Film Review: Jhoom Barabar Jhoom

The Zing thing

There are two ways of approaching Jhoom Barabar Jhoom. Either you enter its magical realm and become a part of this truly zany ride or remain unmoved by it, wondering what the fuss is all about. In that sense, it’s a movie that will either leave you exhausted or enthralled!

As with most comic capers, this film too hangs on a wafer thin storyline---- two people, apparently as different as cheese and chalk, meet at a station abroad and take turns discussing their respective love lives. Of course, it’s not as simple as that and there’s a very clever twist here, as you will see. But even as that happens, Shaad Ali’s screenplay, with its whiplash vigour, crisp one-liners and wacko characters, makes this fare thoroughly entertaining. Yes, it’s drenched in gloss but make no mistake, its desi appeal is as distinct and lip smacking as spicy bhelpuri.

Abhishek Bachchan’s Bunty takes a bratty, self-assured turn here and one has to say, his ‘lafanga’ act is one of the best you’ll get to see. Success has truly done wonders to this actor and whatever the fate of this film, this is a performance that stands out for sheer command of craft. Lara Dutta oozes oomph and impresses with her acting. Preity’s not looking all that great in the film but there’s nothing to fault her performance here. And is it just me who saw a bit of Bridget Jones in her character’s treatment? Bobby is good enough, though he’s clearly the second lead here.
Not every song rocks and in many cases, it's the high energy choreograohy that saves the day but I liked Bol Na Halke Halke and the final Punjabi version of Jhoom Barabar Jhoom very much.

Ultimately, whichever side of the fence you may come from, it’s important to understand that there’s nothing wrong with this film, really. This is an intelligently made film, very edgy, very smart.

Stars: ***1/2

-Sandhya Iyer