JugJugg Jeeyo, starring Anil Kapoor, Neetu Kapoor, Kiara Advani and Varun Dhawan in pivotal roles, is a film about peeling the layers off relationships and the complexities that are a part and parcel of every relationship.
Directed by Raj Mehta, this film revolves around two couples - Bheem (Anil) and Geeta (Neetu), who have been married for thirty-five years, and their son Kukoo ( Varun) and daughter-in-law Naina (Kiara), who tied the knot five years back.
The younger couple's marriage is falling apart, and the main reason (among many others) is that the wife is excelling in her career, while the husband’s career is yet to take off. Kukoo moves to Canada to support Naina, but when his career does not soar he turns bitter and that eventually affects their relationship.
Bheem, on the other hand, feels that his and Geeta's relationship lacks romance and love, and therefore wants to divorce his wife. Geeta is oblivious to her husband's plan and continues to play the dutiful wife to make the marriage work.
As someone who recently got a divorce after nine years of marriage and a child, there were parts in the movie I could connect with and which were heart-wrenching - for example, giving the marriage one more chance, hoping for a change after the birth of the child, the hesitancy to sign the papers even though you know it’s the right call.
What's even more interesting is that JugJugg Jeeyo doesn't only focus on the married couples, but delves into other relationships too.
Kukoo & Naina - Falling Prey to Lack of Communication
In the past couples would stick it out despite the glaring problems, thanks to the ‘log kya kahenge’ pressure.
Today, things are different. Couples know that they have the option of walking away if they are pushed to the wall. It's always better to walk out than be unhappy with someone for the rest of your life.
In JugJugg Jeeyo, it is established right at the beginning that Kukoo and Naina are in an unhappy marriage and they want to get a divorce.
Though not being able to celebrate his wife’s success is touted as the prime reason for them drifting apart, as the film progresses we get to see multiple other aspects too. Karan Johar’s Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna also deals with a similar premise, where a disgruntled husband (played by Shah Rukh Khan) is not being able to accept that his wife (played by Priety Zinta) has a flourishing career.
The social conditioning that a man needs to do better than his wife in life and take care of the house is made evident in a powerful scene between Kukoo and Naina, when they finally ‘talk it out’. The other issues that plague their relationship is lack of communication, not being involved in each other's life, finding it difficult to be in each other’s company without another person. When things hit rock bottom and the couple yells out their hurt, leading to the final breakdown – it’s a moment of honesty that shows you the burden of bottled-up emotions they were carrying. This scene reminded me of the talk I had with my ex-husband before we decided to part ways. From then on, I decided communication is the one thing I will never compromise on, irrespective of the relationship.
Geeta & Bheem - Victims of Social Conditioning
Geeta and Bheem’s marriage is portrayed as that relationship we have seen people in the older generations go through. A dutiful wife, who takes care of the husband's needs without questioning, knows what he likes to eat, gives him his medicines and has to keep in mind a million other things.
In a powerful scene, Geeta tells her daughter-in-law that she questioned the decision of marrying Bheem in the very first days of her marriage. She knew she had made a mistake, but stayed on after giving birth to their son in the first year itself. Then came a second child and they became too busy being parents. When the kids grew up and she didn’t have much to do, they tried to be partners again but it didn’t fit. Geeta is left with the question as to whether this marriage was just based on dependancy and habit.
This is a story we have all heard too many times. Not getting out a relationship because of a child or the society. Even though Bheem’s infidelity and nonchalant attitude is not dealt with the seriousness it should have been, I am glad that, in the end, Geeta wins. She sums up her character in one line - "I have taken care of the house when he was there, and I can do it even without him".
Geeta & Naina - Lifting Each Other Up
Geeta and Naina's relationship is the most beautiful in the film. The support Geeta gets after she hears about Bheem’s affair is not from her son but from her daughter-in-law. She stands by her like an unwavering source of strength. In one scene, the duo sips wine and Geeta bares her heart to her, not something she has done in front of anyone else. Here’s hoping that more filmmakers show the saas-bahu relationship in a positive light.
When Geeta tells Naina she supports her decision to divorce Kukoo and whether there’s the smallest chance of their marriage surviving, I welled up. Geeta doesn't want Naina to go through what she has been through.
Bheem & Kukoo - A Flawed Relationship
When Bheem tells his son that he wants to divorce Geeta, the expression on the actor’s face is that of disbelief. He seems as shocked as his son after saying those words out loud. The son, who also wanted to tell his father about wanting to divorce his wife, refrains from doing so. The next day Bheem takes his son to meet Meera (Tisca Chopra), the woman he has been having an affair with. Kukoo doesn’t tell his mother about any of this and tries to get his father out of the affair. I get that the filmmaker has taken a light tone when dealing with Geeta and Bheem's storyline, but I wish the son called out his father and dealt with it with the seriousness it requires. He only tells her about it when his secret about wanting a divorce is out.
Kukoo & Geeta - A Miserable Portrayal
When Geeta learns about Bheem’s affair she demands to meet Meera. Kukoo makes that happen, hoping that his mother will chide the ‘other’ woman. But Geeta goes ahead and tells Meera, ‘You can take him'. This angers the son and he yells at her for doing this. From the time the mother learns about the affair, not for once do we see Kukoo asking her how she is doing. All he expects is that she forgives his father. Never once thinking about the pain his mother is going through. Throughout we see Kukoo being worried about how his parents can get a divorce, but he doesn't give a thought about his mom.
Human relationships are an important part of our being and we thrive in an environment when we are surrounded by relations that help us grow, add value to our lives, ones that are honest and comprises of people we can count on and most of all – love.
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