Tag: Varun Dhawan

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Baby John: ‘Theri’ dialled up to 1,000

Director Kaless and producer Atlee retain the soul of ‘Theri’ while adding some new spices like the angle of human trafficking however the film suffers from a remake fatigue and the highly amplified back ground score.

Baby John (Hindi); 25-12-2024, Action, Thriller, 2 hours 41 minutes, U/A, Theatre

  • Main Cast:Varun Dhawan, Keerthy Suresh, Wamiqa Gabbi, and Jackie Shroff
  • Director: Kalees
  • Producer: Murad Khetani
  • Music Director: S Thaman
  • Cinematography: Kiran Koushik
  • Rating: 2.5/5

The 2016 movie Theri marked the maiden collaboration of Vijay Thalapathy and Atlee, after the grand success of Theri the duo collaborated on two more successful movies Mersal (2017) and Bigil (2019).

Theri had an often repeated story of a cop going underground for personal reasons and later forced to come out of a temporary exile creating havoc. The wafer-thin plot was elevated by Vijay Thalapathy’s charisma particularly his act of a caring father, what also helped the movie was Atlee’s ability to pack the commercial elements in the right proportion.

Coming to the latest release, there is a huge gap of eight years between Baby John and its source material, leading to a certain sense of datedness that Baby John carries.

Synopsis

Much like the original this one is also filled with major melodrama and is crammed with many social issues. As a Varun Dhawan star vehicle, Baby John is a treat for his fans but for those who have seen numerous South commercial entertainers, there is little to take back.

Varun Dhawan in Baby John
Varun Dhawan in ‘Baby John. (X)

For those who haven’t seen Theri, Baby John focuses on John/ACP Satya Verma (Varun Dhawan). In the beginning portions, John is seen leading a normal life with the daughter Khushi (a very endearing Zara Zyanna).

Wamiqa Gabbi plays a school teacher Tara. There is a hint of a budding love story between John and Tara but John comes with a certain past which his daughter isn’t aware of.

In the flashback, we come to know about his identity as a fearless cop ACP Satya Verma a terror for his enemies. Satya Verma’s path crosses with that of Jackie Shroff’s Babbar Sher. Due to certain incidents, Babbar Sher becomes Satya’s nemesis leading to the tragic death of both his mother and wife (Sheeba Chaddha and Keerty Suresh in her Hindi debut).

Another important character is the head constable Ram Savek (a terrific Rajpal Yadav).

Performances

Baby John is an action entertainer
‘Baby John’ is an action entertainer.

As already mentioned Baby John is mostly a star vehicle for Varun Dhawan and he does keep the movie afloat even when proceedings start to crumble. He gets the cocky attitude spot on leading to some entertaining moments. His face-off with Jackie Shroff has the right masala thunder.

At the same time, his act of a caring father is also touching. The scenes with the child actor Zara Zyanna are fun to watch.

Rajpal Yadav as Ram Savek in a refreshingly non-comic role is a delight to watch too. He brings in an emotional resonance as John/Satya Verma’s trusted aid. He also gets the movie’s biggest highlight when a goon mocks him for being a comedian, to which he replies “Comedy is serious business” leading to a mass-ey sequence.

Wamiqa Gabbi thankfully has more to do than Amy Jackson from the original. There is a subplot of her being an undercover cop leading to an interesting dynamic. Wamiqa too gets her fair share of action which the actress pulls off competently.

Lastly, Jackie Shroff also deserves a mention for his intimidating portrayal. He makes for a formidable villain with his chilling presence.

Thaman’s background music is both loud and repetitive. However, the songs are fairly good like “Haazar Baar” and “Nain Matakka.”

Flaws

Varun Dhawan and Keerthy Suresh in Baby John
Varun Dhawan and Keerthy Suresh in ‘Baby John’. (X)

A major problem with Baby John is the unnecessary angle of human trafficking. Director Kaless doesn’t bring anything new to the table; this addition is only there to make ACP Satya Verma more heroic. Also, the movie’s southern flavour particularly the melodramatic scenes gets on the audience’s nerves.

The movie’s running time of 2 hours and 41 minutes also tests the viewer’s patience with some unnecessary additions. Apart from the human trafficking angle even Salman Khan’s extended cameo feels forced.

The love story between Keerty Suresh and Varun is also underexplored. The chemistry between the two just doesn’t add up, unlike Theri.

Keerty Suresh looks stunning but doesn’t have much to do apart from being a devoted housewife.

Final take

To sum it up Baby John ends up as a Christmas dampener, it is strictly for those who enjoy South-styled larger-than-life heroes and Varun Dhawan fans.

(Views expressed here are personal, edited by Sumavarsha)

https://thesouthfirst.com/entertainment/baby-john-hindi-review/

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Citadel: Honey Bunny web series review: Slick action coupled with the solid performances makes this an engaging thriller

Raj and DK’s spin-off to Priyanka Chopra’s ‘Citadel’ is far superior to the American web series.
Citadel: Honey Bunny (Hindi); 06-11-2024, Action, Thriller, 6 episodes, 16+, OTT
  • Main Cast: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashavi Majumdar, Kay Kay Menon, Saqib Saleem, Sikander Kher, and Simran Bagga
  • Director: Raj and DK
  • Producer: Syed Zaid Ali and Alek Conic
  • Music Director: Sachin- Jigar
  • Cinematography:J ohn Heurlin Aidt
  • Rating :3/5

The American show Citadel (2023) is considered to be one of the most expensive web series produced. However, the response was quite lukewarm with not-so-great reviews from both the critics and the audiences. Despite that season two of Citadel has been announced.

Raj and DK’s Citadel: Honey and Bunny is a spin-off to this show. It doesn’t completely match up to the finesse of Raj and DK’s previous web shows— The Family Man (2019) and Farzi (2023)—but still it keeps you hooked.

The storyline of Citadel: Honey Bunny moves along two parallel timelines 1992 and 2000. Honey (Samantha) is an ambitious young woman who has run away from home with dreams of becoming an actress.

In pursuit of becoming an actor, her path crosses with that of Varun Dhawan’s Bunny a stunt coordinator. The friendship blossoms into love however Bunny is not what he appears to be. He is leading a double life as a spy for a secret agency.

Synopsis

Things take a turn when Honey, who first approaches Bunny to seek his help in becoming an actor, requests him to train her to be a spy.

Though Bunny initially hesitates, he soon agrees seeing her courage. Amidst this, enters another character Baba, played by Kay Kay Menon.

Kay Kay Menon is the leader of the spy group. He is also the one who has turned Bunny’s life around by picking him up from the orphanage and bringing him up with lots of love. Due to this, Bunny is devoted and loyal to Baba.

The aim of Kay Kay Menon and Co is to bring down “Operation Talwar” sabotaging a rival spy organization “Citadel” in the process.

As the mission progresses, big differences creep up between Honey and Bunny leading to a major cycle of events.

This is the story in brief, which is now available on Amazon Prime Video.

What works and what doesn’t

Samantha and Varun from Citadel Honey Bunny
Samantha and Varun from ‘Citadel: Honey Bunny’. (X)

A strong aspect of Citadel: Honey Bunny is how Raj and DK have crafted the love story of the two primary characters. From the initial meet-cute moments to them developing feelings for each other has been wonderfully written and enacted.

The chemistry between Varun and Samantha comes across as organic. Even the scene leading up to their first kiss in the middle of a fun moment doesn’t feel forced.

Another strong aspect of Citadel: Honey Bunny is the dynamics between Baba and Bunny. Kay Kay Menon’s Baba is someone who alternates between being a bad man and also a fatherly figure for not just Bunny but the other guys too.

He inspires both fear and respect. The conversations between Baba and Bunny have an emotional depth with a particular mention of an orphanage scene in the sixth episode. Kay Kay Menon as usual does a very fine job of capturing the various nuances of Baba.

The production design of Citadel: Honey Bunny is quite commendable. Raj and DK along with the technical crew do a fine job in transporting the viewers back to the 90s and early 2000s.

One major problem with Citadel: Honey Bunny is the constant back-and-forth exploring the motivations of the various characters. This back-and-forth does help in giving a psychological insight into how the various struggles have shaped up the protagonists but it also slows down the show.

Another problem with Citadel: Honey Bunny is the underdevelopment of Simran’s character. Her character of Zooni needed better etching to have a stronger impact.

Performances

Samantha with Kashavi in Citadel Honey Bunny
Samantha with Kashavi in ‘Citadel: Honey Bunny’. (X)

Child actor Kashavi Majumdar playing Honey and Bunny’s daughter Nadia proves to be a major ace of this web series. Nadia has had to grow up well before time. She is thrust into the dark underbelly of the spy world.

Kashavi does a terrific job of portraying the internal conflict of a young girl whose carefree childhood has gone for a toss. She more than holds her own opposite Samantha brilliantly conveying resilience. The mother-and-daughter scenes give the show some of its best moments.

Samantha as Honey is successful in bringing out both the inner strength and vulnerability of her role. She simply aces the action sequences bringing in the intensity of a mother who is also a deadly spy.

A particular scene where she takes on a group of assassins while gently closing her daughter’s eyes to shield her from the bloodshed is brilliantly written and executed. Action is one of the mainstays of Citadel: Honey Bunny and the fight sequences are indeed a treat to watch particularly for those who like raw action.

Varun Dhawan as Bunny also shines particularly in the emotional scenes. A special mention must be made of his few scenes with Kashavi Majumdar. Saqib Saleem as the menacing KD also makes a striking impact. He proves to be a worthy opponent for Samantha and Varun.

Final take

To sum it up Citadel: Honey Bunny is worth a watch for those who are into gritty action and the spy world.

(Views expressed here are personal, edited by Sumavarsha Kandula.)

https://thesouthfirst.com/entertainment/citadel-honey-bunny-web-series-review-slick-action-coupled-with-the-solid-performances-makes-this-an-engaging-spy-thriller/

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Director Sriram Raghavan and his unique casting choices…

Apart from creating deliciously dark characters, filmmaker Sriram Raghavan’s speciality lies in presenting his actors in different roles.

For example, much before Saif Ali Khan did a negative role in Omkara (2006), he was cast in the role of a smooth charmer who wreaks havoc in the life of Urmila Matondkar’s Sarika in Ek Hasina Thi (2004).

Saif handled this role — his very first negative character — like a pro by showcasing his versatility in a big way.

In Johnny Gaddaar (2007), Sriram Raghavan trusted a complete newcomer like Neil Nitin Mukesh with a challenging role. His role of Vikram comes across as a calculating and cold person who does not hesitate to sacrifice even his friends.

Neil’s performance in Johnny Gaddaar remains his best to date.

Sriram Raghavan also tapped a different side of the veteran actor Dharmendra in this film. Dharmendra played a ring leader. Though the duration of his scenes was less, his role was well-written and enacted.

Now, I will primarily focus on Sriram Raghavan’s last three films Badlapur (2015),  Andhadhun (2018), and Merry Christmas (2024).

Interestingly, in these movies, the director has pushed his lead actors to do something different from what they have done previously.

Badlapur

Sriram Raghavan and Varun Dhawan on the sets of ‘Badlapur’. 

Sriram Raghavan and Varun Dhawan on the sets of ‘Badlapur’. (Facebook)

Before Badlapur, Varun Dhawan only did romantic and comic roles; he was absolutely charming in Main Tera Hero (2014) and Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania (2014).

But with Badlapur, the actor stepped into a new zone.

The film is based on a real-life event where Varun’s character goes through many stages — physically and emotionally. Varun Dhawan played Raghu, whose life changed drastically after the death of his wife and son.

Raghu is consumed by revenge, and in the process of retribution, he does some questionable things. Even after succeeding in his mission, Raghu does not find complete peace.

In Badlapur, the viewers saw a new Varun Dhawan. The actor completely submitted to the vision of Sriram Raghavan and delivered one of his best performances so far.

Despite sharing screen space with Nawazuddin Siddiqui, there was not a moment where Varun Dhawan came across as anything less.

Andhadhun

Ayishmann Khurrana in a poster of ‘Andhadhun’. 

Ayishmann Khurrana in a poster of ‘Andhadhun’. (X)

Like Varun Dhawan, Ayushmann Khurrana also delivered a career-defining performance in Andhadhun (2018).

Ayushmann never did thrillers before, but director Sriram Raghavan trusted the actor with the role of a supposed blind pianist.

Even at the end, the viewers don’t know if he is blind. Ayushmann shared a lot of scenes with the veteran actor Tabu, but still, he more than stood his own.

Sriram Raghavan etched the character brilliantly with many shades, and Ayushmann Khurrana did complete justice to the director’s vision.

Merry Christmas

Katrina Kaif in ‘Merry Christmas’.

Lastly, you have the recent Merry Christmas starring Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi. The film does not match the brilliance of Badlapur and Andhadhun, but there is no denying Sriram Raghavan’s uniqueness in bringing two actors who belong to vastly different worlds.

Vijay Sethupati is a proven actor with a brilliant repertoire of roles as diverse as Super Deluxe (2019) and Master (2021).On the other hand, Katrina Kaif is known more for her dancing skills than her acting.

Not many directors would have thought of bringing them together but Sriram proved his penchant for taking risks.

A big USP of Merry Christmas is how Vijay Sethupati and Katrina Kaif feed off each other as two strangers in the beginning and develop a bond during a Christmas night.

They shared a wonderful chemistry, which helped the film tide over the speed bumps.

In Merry Christmas, Sriram successfully explored a different side of Katrina.

Her character goes from an alluring and vulnerable single mom to a hurt and revengeful wife. Katrina Kaif was proficient in her part managing to pull off both the shades.

Her role as Maria is a new beginning for Katrina even though the film has not done great business.

It is interesting to see Sriram Raghavan’s unique casting choices, which bring out something different from them every time. Hoping to see more such experimenting.

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Bawaal: This Mix Of World War II And Relationship Drama Has Its Moments And Flaws

Weak writing, morose tone of storytelling, and Janhvi Kapoor’s ineffective performance make things worse for the movie.

A downfall for Nitesh Tiwari!
Bawaal (Hindi)
  • Cast: Varun Dhawan, Janhvi Kapoor, Mukesh Tiwari, Manoj Pahwa, and Anjuman Saxena
  • Director: Nitesh Tiwari
  • Producers: Sajid Nadiadwala and Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
  • Music: Mithoon, Tanishk Bagchi, and Akashdeep Sengupta
  • Runtime: 2 hours 2 minutes
  • OTT platform: Amazon Prime

Nitesh Tiwari is a director who created a strong niche for himself with the likes of Dangal (2016) and Chhichhore (2019). Both films were not only box office hits but also got rave reviews. As a result, a lot was expected from Bawaal.

Unfortunately, his latest directorial doesn’t quite reach expectations in spite of a solid set-up.

Synopsis

The film begins in Lucknow with the heroic entry of the protagonist Ajay Dixit fondly called Ajju (Varun Dhawan). Looking at his swag and the adoration of the locals, viewers think that Ajju is doing a high-profile job.

But actually, he is a history teacher. However, it is quite a mystery how he got the job, given his ignorance of the subject and his lack of interest.

Ajay Dixit has a fake aura that he himself builds over a period of time. For him, image is everything.

In reality, Ajju is just a man-child and also a big liar. He marries Nisha (Janhvi Kapoor) but keeps away from her.

Nisha was a strong independent woman before the rushed marriage. She is now patiently waiting for her husband to accept her even after nine months of marriage.

Ajju never accepts Nisha as a wife because of her epileptic fits.

The self-made image of Ajju comes crashing down when he slaps a student in the class for asking a question about World War II. The student turns out to be the son of an MLA (Mukesh Tiwari).

Expectedly, all hell breaks loose and Ajju is temporarily suspended.

He comes up with a plan of travelling to the various locations in Europe which were ravaged by World War II and teach the students about the tragedy live.

In order to convince his father (Manoj Pahwa), Ajju plans to take Nisha along and paints a picture of wanting to repair his relationship.

His parents fall for this and give him the required money. The rest of Bawaal is about how Ajju undergoes a transformation and learns some important life lessons.

Positives

Before getting into the negatives, Nitesh Tiwari needs to be appreciated for how he uses World War II as a narrative tool.

He uses the horrors to make some important points. For example, in a scene, there is a clear message about the futility of war.

Similarly, in another scene, Nisha talks about the greed of Hitler and explains how not being content with oneself leads to disastrous consequences. 

The scene depicting the gas chamber incident is also quite poignant.

Mitesh Mirchandani’s cinematography in the World War II portions is successful in bringing alive the horrors of those times.

Performances

Of the two leads, Varun Dhawan is the clear winner. His character Ajju shares more than one similarity with Badri in Badrinath Ki Dulhania (2017).

In spite of the similarities, Varun does a terrific job of portraying the different shades. In fact, on many occasions, he seems to be acting on behalf of Janhvi Kapoor as well.

Janhvi Kapoor seems to have walked straight out of the sets of Mili (2022) and Good Luck Jerry (2022). It is puzzling how a supposedly strong woman would stay with a husband for nine months who insults her on every occasion.

Alia’s Vaidehi in Badrinath Ki Dulhania had far more spine, though she eventually ends up with Badri. But that was only after he changes, and becomes a better person.

Janhvi’s expressions hardly change. It looks as if she is forced to act.

Flaws

The biggest issue with Bawaal is the lack of a strong foundation for the love story between Nisha and Ajju.

The combination of weak writing coupled with Janhvi Kapoor’s ineffective performance makes things worse for the movie.

Bawaal also suffers from a morose tone of storytelling. There aren’t many light moments that make your heart flutter.

The lovey-dovey moments can be counted on the tip of the fingers.

The music composed by Mithoon and others isn’t bad but could have been much better, given the genre of the film. The need is for more soulful songs.

Final take

In a nutshell, Bawaal is a huge downfall for Nitesh Tiwari.

(Views expressed are personal.)

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Bhediya: A Strong Cautionary Tale On The Importance Of Environment

Varun is brilliant, while Kriti gets relegated to the background!

Bhediya (Hindi)

  • Cast: Varun Dhawan, Abhishek Benarjee, Deepak Dobriyal, Paalin Kabak, and Kriti Sanon
  • Director: Aamir Kaushik
  • Producer: Dinesh Vijan
  • Music: Sachin-Jigar
  • Runtime: 2 hours and 36 minutes

Aamir Kaushik is known for his wacky sense of storytelling: his previous films Stree and Bala are examples.

Stree was based on the folk tale, “Oh Woman Come Tomorrow”. He gave it a feminist touch, elevating the film from the usual horror-comedy genre.

In Bala, Kaushik used humour to convey an important message on baldness and societal standards of beauty.

With Bhediya, Kaushik once again scripts a folk tale with a strong message. This time, the setting is Arunachal Pradesh.

In Bhediya, he focuses his lens on how progress should not be at the cost of the environment. There is also a commentary on how the northeast people are alienated.

These are heavy themes but Kaushik makes them non-preachy through his storytelling.

The plot of Bhediya is centred on a small-time contractor Bhaskar (Varun Dhawan). He gets the opportunity of a lifetime when he is given a road-construction contract inside the dense forests of Ziro in Arunachal Pradesh.

This is his biggest project. But he is aware that this project will destroy the environment.

He also knows that the project would not benefit the local population. Still, he wants to continue the work for the benefits it brings.

His cousin Janardan (Abhishek Banerjee) accompanies him. He has a local friend, Jomin (Paalin Kabak).

Deepak Dobriyal plays sub-contractor Panda. One night, Bhaskar is stranded in the jungle and is bitten by a bhediya (wolf).

Veterinary doctor Anki (Kriti Sanon with a weird hairstyle) provides him first-aid.

However, things start getting worse for Bhaskar because he was bitten by a supernatural wolf. As a result, he too gets some supernatural powers now.

On the other hand, certain people associated with this controversial project are getting killed due to a particular animal.

The rest of the story is about how this mystery is solved and how Bhaskar manages to overcome his inner conflict. This is the synopsis of Bhediya.

Terrific visual effects

The best thing about the movie is how the director balances horror and comedy.

The scenes of Varun transforming into a werewolf at night will give goosebumps to the audience, more so if you are watching it in 3D.

The background music by Sachin-Jigar coupled with the cinematography of Jishnu Bhattacharjee heightens the impact of these scenes.

The computer-generated ‘wolf effects’ are in perfect sync with the nature of the film. The hard work that has gone behind the scenes is evident.

Comedy is a mixed bag

Abhishek Benerjee mostly handles the comedy part. He is a real hoot and often leaves the audience in splits.

Varun’s camaraderie with both Abhishek Benerjee and Paalin Kabak gives the film some of its best moments.

Paalin Kabak also stands on his own, particularly in the scene where he expresses his frustration about the stereotypes associated with northeastern people.

Deepak Dobriyal is fun to watch.

But some of the jokes are rather in bad taste. A case in point is the scene where Varun’s bum becomes a point of discussion; there is also some unnecessary toilet humour which dragged quite a bit.

There are also some avoidable racist jokes.

Varun is brilliant, Kriti is underused

Another major win for the film is how the character of Varun has been designed coupled with the actor’s terrific performance.

Bhaskar is someone who starts with an indifferent attitude towards nature. Becoming rich is his only ambition. However, all these changes after he gets bitten by the supernatural wolf.

The audiences get to see him going through a lot of internal conflicts and eventually changing for the better.

Varun captures all these shades meticulously. He also deserves huge credit for the physical transformation that he goes through when the wolf takes over.

Kriti Sanon has a mysterious presence much like Shraddha Kapoor in Stree. And just like Shraddha, Kriti is largely relegated to the background except for the pre-climax twist.

It has a good emotional touch. However, the impact would have been more if Kriti was better used it from the beginning. Her romance with Varun is rather half-baked.

Sachin-Jigar’s music was better in Stree than in this film but they more than make it up with their background score.

Rajkumar Rao and Aparshakti Khuranna make a surprise appearance, in the end, leaving the audiences curious about a possible crossover film between Bhediya and Stree in future.

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Jug Jug Jeeyo: A Dramedy That Packs A Punch

In his debut film Good News director Raj Mehta had picked sensitive topics like the complications of IVF along with the difficulty of not being able to conceive. He made sure that the film was accessible to the audiences as he combined entertainment with enough sensitivity. His latest Jug Jug Jeeyo also follows this pattern. In this film the subject is the difficulty of sustaining marriage. Like Good news here too you have two couples, one senior couple and other younger. Another similarity is the Punjabi background. Jug Jug Jeeyo had its share of lapses but it is a dramedy that keeps you involved till the end.

The story of Jug Jug Jeeyo is about two couples. The first one is Bheem and Gita (Anil Kapoor and Neetu Kapoor). They have been married for thirty five years. The other couple is Kukoo and Naina (Varun Dhawan and Kiara Advani). They have been married for five years. Naina and Kukoo had met in fifth grade. In the opening scene you have junior Kukoo screaming at a boy who speaks to Naina because of his possessiveness.  Through a song we get to know their love story and how that leads to marriage. Manish Paul plays Naina’s brother. After the song we move to Canada where the marriage of Kukoo and Naina is falling apart, they decide to separate but before that there is the marriage of Kukoo’s sister Ginny. Kukoo and Naina decide to reveal the news of divorce after marriage but there is a huge shock waiting for Kukoo. The shock is his father is also on the verge of divorce. Bheem is deeply attracted to Kukoo’s Maths teacher played by Tisca Chopra. Bheem is planning to divorce Geeta after the wedding. What follows is a roller coaster that makes you feel various emotions.

The best part of Jug Jug Jeeyo is undoubtedly Anil Kapoor’s Bheem. Bheem is a difficult person to like. He has an extramarital affair, does drama at the top of a hat and tells lies to get out of situations. However Anil Kapoor makes the character work with his brilliant performance. He is too good in both the emotional and also the lighter bits. A scene which deserves a particular mention is when Bheem first tells his son about wanting to have a divorce to the shocked Kukoo. Right after saying that his body language changes, until then he is cheerful but suddenly he goes silent and goes away from there. In the comic bits the actor just leaves you in splits, for example there is a scene In the middle of the road where he cooks up a story about himself rejecting Tisca Chopra’s character where in actuality she has rejected him. Raj Mehta deserves credit for not giving a happy ending to Anil and Neetu’s characters. He makes the wise decision of keeping it open ended. He also deserves credit for not making Neetu come across as loud in spite of playing a Punjabi mother.

Varun Dhawan as Kukoo also stands his own. He is first rate in the scenes showing Kukoo’s insecurities and selfishness. His scenes with Anil are very good to watch. A scene which deserves a particular mention is when Anil Kapoor introduces him to Tisca Chopra in a near empty hall playing Kalank.

The female characters don’t get the same attention as the male counterparts but both Neetu Kapoor and Kiara Advani are immensely watchable. Neetu Kapoor exudes certain warmth in her comeback. Neetu excels big time in the scene where she bares her heart out to Kiara’s Naina. In that scene Geeta opens up about her marriage, and how in the first few days of marriage itself, she wondered whether Bheem is the right person for her. But this scene would have worked better if the director had given an insight into the early days of their marriage.

Manish Paul’s character is mostly one note. Manish does a fair job but he ends up being a mere sidekick.

The Punjabi background plays a spoilsport here. The swelling background score coupled with the typical Punjabi tropes will irritate you. You wish that Tisca Chopra’s character was more developed instead of being just the other woman.

Jug Jug Jeeyo is a wholesome film with the right mix of comedy and seriousness, definitely worth a watch.