Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na marks the acting debut of Aamir Khan’s nephew Imraan Khan. This is the first movie from Aamir Khan productions to not feature the superstar himself. But any product that Aamir lends his name to, is of course taken seriously…
To me, 'Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na' surprisingly felt refreshing. Although there some goof ups imbibed in the story and filming of the picture. I guess its mainly due to lack of strength in the narrative.
Tyrewala has done a fairly decent job with directing but an even better job with writing. For example, I loved how Meghna's character was written especially how Tyrewala cleverly shows the truth behind Meghna's 'What's this?' game. Initially, to the viewer, it looks like a silly game of visualizing one thing as something else but one realizes that this is Meghna's way of seeing things in life. There are many other scenes that I really enjoyed watching such as Aditi's relationship with her brother, Jai's relationship with his mother and many more and the sequences with Jai's parents were laugh out loud funny. But at the same time, here too, there are some flaws for instance, Aditi's boyfriend is portrayed as the typical violent insecure NRI. The scene where he slaps Aditi looks forced.
The background score is quite interesting as it varies from jazz (I liked that), to rock (seems a little out of place at times), to other things. I would never have thought that A.R. Rahman composed the soundtrack because this is totally different from anything he's done before. Unfortunately, it's also one of his least memorable albums.
Imran Khan makes a confident start. I'm glad that unlike many of the newcomers who pump up themselves with steroids (perhaps to cover up their lack of talent), Imran with his simplicity allows his acting to speak. Let's see what the future holds for him as he's already made a fine start. Genelia D'Souza is loud and hyper in the beginning and her diction is quite awkward but her acting gets better along the way. Perhaps Tyrewala wanted to show her character transform from the bratty child to a mature young woman. It's just that the 'child' was a little too loud. Manjari Fadnis delivers quite a natural performance. Though her screen time is limited, she has a strong presence. Pratiek Babbar is quite likable as the goofy brother. Ratna Pathak Shah is simply amazing. What a comeback to the big screen!
Apart from that, there are some very welcome cameos. Naseeruddin Shah is hilarious. 'Just loved the interactions with his wife and he's talking to her from a painting! Sohail Khan and Arbaaz Khan are actually more than tolerable here, yes they too provide some fantastic comic relief. Anooradha Patel, this woman does not seem to get old, has a great presence. And, Paresh Rawal is back as a villain but this time with a pleasant touch of comedy.
The central love story feels a bit like the Rahul-Tina-Anjali story (of 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai) meets Akash-Shalini-Rohit angle (of 'Dil Chahta Hai') but it is the little moments that show the relationship between the mother and son, the brother and sister among other such fine moments that make 'Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na' a refreshing experience. Overall, among the recent crop of films, this is quite a pleasant welcoming surprise.
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