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Ok Jaanu Movie Review: Aditya - Shraddha's Aashiqui is just about okay
This is a generation that prides in being 'loose'. We believe in live-ins, abhor commitment and prioritize career enough to let go off love. Some may believe that we are heartless, others deem us confused. For everyone who is living it, we are sorted and don't believe in over complicating things. Ok Jaanu's biggest win is its clear prism from which it views its subjects. A young boy, a young girl, both focused and career oriented. They love passionately and the sex is pretty damn good. One of the relationships we young guys have to cherish. Shaad Ali gets the flavor right but his characters are cardboardish. We know Adi and we know Tara, they are both one of us. Good score on the relatability but there's hardly any time spent in building them and their dilemmas. Unthinkingly they jump into a bed together, start staying together and win the blessings of everyone around. Too convenient don't you think?
Now that's just one of the problems with the film. Shaad Ali who is an expert in bringing Mani Ratnam’s magic to Bollywood hasn't lost his mojo clearly. Adi and Tara are beautifully played by Aditya Roy Kapur and Shraddha Kapoor. The chemistry is scorching and adorable in same measures. The repartee is naughty, the fights are cute. Thankfully, they both are past the tragic and morose ambience of their last film Aashiqui 2. The problem again is that Shaad invests little in building their friendship. Their attraction or lust or crush passes before you can register. A one day trip in an unknown city later (a Jab We Met kinda lodge scene is orchestrated) the two move in together. For the first half an hour, all you'll enjoy are the scenes leading to Hamma Hamma. Majama lodge is one name that will crack you up. And of course, there are a few gorgeous sun-kissed shots of Mumbai and some beautiful Rahman beats to complement that. There are few films in which Mumbai becomes a character; luckily this is one of them. The city's rain and shine, long shots of the unsettled sea and the sturdiness of old buildings that stand tall, overlooking them.
The one element that might make you watch the movie twice is Naseeruddin Shah and Leela Samson, an old couple who play hosts to Adi and Shraddha. Their chemistry is twice more powerful than the lead pair's. The two had vowed to stay together even when they get old, smelly and senile. So, when the lady gets Alzheimer's, her husband keeps reminding his 'baby' who he is. They really give heftiness to an otherwise passable story. You could see them as the future of love or they could signify how the earlier generation held on to relationships. That is truly the track that makes you wonder, what relationships really are about.
The last fifteen minutes of the film are pacy and just about crackling. But it takes too long to get to the point. Obviously, novelty in rom-coms is a wrong expectation but this one seems sincere. What doesn’t convince me, however, is the reason for their commitment phobia. Shraddha's character has some context, Adi, however, settles for being a regular boy with no backstory. There is a lot of heart, enough mush but not much to remember. We hear; OK Kanmani was better. Take your pick for this one - Remake or Original?
We rate the movie a 55% on the Pinkvilla Movie Meter.
