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Bhanushali Studios, Think Ink Picturez Ltd. and Shree Raghav Entertainment LLP’s Janhit Mein Jaari (UA) is the story of a young lady, Manu alias Manorama (Nushrat Bharucha), who works in the sales department of a condom factory. Her authoritarian father-in-law, Kewal (Vijay Raaz), does not approve of her job as he feels, it would bring disrepute to the family. At first, she bows down to the patriarch’s wishes but an incident prompts her to take up the same job again. She expects her husband, Ranjan (Anud Singh Dhaka), to stand by her. Does he? What is the incident that makes Manu reconsider her choice of job? What happens to the peace in the large joint family of Manu and Ranjan?
Raaj Shaandilyaa has written an interesting story about gender politics and how certain jobs are looked down upon as taboo. The story has a lot of fun elements and, therefore, entertains as long as the comedy drama unfolds, but it does not have the same magic once it takes a serious turn. That’s because the correlation between the job and its seriousness is not dealt with convincingly.
The screenplay, written by Jai Basantu Singh, Raaj Shaandilyaa, Rajan Agarwal and Sonali Singh, is entertaining but upto a point. The main thrust of the drama about the connection between use of condoms on the one hand and abortion rates and delivery deaths on the other has not been brought out in a manner that can make an impact. Consequently, the otherwise fun drama starts looking preachy and gets boring. That is not to say that there are no light moments after the screenplay takes a serious turn. Of course, the thread of comedy continues throughout the film but the serious part dilutes the impact. The change in the thinking of the people is not half as convincing as it ought to have been. Why, even the track of Kewal’s own daughter to drive home the point of the importance of condoms does not have the desired impact. That may be partly because of the lack of sex education and partly because Indians are averse to discussing such things openly. Whatever the reason, the effectiveness of the second half of the drama is far less than what it ought to have been. The climax also looks hurried and does not match the comic flavour of the film.
Raaj Shaandilyaa’s dialogues are brilliant and greatly add to the fun quotient.
Nushrat Bharucha does a fine job as Manu. She plays the lady with a mind and conviction of her own with full understanding and makes her character believable. Anud Singh Dhaka is extremely natural as her husband, Ranjan. Paritosh Tripathi is outstanding as Devi. His comic timing is phenomenal. Vijay Raaz steals the show as the strict father-in-law of Manu. His expressions and nuances make his performance even more entertaining. Brijendra Kala makes his mark in his own typical style. Tinnu Anand has his moments. Sapna Sand lends excellent support as Manu’s mother. In the role of Manu’s father, Ishtiyak Khan is lovely. Sumit Gulati and Vikram Kochhar are both outstanding as Ranjan’s brothers. Neha Saraf lends superb support as Ranjan’s sister-in-law. Special mention must be made of her dialogue delivery. Shaan Yadav provides very good support as Devi’s sidekick, Maqdoom. Utsav Sarkar (as the loudmouth neighbour, Bunty) leaves a fantastic mark. Paresh Ganatra stands out in a tiny role. Manoj Goyal (as Hariom), Sapna Basoya (as Lajja), Sukriti (as Babli), Niharika Chouksey (as Vimmi), Vidhi Yadav (as Jyoti), Trymbak (as Rinku), Amit Jatt (as Girish), Anubha Arora (as Meenal), Ishan Mishra (as Achanak), Mazel (as Ishani), Pushpanshu (as Nilesh), Satyam and Ansul (both as Ranjan’s friends), Soumya Vyas (as Pooja), Meena (as Pooja’s mother) and the others provide excellent support. A special word about casting director Parag Mehta. His casting is superb.
Jai Basantu Singh’s direction is very good. The debut-making director (for the big screen) knows the craft; his narrative style is easy-going. He has also extracted very good work out of his actors. Jai is especially good with comedy. Music (Sadhu S. Tiwari, Prini Sidhant Madhav and Amol-Abhishek) is a mixed bag. Of course, there is no song which is hit but a few songs are quite tuneful. Lyrics (Sameer Anjaan, Raaj Shaandilyaa, Abhishek Talented, Kunwar Juneja, Niket Pandey, Sadhu S. Tiwari and Rohit Sharma) are appropriate and match the film’s mood. Song picturisations (Jai Basantu Singh, Sonali Singh, Pappu Mallu and Sushma Sunam) are alright. Aman Pant’s background music is impactful. Chirantan Das’ camerawork is lovely. Bhaskar Gupta’s production designing is of a good standard. Jai Basantu Singh and Jayant H. Verma’s editing is razor-sharp.
On the whole, Janhit Mein Jaari has lovely comedy and some outstanding performances by the cast members but still, it will go largely unnoticed and bomb at the ticket windows. That’s because it simply doesn’t add up as the seriousness of the drama is lost on the audience. Because of this and due to lack of awareness about the film’s release and also about the very film, it will cut a sorry figure at the box-office. In fact, even its wonderful comedy will not be able to save the day for the film. Its weak title is another very major minus point. Besides, the typically adult topic of the film will prevent families and even couples — yes, even couples — from going to the cinemas to watch the film.
Released on 10-6-’22 at Inox (daily 4 shows) and other cinemas of Bombay thru Zee Studios. Publicity: below the mark (hardly any impact of the promotion). Opening: dull. …….Also released all over. Opening was weak everywhere.