follow their technical style. It follows the footsteps of the Hollywood musicals like Chicago in its approach of intermeshing the story with the songs (although in the process ends up copying the whole courtroom scene as well!) Ali tries to play an Allen act by making Alvira speak to the camera as she narrates her flashback. The way he introduces the same actors in the flashback episodes as two different characters in the latter part of the story is also very much Woody Allen. As for the music, Ali uses extensively uses SftM to serve as the background score as the radio churns out old classics like,”pyar kiya to darna kya”, “yeh dosti hum nehi chhorenge” and so on. Like a true musical, all the songs serve as an integral part of the story and the title song helps the “Sutradhar” to take the story forward. But, there is nothing brilliant about the songs and the audience who had high expectations from the creators of Bunty aur Bubbly was far from satisfied with this Shankar, Ehsan, Loy venture. Akki Nerula’s flamboyant costumes enhance the farcical tone of the film. Vaibhavi Merchant proves her mettle once again as the choreographer of the film and last but certainly not the least; the technicians deserve a special mention. Overall, Shaad Ali tries hard to make a mark as a director by following some brilliant filmmakers and their well-tested techniques, but in the process forgets to include a story! Hence, unlike his previous ventures Sathiya and Bunty aur Bubbly, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom turns out to be a concoction of spices with no sabzi to add it to!