Jawaani Jaaneman Movie Review:

Taking a quirky plot, Jawaani Jaaneman manages to pull some laughing streaks. The casting does a great job, but Saif Ali Khan steals the show.

To begin with the plot Jawaani Jaaneman is a coming-of-middle-age comedy. Where Saif Ali Khan’s London-residing, party-loving Jazz must reconcile with the sudden fact that he has a 21-year-old daughter, Tia, as a result of a one-night-stand from over two decades ago. The first half of the film is fun going storyline about Saif's hippie life. Picking up white girls at nightclubs, getting drunk out of his mind and generally living a debauched life he never feels apologetic for. He lives in a plush apartment, with faux red-bricks, lights for different moods, a projector; has a generous landlady and though he appears to be broke now and then, he manages to get by, wearing funky blazers over flashy Iron Maiden T-shirts. He is 40 something by age but 20 something in lifestyle. Now enters his secret daughter Tia a.k.a Alaya F, who triggers an emotional awakening for Khan. For the most part, the film’s treatment is casual and lighthearted and even in its most serious moments, the film doesn’t take itself too seriously. Khan and Alaya share easy chemistry refreshingly bereft of melodrama or guilt pangs: their relationship is depicted as what it is. The only weakness of this film lies in the potential loss in Tabu's character. Playing true to all stereotypes, her character has not given enough depth, apart from being a "drug addict". In order to be woke this film deals in very unrealistic way with childbirth out of wedlock and accidental pregnancy. Which could be unusual for the Indian audience. Coming to the cast, Kubbra Sait plays a hairdresser who’s divorced and looking for love. This is a subplot that exists solely to reveal more of Jazz’s character but adds a layer of complexity: while she seeks a friendship, he wants a quick fling and it takes him a while to come around that dynamic. Veteran Kumud Mishra, as Jazz’s brother, is as reliable as always but it’s newcomer Alaya who actually impresses with her understated, natural performance. There’s a certain sadness in her evocative eyes the kind that says that she’s going to be okay even if her Dad rejects her entirely but she does desire that paternal acceptance. It’s a mix of vulnerability and strength and the actor strikes an effortless balance between the two. Coming to Saif, From Kaalakaandi to Sacred Games to Laal Kaptaan, Khan seems to be putting himself out there. In that sense, Jawaani Jaaneman is his homecoming, a role he’s always known how to play. He brings in a certain likeability to Jazz, his face designed to express comical emotional terror followed by submissive acceptance.

Jawaani Jaaneman Movie Verdict:

Overall this film is funny and worth a watch but fails to be as woke as it tries to be.