At times watching a film makes you feel sad for a particular actor who is otherwise so deserving by all means, but somehow keeps featuring in seriously weak and forgettable ventures disappointing one and all. Had this exact feeling while witnessing a completely avoidable and poorly written film JABARIYA JODI, and the one who made me extremely sad was Parineeti Chopra.
Perhaps she is a perfect example of proving how LUCK plays a far important role in films or entertainment industry, much more than beauty, looks, screen presence and talent. On the other hand the same example also fits equally well on the hero Sidhharth Malhotra too, who somehow manages to get the lead roles without giving any appreciable performances in the past in his mostly unsuccessful films. So playing the couple in JABARIYA JODI where Parineeti tries her best to make it look convincing speaking in an uncomfortable manner, Siddharth does the same without making any noticeable effort resulting in nothing praiseworthy to be written about both.
However the two still cannot be blamed entirely for such terrible product as the film has no vision whatsoever right from the first frame to the last based on an entirely confused, forced and fake writing as well as execution that never reaches out to the viewers for even a few minutes. Hilariously, even the writers don't know whether their key characters love each other or not.
Yes, a few dialogues here and there do work occasionally but neither the (most important) love story, nor the characters ever look believable forcibly speaking a language they know nothing about. In fact the film left me wondering that why these two were chosen for the lead roles and why Parineeti was wearing such weird clothes in that kind of regional settings. Moreover, not only the two lead actors but the supporting cast also appears to be a big misfit featuring Javed Jaffery, Chandan Roy Sanyal and more along with wasting a veteran like Sanjay Mishra. To be fair, only Aparshakti Khurana shows some conviction in his portrayal of a loser friend but then his character too has 'cliché' written all over missing the novelty factor.
Having said that, JABARIYA JODI does have a fresh premise of Groom-Kidnapping (Pakadwa Vivah) instances in Bihar, pointing towards the evil of dowry system and influential political backing in the state. The subject was earlier presented in a lesser known but a decently made film ANTARDWAND released a decade back in 2010, which didn’t get the attention it deserved. The mainstream Hindi cinema thankfully adapts the thought provoking theme for the first time but sadly ruins it playing safe, in an attempt to present it as a social, satirical comedy featuring two misfit lead actors.
Directed by Prashant Singh, JABARIYA JODI actually fails in serving any purpose to be honest. It neither entertains as a love story or a social comedy nor draws your attention towards the issue or the condemnable social causes behind the theme. In fact, it appears to be just another casually made and enacted project, blindly following the latest trend of Hindi films based in small towns speaking a regional language. It’s like let’s make a film around Bihar, write the script on the sets and cast whosoever is available in those specific months of shooting giving us bulk dates.
Interestingly though it’s a film based in Bihar, prominently using the language in a fake manner, it still uses a Punjabi based song as its key promotional track, which is a remake of a more than decade old Hit song featuring Ashok Masti and Honey Singh.
Now at one end I simply don’t get the trend of specially remaking a hit track to support the film and then using it in the end credits instead of the film itself. But on the other, was really surprised by its execution on screen too showcasing an awkward vision. Sharing the details, have surely seen Bhaang referenced in a few songs associated with Lord SHIVA in the past. But don't recall Theka (Liquor/Wine Shop) being referred in any song sung in front of Lord SHIVA's idol ever before.
May be I am missing something here, so do let me know if you recall any such song in the history of Hindi cinema in your valuable comments below.
Rating: 1 / 5 (This unfortunately is a big opportunity wasting and messing with a potential plot)
