I did not have high hopes from this movie. The reviews I read everywhere were bad. When I watched the movie , I thoroughly enjoyed it. The problem is that the Indian audience has still a very long way to go before they start accepting live- in relationships or strings free romances. They feel that their culture is under threat by such films and hence a huge section of narrow minded audience does not let such films work. Aditya Roy Kapur is a decent actor. Shraddha Kapoor always reminds me of Padmini Kolhapuri. She is also a decent actress. Nasseruddin shah plays his role with honesty.
I am not sure why people hated this film. It was a great commercial entertainer. A breezy youthful romance.
Keywords: remakeambitionurban lifelove sickness
Plot summary
Adi and Tara move to Mumbai to pursue their dreams. A chance meeting sparks off a heady, no strings attached romance until their careers pull them apart. Will ambition prevail over matters of the heart?
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
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Movie Reviews
Unexpectedly good
Looks Like High-School Romance. ♦ Grade D-
Not much afterthought was given to the idea of remaking a romance film which was not a critical success in the first place. But then, one cannot expect originality from a director who has been consuming the shadow of other people all his life.
Tara (Shraddha Kapoor) is a young, dreamy architecture student-cum- researcher who is in love with Aditya (Aditya Kapoor),a video game developer trying to be a billionaire. They hit it off within days of meeting, and form a pact early in their relationship: no commitment whatsoever. So, they fool around as long as they can in a partial attempt to show the world that they do not care about societal stigmas, stereotypes, electrotypes, and all that comes with live-in relationships. The story is basically their romantic journey as they fight the varied thoughts and fears that surround such a relationship, and how they can take it forward without compromising their other commitments like work and lifestyle.
Sort of a crooked primer for modern marriage, Ratnam's story was clichéd then (O Kaadhal Kanamani (2015)) and is clichéd now. Just add some ounces of overacting, and you have the Hindi version, considering actress Leela Samson did not have to put in a single extra effort in reprising her role. OK Jaanu is a film about over-the-top youngsters who use black-and-yellow taxis (just so you get that vintage effect) in the time of Uber and Ola, consider life to be a snakes and ladders game, behave like high school sweethearts in the middle of the road, exaggerate like that figure of speech (hyperbole) that they learned last week in the English lecture, and DO NOT look like they are working people. It is, thus, a travesty when you see Aditya and Tara interact with each other romantically and try to showcase the youngsters of today. Just like Aditya Chopra got it terribly wrong in his blundering horseplay (Befikre (2016)),director Shaad Ali gets it wrong this time, too, three years after creating another load of garbage, Kill Dil (2014). Just look at the title of both the films: so 20th century.
While there is this wee bit of diligence and maturity in Shraddha's performance AND her character, it is Aditya who overacts to the tooth. Just like someone asked here in the IMDb message boards, "Whatever happened to the guy?!" He was a good actor few years ago, even in the rehashed version of Aashiqui (1990),but in here, he just tries to be this chocolate boy who smells of burnt cocoa. Naseeruddin Shah is the only respite for people like me, who also seems to be the only sane character in the whole film, literally even.
However, there is a hint of delight in the screenplay and there is a average chance that you may get bored with the happenings. You will get annoyed, sure, but director Ali makes the broth a little spicy to save you from the boredom. Although, should you choose to watch the film and if you really think of walking out the hall after sitting through twenty minutes, I would suggest you wait for the scene (unfortunatey in the second half) where Tara takes a selfie of her and Aditya and terms it as "our first quarrel selfie". Visualise that in Hindi, and then you can walk out, because now you have company.
BOTTOM LINE: Shaad Ali's "Ok Jaanu" is a childish attempt at showcasing romantic relationships of today's youth. The biggest problem is that most things here are just imagination, a factor that should have been limited when you are talking about reality. Watch it for Shraddha's expressions when it airs on TV, but do switch channels between commercials.
Can be watched with a typical Indian family? NO
A Good One Time Watch Lovestory
OK JAANU REVIEW : I was not much excited for this film but i had no other option to watch, so i just watched it as time pass and film wasn't that bad really. A decent story, simple direction, good Chemistry of Aditya-Shraddha, couple of good songs, overall it not a Must watch but it should be watched at least once if you really have no other option in hand. The one thing which disappointed me was, i don't understand what was there in the Script that film has been remade in Bollywood, i mean just to Copy from South, makers could have easily chose a better script. Keeping minuses aside, let's talk about Good Thing of the Film. Aditya and Shraddha did a good job, not great but still on a better level considering Script. Music is decent, not chart buster though. 'Humma Humma' and 'Enna Sona' are my picks. Script is well written but it doesn't look great as a whole. Screenplay is Average. Dialogues were Good till the Interval but in 2nd half it lost its charisma. Cinematography is Very Good, film is shot on real location in Mumbai such as running Train, Streets which is not an easy task. Direction is Above Average, could have been much better but don't know it just didn't connect well. Final Words- OK Jaanu is OK OK film which you can easily watch or tolerate at least once. Just don't keep expectations high, watch it as Timepass. Box Office wise this film will be Average to Semi Hit as i personally think this film does not have enough elements to become a Clean Hit. Watch it or skip, it really doesn't make any difference. I'm going with 6/10* as i can't give 5.5...