'Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar’ review: A boring take on dating in desi society

KARACHI:

Imagine your family is cool with love marriages and you introduce them to a girl that you’ve only dated for a short time. Now, they want to crash every date and you barely get any time alone. It’s not just a sister, a niece, or your mom that is a third wheel in your new relationship but a whole seven-member family manning the steering wheel. Besides the obvious, there are two main problems:

You don’t see any problem with this arrangement because you’re a good man-child who loves his family and cannot imagine a girl being intimidated by them; your family does not understand space and your partner needs communication lessons.

During an era of war, propaganda and superhero movies in Bollywood, director Luv Ranjan decided to bring a nostalgic old-age family-oriented love story back on screen and mixed it with modern-age quick dating to a newer audience. The film has all elements of a rom-com. There’s instant holiday love, quick engagement, a cute modern family, an abundance of peppy songs, a tragic breakup, a loud and emotional confrontation, and an airport scene and yet it falls flat at glorifying love or family.

While the idea wasn’t bad per se, the execution however failed to do justice to the concept and the storyline, if there was one consistent narrative to begin with. Ranjan certainly knows how to play with extremes, delivering moments that are hilariously funny and others that are painfully boring

Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar revolves around Mickey (Ranbir Kapoor) and Tinny (Shraddha Kapoor) who meet at a bachelor party and sparks fly instantly – a classic love-at-first-sight scene. Mickey is a family-oriented guy, while Tinny is fiercely independent – the infamous good guy-bad girl trope.

Spoiler Alert!

Mickey, along with his friend, runs a breakup company – among other family businesses– where they take money to end affairs without a partner losing respect in front of the other. The business runs on speed dial and all pieces of advice are given on the phone. The guy who breaks people in love finds himself stuck in a position where his own girlfriend (and soon-to-be fiancé) calls him to break them up without her being the bad girl in front of him or his parents.

Mickey and Tinny fail to communicate with each other and end up testing their love without bending to their egos – even after Tinny clarifies all she wants is for her partner to realise that she wants a private personal life alongside the one with his family. All fair demands and the film could have finished in less than two hours had they talked – but of course, it’s Bollywood.

The first half of the film leaves you feeling a bit lost, with a storyline that seems to drag a mediocre script. Ranjan draws inspiration from his previous films, sprinkling in elements from Ranbir's earlier movies and his own rom-com hits. There are even cameos that give the film a crossover feels.

The second half, however, picks up the pace and holds the promise of an entertaining ride. While the story becomes predictable, the last 30 minutes somewhat redeem the film with a combination of, emotionally gripping yet ironically funny moments. It's almost as if those final moments make up for the rest of the film. If only the entire movie had maintained that tone and pace, it could have been more than just a light watch.

Ranjan's mastery in monologue writing shines through once again, with countless characters getting their chance to deliver memorable speeches. However, it gets overwhelming after every character burst into a classic Pyaar Ka Punchnama-Kartik Aaryan after a few minutes. Although, there are some clever references to Alia Bhatt and iconic family films.

While the story may have its flaws, it's the treatment of the film that could have saved it. Ranjan captures the essence of friendship beautifully, with Ranbir's bromance with Anubhav Singh stealing the spotlight in the first half. Anubhav, in his big-screen debut, exudes confidence and impeccable comic timing.

As for the lead pair, Ranbir is an icon in the rom-com genre, effortlessly charming the audience with his Casanova image. He seamlessly transitions between the romantic guy and the heartbroken hero. Shraddha, too, delivers a controlled performance. Although, she tends to go overboard in emotionally charged scenes, with tears flowing even before the director yells 'action.' However, they fail to make a convincing pair and their chemistry feels forced and uninteresting.

What is interesting about the film is its heartwarming family relationships, particularly Mickey's modern family setup. From the cool grandmother to the caring-yet-loud mother (Dimple Kapadia), the busy but ever-present father (Boney Kapoor), the loving sister (Hasleen Kaur), and the witty kid (Inayat Verma) – this family is living reality TV drama. However, their love is blind to their son and fails to see how unwelcome and uncomfortable it makes their future daughter-in-law.

Dimple Kapadia is simply the hero of the film. She effortlessly commands the screen with her carefree spirit. Even when she's screaming at the top of her voice, you can't help but love her. Boney Kapoor, unfortunately, is underutilised in the film, with minimal dialogues and limited screen time.

While the film has its flaws, it manages to somehow redeem itself with a wholesome mockery of a classic ending with not just the hero but a whole family chasing the girl. Despite Shraddha wanting to run away from the family in the whole film, she somehow embraces it for a – guess what – *happily ever after.*

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