Jai Veeru

wogma rating: Watch if you have nothing better to do ^(?)

quick review:

A perfunctory narration of predictable plot and fake style. Bad acting makes it worse.

Director: Puneet Sira

Cast: Kunal Khemu, Dia Mirza, Fardeen Khan, Anjana Sukhani

Running time: 120 minutes

Genres: Slapstick

More Movie Info

Jai Veeru - Preview

NOT A REVIEW - Just wondering how many more Sholay references can we handle...

Worry not peoples, no one's doing a Sholay re-remake. We've been promised so by director Puneet Sira.

The film is nothing like Sholay. But we have used the names of Jai and Veeru primarily to cash in on the friendship angle. Since the two names are synonymous with friendship, the film maker decided to use it as the title of the film. There is an instant connect with the audience with a name like that.

I always loved 'ye dosti' in Sholay because within 5 minutes the relationship between Jai and Veeru is established in a fun, peppy manner. After that, we don't question their love and commitment for each other. Could anyone have imagined that someone could establish that just by the title of their film? Pretty smart, eh? But, we have to remind ourselves the other title that Puneet has to his credit is I...Proud to be an Indian.

So Jai Veeru is actually supposed to be a < a href="http://www.screenindia.com/news/in-a-comic-mode/427986/">on-the-run film which has car crashes, plane crashes and car chases all along. And it is the story of two men who are from different sides of the law who have to come together to fight a common enemy.

Oops! aasmaan se gira, khajur mein atka! (Taken a fall from the sky and find yourself hanging on a date palm!) Which also translates to "we aren't making the iconic Sholay, we are making the other one - Deewar!"

Another test of tolerance is going to be to handle two movies with Kunal Khemu in consecutive weeks. And somehow the Kunal Khemu-Soha Ali Khan pair is just too difficult to digest. She comes across as too mature maybe because of the roles she's been doing in comparison to Kunal's school-boyishness. And anyway, with Fardeen Khan as the other part of the duo, there's little scope of expecting too much from the acting department. The women, though capable, look like they are going to serve as eye-candy only.

The songs are composed by Bappi Lahiri's son Bappa Lahiri. And, well, they don't sound original at all. The picturization, though beautiful, isn't novel either. More in music reviews 1, 2, and 3

Meanwhile, I'm desperately looking for something to look forward to.

- meeta, a part of the audience

A movie starts and it goes on and on and on. Not in terms of sluggish pace, but just that it's playing and you are watching because you are there - indifferent and uninvolved.

It is movies like these which try to stylize Kunal Khemu and Fardeen Khan that make you appreciate the charisma of Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan. At least their screen presence makes them worthy of all the slo-mo entries they've been awarded over the years. Kunal Khemu has just no oomph factor whatsoever; why he's asked to don "star" like mannerisms is just incomprehensible. Not to mention that he has a very annoying voice and dialogue delivery style. Reminds of the shrieky, eye-candy women in regular Hindi slapstick films. And Fardeen Khan does his tiny-mouth-pout with a nose flare that only he is capable of, to emote anger and love.

It's not like there isn't room for variation in the concept but the emotions run only skin-deep. The story is no great shakes, as in, by and large things are predictable. But, every once in a while there are a couple of lines or a tiny twist that take it away that little bit from the absolutely thoughtless genre of films. And here again it is left at that and not taken an inch deeper.

Like any other movie of this style, songs appear 'just because...' But what gets annoying is the ridiculous set designs and wannabe 'stylish' type of camerawork during the songs. Also the voices used for the actors are so different from their own voices that they distract even more from the viewing experience. Though there was this one visual with Dia Mirza wearing a bright red and orange flowing skirt and swaying around in radiant-blue sea water. Whether her dress was losing color in water or the colors were mixed intentionally it doesn't matter. It was just beautiful.

Anyway, this is yet another absolutely skippable movie. But, if you happen to see snippets, you can hold on for a bit.

- meeta, a part of the audience

20 reviewers^(?) - 0 yays 1 so-so 19 nays

Warning: clicking on "full review" will take you to an external website that could contain spoilers.

Thumbs down, by Noyon Jyoti Parasara, AOL INDIA : ... Jai Veeru is serious headache or at least yawns for the audience.... full review

Thumbs down, by Aparajita Ghosh, Apun Ka Choice : ...It’s a film that reeks of mediocrity.... full review

Thumbs down, bigoye.com : ...Sitting through the first half is a task... full review

Thumbs down, by Baradwaj Rangan, Blogical Conclusion, The New Sunday Express : ...Relief upon exiting the theatre: Priceless.... full review

Thumbs down, by Prathna Tiwari, Bolly Spice : ...The main painful aspect of Jai Veeru is its dialogues... full review

Thumbs down, by Daliya Ghose, Bollywood Mantra : ...ai Veeru stands poor with no thrill and grip.... full review

Thumbs down, by Abhijeet Mhamunkar, Buzz18 : ...Skip Jai Veeru and avoid getting a high BP watching non-stop nonsense unfolding on the screen.... full review

Thumbs down, Deccan Herald : ...Sira’s JV is all jejune with no josh.... full review

Thumbs down, by Bubbly, Desicritics : ...For God’s sake, don’t even try looking for a plot in this movie.... full review

Thumbs down, fullhyd.com : ...Watch Jai Veeru in a theatre - you will have to, since even the piracy industry is unlikely to be interested in this.... full review

Thumbs down, by Martin D'Souza, Glamsham.com : ...his has to be the 'Most Atrocious' movie of the year so far... full review

Thumbs down, by Gaurav Malani, indiatimes : ...In times when ‘ Jai Ho ’ is bringing global glory to India, comes ‘ Jai-Veeru ’ that brings universal ridicule to our filmmaking standards... full review

Thumbs down, Movie Talkies : ...The film is cliche ridden and seems quite outdated in today's day and age of multiplex movies.... full review

Thumbs down, by Ashok Nayak, Now Running.com : ...Puneet Sira has come up with a movie that tastes worse than burnt scrambled eggs.... full review

Thumbs down, by Subhash K Jha, Now Running.com : ..."Jai Veeru" is just not cinema at its most appalling low, it is worse than that.... full review

Thumbs down, by Goher Iqbal Punn, Radio Sargam : ...‘Jai Veeru’ can drag the hardcore masses only... full review

Thumbs down, by Taran Adarsh, Sify Movies : ...Jai Veeru caters to the hardcore masses that are yet to embrace new-age cinema in this multiplex era.... full review

Thumbs down, by Janhvi Patel, StarBoxOffice : ...Please stay away.... full review

Thumbs down, by Nikhat Kazmi, Times of India : ...This modern-day Jai Veeru completely fail to live up to their legendary predecessors.... full review

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Plot Summary

Two guys befriend each other and they magically turn into best of friends. Only to find out that they are not entirely truthful to each other.

What did not

Note: This section simply lists the things that I did not like in this movie. This is not the overall impression about this movie. Please read the full review here

The attempt at recreating the mausi scene from Sholay
Why would Veeru call Jai to a café where he's meeting a girl to discuss business?
Kunal Khemu with braided hair. Absolute fail.
Inspector spelling every detail out for the viewers. Nothing left to our imagination.
Arbaaz Khan's side-kick. Looked like some assistant director who was forced into acting.

Parental Guidance:

Violence: A few fight scenes
Language: No profanity.
Nudity & Sexual content: A few women in bikinis and lusty eyes looking at them.
Concept: A very superficial overview of 'true' friendship.
General Look and Feel: Bright and peppy.