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Jaanemann : Movie Review
21st Oct 2006 03.00 IST
By N. K. Deoshi

Shirish Kunder’s directorial debut Jaaneman uses a style of storytelling that has never been seen in Bollywood before. The film combines magical realism with Bollywood sensibilities to present a story that makes you laugh and cry.

Irrespective of the movie’s box-office fate, ‘Jaanemann’ is a film that will be appreciated for the very innovative style of direction by Shirish Kunder . Here is a director who can think out of the box while, at the same time, sticking to a story that has nothing particularly novel about it per se. Two guys in love with the same girl. One has to make a sacrifice. Eventually, it is love that wins.

The movie takes off beautifully. The camera zooms out from lunar craters and pans into a space capsule in which Agastya Rao (Akshay Kumar) tells the story of his good friend Suhaan (Salman Khan) to his astronaut companion, a blonde female whose face is not shown until the end.

The movie goes into flashback.

Suhaan, a dreamer, wakes up in the morning to a shocking news that his divorced wife Piya (Preity Zinta) wants a final settlement of Rs. 50 lakhs in return for the alimony that Suhaan could not pay because of his poor financial condition.

Suhaan and his chacha Bonny (a dwarfed Anupam Kher) don’t know how to raise such a big sum. Soon a solution to their problem knocks on their door. In walks Agastya Rao (a bespectacled Akshay), a man silently in love with Piya since their college days. Agastya is a man who has always been short of confidence when speaking to Piya.

Suhaan and his midget uncle hit upon an idea. To help Agastya win Piya’s love so that she marries him and they can be spared of the alimony sum.

With this mission in mind, a confident Suhaan accompanies the submissive Agastya to New York, where Piya lives. At every step of the way, Suhaan helps Agastya. Agastya uses Suhaan’s words, his style, his manners to impress Piya. After some initial hiccups, Agastya does succeed. All this while he doesn’t know that Suhaan is her ex-husband.

And then a shocking truth emerges for Suhaan. Piya has a daughter from him. After seeing his daughter he has a change of heart. Now he wants to start a new life with Piya and the little girl. But before he acts, Piya gets engaged to Agastya.

What follows is a touching tale of sacrifice and love.

Intrinsically, ‘Jaanemann’ has a story the likes of which we have seen before also. But it is the way the story has been told that makes this film worth a watch.

Kunder fuses fantasy and reality together, using visual images as metaphors. The movie is replete with scenes in which lights, ambience and background sets change in split seconds, without any cut in the shot. Kunder presents songs in a very new, fresh way, that takes the story forward. He uses background music to connect different strands of the story. All this he manages because he is a man of many talents. He is the writer, editor and director of the film. Not just this, he is also credited for the background music.

Despite Kunder’s multi-talent, the movie could not have been the same without commendable performances by Salman Khan , Akshay Kumar and Preity Zinta .

I personally liked Akshay a lot in the film. He is absolutely convincing in playing the shy, clumsy, giggly and tongue-tied Chimpu (his nickname in college). Later he transforms into a little more suave astronaut, but he retains certain awkwardness in his character. A truly laudable performance from Akshay.

Salman Khan holds the other end with equal finesse. It is he who gets the sentimental scenes in the film. And he performs without going over the top even once.

Preity Zinta is a natural performer. She brings a wide range of emotional variety to her character. At times she is bubbly, at times sombre, at times assuring and at times inhibited and unsure.

Anupam Kher is charmingly likeable in his roles as a dwarf and as a restaurant owner in NY.

To sum it up, ‘Jaanemann’ is a film that ought to be seen once at least. Some people may be put off by Kunder’s unconventional style, but the movie merits a recommendation solely because of its uniqueness. It gives birth to a completely new genre of filmmaking in Bollywood.

A perfect entertainer for the festive season.

Worth A Watch.

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Jaaneman
Shirish Kunder
Salman Khan
Akshay Kumar
Preity Zinta
Anupam Kher