Indian audience can never grow out of a wholesome family drama. Look at films such as Kapoor & Sons or Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (K3G) and you know that despite their share of problems, we revisit these movies solely because these films are entertaining, and are family dramas that instantly connect with the audience. For a long time, despite the growth of OTT and several new topics being discussed in films, we lacked a quintessential family drama featuring a generous dose of comedy. Needless to say, Jugjugg Jeeyo promised to be all that, and high hopes were pinned instantly.
Now, having come out of the theatre after watching it, it is safe to say that the film lives up to the hype it had created. The story spins around Kukkoo (Varun Dhawan) and Naina (Kiara Advani), childhood sweethearts whose marriage takes a turn for the worse and they decide to get a divorce. As they struggle to let Kukkoo’s family know about their decision, Kukkoo gets another shock as his father (Anil Kapoor) reveals that he wants to divorce his mother (played by Neetu Kapoor).
Amidst all the chaos, which has been introduced to us in a comic manner, one might begin to think that this is an out-and-out comedy. But as had been the case with director Raj Mehta, the second half opens the way for emotions and drama, and all the problems are addressed instead of turning blind eye to the ‘mistakes’.
While the film’s focus is on tackling the issues, it is Raj’s unpredictability storytelling that draws you into the second half of the movie. He keeps you double guessing — is he going for a realistic ending? Is he going to give us a happy ending? The problem with family drama is that everyone wants a hunky-dory ending, otherwise a section of the audience might be displeased. Raj tackles expectations and reality with an ample amount of sugar coating.
However, the star of the film is most definitely Neetu Kapoor. She is a powerhouse performer, and however much she stays away from the camera, the talent is bound to come out when it starts rolling. The emotional sequences are put on her shoulder and she anchors those beautifully. From dialogue delivery to showing the dilemma that her character Geeta goes through, she is brilliant in each sequence. In fact, her performance can move the toughest of souls.
The entire cast, in its totality, is good too. Varun Dhawan plays the man stuck between his own failing relationship and the person who takes upon himself the responsibility to save his parents’ marriage. He has to covey emotional upheaval while maintaining comic timing in the first half, and he does so deftly. It is also made possible by Anil Kapoor’s impeccable performance. He is effortless in his portrayal of Bheem, the man whose character provides the main element of surprise in the movie. He makes acting seem like a cakewalk.
Kiara Advani keeps up with her good performance once again, slipping into Naina’s shoes with ease. Her character has very minute nitty-gritty to it, and she pulls them off perfectly well with her talent. There is Maniesh Paul, who plays her brother, and he provides much comic relief even in the most difficult sequences. He is the sugar-coat that Raj Mehta gives the audience to make the difficult and more emotional sequences more palatable.
The background score quite often dictates the audience’s mood. Even in some sequences where one would want to feel angry, the music is cleverly kept to a funny tune, making the audience take it lightly. The emotions do reach a culmination, and one would realise that the music was quite deliberately kept that way to overwhelm the audiences at that point.
The film does have problems. Some jokes seem like old WhatsApp forwards, even though they would induce laughter. But one would want to overlook it as Jugjugg Jeeyo provides wholesome entertainment.
Jugjugg Jeeyo will make you laugh, cry and join the characters on the emotional roller coaster. The film is thoroughly entertaining, and paisa wasool, and you should definitely give it a watch.
