OK JAANU,
Has nothing new.
Shraddha and Aditya meet and say “I love you”,
Then take up 136 minutes to say “I do”!
That's my short and rhyming review!
You see, I decided to come to the point quickly. Not that every filmy idea has to be a ‘never-seen-or-heard-before’ exquisite extravaganza. It can be ridden with clichés and hope to capitalise on the cuteness quotient of its lead pair. Ok Jaanu does exactly this and falls in the genre called “strictly OK type”.
It’s a remake of the 2015 Tamil film O Kadhal Kanmani. If you haven’t seen the original (like yours truly) there is really nothing to compare OK Jaanu with, except for some 100 odd Bollywood films where the boy and the girl meet, fall in love and then try to postpone marriage only to do a Kejriwal and take a U-turn straight to the shaadi ka mandap.
The original was written and directed by Mani Ratnam. This one has Shaad Ali steering the cupid attack.
Aditya Roy Kapur and Shraddha Kapoor are gorgeous and together their chemistry is crackling. As Aadi and Taara – who meet, hook up and have helluva time together – they do make for great visual pleasure.
Also, they seem quite sorted. They decide to have fun and eventually go their separate ways because career comes first and who wants to get married, anyway... Right? Wrong! It's a film where the climax can be seen from miles away!
The ‘love’ bit keeps repeating itself and the movie is on auto-pilot mode. But it does come alive, especially when we meet the senior couple who act as the perfect foil to Aadi and Tara's frothy romance.
Naseeruddin Shah and Leela Samson play an elderly married couple nurturing their bond despite the curve balls life throws at them. Their performances lift the movie and give us some genuinely touching moments. The only problem being, such moments are few and far between.
Shraddha and Aditya shine on screen, but OK Jaanu ends up being just ‘OK’. Less froth and more friction would have made it a far more engaging watch. Still, if you are in the mood for some unadulterated candy floss, Ok Jaanu will be perfect. I give it 2.5 Quints out of 5.
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