Recent reviews
-
'OK Jaanu' is an immense disappointment of a film. It kind of does get the concept of 'OK Kanmani' right, but the performances of Shraddha Kapoor and Aditya Roy Kapoor clearly don't have that charm of Nithya Menen and Dulquer Salman. The film is filled with sketchy writing and poor direction.
But what somehow saves 'OK Jaanu' from becoming a complete bore is its music, which, thankfully, doesn't suck the music out. It squeezes some love into a film which doesn't have even the L of it. I am going with 2 stars.Like0October 11, 19 -
Not much afterthought was given to the idea of remaking a romance film which was not a critical success in the first place. But then, one cannot expect originality from a director who has been consuming the shadow of other people all his life.
Tara (Shraddha Kapoor) is a young, dreamy architecture student-cum- researcher who is in love with Aditya (Aditya Kapoor), a video game developer trying to be a billionaire. They hit it off within days of meeting, and form a pact early in their relationship: no commitment whatsoever. So, they fool around as long as they can in a partial attempt to show the world that they do not care about societal stigmas, stereotypes, electrotypes, and all that comes with live-in relationships. The story is basically their romantic journey as they fight the varied thoughts and fears that surround such a relationship, and how they can take it forward without compromising their other commitments like work and lifestyle.
Sort of a crooked primer for modern marriage, Ratnam's story was clichéd then (O Kaadhal Kanamani (2015)) and is clichéd now. Just add some ounces of overacting, and you have the Hindi version, considering actress Leela Samson did not have to put in a single extra effort in reprising her role. OK Jaanu is a film about over-the-top youngsters who use black-and-yellow taxis (just so you get that vintage effect) in the time of Uber and Ola, consider life to be a snakes and ladders game, behave like high school sweethearts in the middle of the road, exaggerate like that figure of speech (hyperbole) that they learned last week in the English lecture, and DO NOT look like they are working people. It is, thus, a travesty when you see Aditya and Tara interact with each other romantically and try to showcase the youngsters of today. Just like Aditya Chopra got it terribly wrong in his blundering horseplay (Befikre (2016)), director Shaad Ali gets it wrong this time, too, three years after creating another load of garbage, Kill Dil (2014). Just look at the title of both the films: so 20th century.
While there is this wee bit of diligence and maturity in Shraddha's performance AND her character, it is Aditya who overacts to the tooth. Just like someone asked here in the IMDb message boards, "Whatever happened to the guy?!" He was a good actor few years ago, even in the rehashed version of Aashiqui (1990), but in here, he just tries to be this chocolate boy who smells of burnt cocoa. Naseeruddin Shah is the only respite for people like me, who also seems to be the only sane character in the whole film, literally even.
However, there is a hint of delight in the screenplay and there is a average chance that you may get bored with the happenings. You will get annoyed, sure, but director Ali makes the broth a little spicy to save you from the boredom. Although, should you choose to watch the film and if you really think of walking out the hall after sitting through twenty minutes, I would suggest you wait for the scene (unfortunatey in the second half) where Tara takes a selfie of her and Aditya and terms it as "our first quarrel selfie". Visualise that in Hindi, and then you can walk out, because now you have company.
BOTTOM LINE: Shaad Ali's "Ok Jaanu" is a childish attempt at showcasing romantic relationships of today's youth. The biggest problem is that most things here are just imagination, a factor that should have been limited when you are talking about reality. Watch it for Shraddha's expressions when it airs on TV, but do switch channels between commercials.
Can be watched with a typical Indian family? NOLike0January 21, 17 -
Mani Ratnam's 'Ok Kanmani', Tamil film that garnered enough love from
the south Indian audience. Now is this reason enough to make a Hindi
remake? Well as per Bollywood history, yes it is. OK Jaanu is the story
of a young couple Adi and Tara who hit it off instantly and decide to
live in together rather than tying the marital knot and carry on to
pursue their dreams. A parallel track shows the relationship between
their land lord and his wife who has Alzheimer's and the older couple
makes Adi and Tara realize that they ought to do the right
thing.Technically speaking there are not many faults in the film. But
it's nothing that we haven't seen before. It's the same old wine served
the same old way in the same old bottle. It's predictable and once
again the climax doesn't make much sense. It looks more of a made up
drama that a real sweet coming of age romance story of a young couple.
I go with 2.5/5 for OK Jaanu.Like0January 18, 17