Defies logic: Critics bomb Ranbir and Shraddha Kapoor’s ‘Tu Jhooti Main Makkaar’

Film is expected to rake in crores but Indian critics are disappointed by its script and ‘absurdities’

Ranbir and Shraddha Kapoor’s latest, Tu Jhooti Main Makkaar (TJMM), was off to a rocking start in India, according to Times Now. As per early estimates, the Luv Ranjan directorial was set to rake in INR120-130 million on day one at the box office.

However, critics have bombed the film after its release on Holi. The Indian Express (TIE) called it outright “boring” while IANS declared, “Ranbir tries hard to rescue a thin script.” The Hindustan Time (HT) went on to call it a “montage of monologues” while The Print (TP) termed it an “endless drag”.

Shubhra Gupta noted for TIE that while no Luv Ranjan film can do without a monologue, which is then carried by the film’s plot which is built around it and almost made to justify it, the plot of TJMM is “loose and harebrained as they come.”

Mickey (Ranbir) is, among other things, a break-up artist in the film. Gupta notes that he does this as a ‘dhanda’ wherein he demands a thick fee for his services which entail loosening knots without breaking hearts. “Go on, roll your eyes. It’s Luv Ranjan’s universe, in which the expert couple-buster Mickey falls hard for Tinny (Shraddha), who, you know, just wants to have fun. Ouch. A Casanova-type developing real feelings for a girl who couldn’t care less,” writes Gupta.

She holds that the writers of TJMM, however, missed the memo on brevity being the soul of wit, because of which the film drags on for two hours before it finally picks up pace.

Monika Rawal Kukreja writes about TJMM for HT, “The film plays with the extremes. The funny parts are extremely funny, and the boring parts are intolerably boring.” She says Ranjan makes the most of the actors’ beauty in his latest, with close up shots and what not. But the film is like an undercooked broth made from combining previous Ranbir Kapoor films, and peppered with punches from Pyaar Ka Punchnama and Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety. It also offers cameos that give a crossover feel, “but Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar never comes together as a wholesome script.”

IANS notes that while Ranjan’s latest is a step away from his otherwise “misogynistic” rom-coms, “the 164-minute film has nothing concrete in terms of story development and the first half is spent entirely on Mickey displaying his charm and trying every trick in the book to impress Tinny.”

The outlet acknowledged, “Luv Ranjan seems to be on a remedial course, for this time his female lead is all-independent, modern and carefree but with a solid sense of commitment. For a change, it is the male lead who is a bit of a brat and a tad unscrupulous. The story is definitely a complete turnaround! But the film defies logic” It went as far as stating, “Not that one is looking for any — and is too focused on absurdities. To think that there’s so much ongoing drama could be so exhausting, makes you struggle to firmly remain seated.”

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