Customer Reviews

Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na (2 DVD Set) (Bollywood Movie / Indian Cinema / Hindi Film)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First of all, Genelia D'Souza (the female lead of Jaane Tu) is one of my favorite South Indian actresses. Not only is she gorgeous, but she posesses an amount of talent that is not often seen in Indian actresses. And she has without a doubt reached a new level of acting ability with this film. Second, Imran Khan (male lead) is probably the best looking guy I have seen all year. Since I've only seen him in Jaane Tu, I can't vouch for his acting ability - but for this movie, he is absolutely perfect. The two of them together work beautifully.
The music by AR Rahman is fantastic. The song Nazrein Milana does get old after a few hundred listens, but Kabhi Kabhi Aditi and Pappu Can't Dance are classics that I personally could listen to over and over again.
If you are a newcomer to Indian films, I definitely recommend this as a first watch. It is very relatable, well made, charming, and unlike most Indian films does not portray the female as a devoted (clingy) and dependant character; nor does it portray the male as a completely charmless guy who somehow gets the girl of his dreams; nor does it (and this is a big problem I have with Indian films) begin with a guy falling deeply in love with a girl after catching one glimpse of her (how unrealistic).
Rather, Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na deals with two friends who truly don't believe they are "right" for eachother. It deals with friendship and family and yes, love - but with a minimum of cheeziness and a maximum of fun. Did I mention it's hilarious, too? And eccentric - in a good way. In short, Jaane Tu is a modern, well-paced, well-written charmer that I recommend to everyone - Bollywood fan or not.

"Jaane Tu...ya jaane na" was such an enjoyable movie. It is a coming-of-age movie about a group of recent college graduates. I really enjoyed the way the plot developed and the method used to reveal the story bit by bit. Imran Khan & Genelia do a good job with their characters. This movie is partly typical Bollywood romance with some comedy thrown in for good measure; however, it is quirky enough to keep the audience entertained. That said, my favorite character, the one who always made me smile, was the dead father - the "peace-loving" warrior! Buy this movie, watch it once, and you will be hooked.

I love Bollywood movies and this one delivers. It was fun, creative, and romantic. The whole concept was great from the friends presenting the story, to the way they handled intermission and to the way they tied things together. I loved the way Bollywood films leave you wondering how they will ever work it out and then they do. This was a fun ride begging to end. A great film.

Imran Khan's acting is great. I am surprised the movie did not do well. A good coming of age movie.

There's little physical resemblance between fledgling actor Imran Khan and his uncle, Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan, but the young man has obviously inherited the same acting gene. The senior Khan made the right decision in producing this, his nephew's debut film, because it went on to become a box-office hit. Actress Genelia D'Souza also makes her debut here and shows promise as a spunky leading lady.

But other than solid performances by the two leads, the film has little else to recommend it. It's a cute, lighthearted romantic comedy about an uncomplicated, congenial, and somewhat boring couple. The story is run-of-the-mill, and while the characters are college graduates, they emotionally seem more like adolescents.

Jai (Khan) and Aditi (D'Souza) are best friends who can't admit to themselves or each other that they're in love. Their story is told in flashback by their unremarkable friends--an unnecessary and annoying narration contrivance. For some reason, these adorable soul mates, who make each other completely happy, have never considered dating. They're shocked when Aditi's parents suggest they get married, and they balk at the idea. Her parents warn them that if they end up with different romantic partners, their close friendship might not survive.

Predictably, when Jai starts dating someone, Aditi feels neglected and jealous. So she agrees to an arranged marriage and gets engaged to a jerk. Jai's new girlfriend turns out to be a head case. They're both miserable and missing each other, but too hurt and angry to rectify the problem.

In the meantime, Jai keeps having a dream about a man with a sword on horseback, and he thinks it's his deceased father. His mother is horrified about the dream because, she tells him, his father was committed to nonviolence and was killed breaking up a fight. Which is a lie--his father died participating in a fight. We know this because Jai's mom talks to a picture of her late husband--and his picture talks back. The dead man is worried that his wife has turned their son into a wimp, but really, Jai is too smart to get hurt and too cool for anyone to hate and he easily talks his way out of fights, which drives Aditi crazy, because she likes manly guys who stand up for themselves (grow up, girl!). His father predicts that one day Jai's fiery family pride will flare up and he'll be a hero. Take a wild guess what happens.

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The characters of the supporting actors are literally so well developed in the first 2 minutes of the film that I instantly bonded with them. Acting, Writing, music, dancing, cinematography and story are all very good. Unique supporting actors make a tremendous and delightful contribution to this film. They tell the story and they are part of the story. Who takes a snippy flight attendant, that does not like stories, on a date that is not a date, on her day off, to an airport she hates, and spends the evening outside in the heat telling her a story? Although the story is predictable it seems unpredictable and fresh because of all the clever surprises.

Very nice quality and enjoyed the movie.
Nothing bootleg about this product. So happy to see the variety of subtitles too since we have english, arabic and spanish speaking in our household.

This was a major movie in 2008 in terms of popularity. I see its soundtrack won a 'Screen Awards' award for A.R. Rahman. It certainly has 3 memorable songs for me though I didn't like a few that wandered off into jazz improv. and swing at one point)
It is a charming movie about a close group of post-college friends negotiating their love lives. The two main characters (Aamir Khan's nephew Imran Khan), and Genelia D'Souza) are extremely good and have good chemistry, They play longtime close friends who don't know they are in love until they try to hook up with other partners.
Now this is a simple and not unusual plot but it is very well scripted and acted. The cast are not that well known and look like a group of ordinary people rather than a collection of models. They are natural and bring depth to their characters.
Also very watchable is Naseeruddin Shah who plays an effective comedic role as Imran's character's dead father, who had hoped his boy would grow up to be a fighter (but whose mother -Ratna Pathak- raised him to more Ghandian principles.)
This is consistently entertaining throughout and highly recommended. Imran looks not unlike uncle Aamir at a similar age and may well have a promising future too if this is a guide (uncle Aamir's company produced the movie too so he seems to be being groomed!).

Watching JAANE TU... YA JAANE NA, I felt like I had a smile on the whole time. It wasn't because everything onscreen was that funny (even though there were quite a few funny bits), but because I had such a good time with the film and felt so damned pleased that I was watching it, if that makes any sense. JAANE TU... YA JAANE NA ("Whether you know it or not") is a contemporary Bollywood romantic comedy, and it sparkles. Mind you, in keeping with Indian cinema, there are still those soap opera scenes, even if, in this instance, these scenes don't feel so overwrought. Mostly, the appeal and sheer unaffectedness of the two leads carry the film, and effortlessly. I wouldn't be surprised if big things were soon popping for Imran Khan and Genelia D'Souza. I can't wait to see them again on film, and, hopefully, sharing screen time.

So this story begins and ends in that most romantic of places - the airport. JAANE TU is mostly a flashback movie, its narrative style borrowed from FORGET PARIS, as four friends regale their new acquaintance with the story of Jai and Aditi (for whom they're waiting). The laidback Jai and the fiery Aditi have spent all their college years together, as best friends. They're so close that it's natural for everyone in their circle to assume that they're in love. Aditi's wealthy parents even go so far as to hint that Jai would be part of the family after college. Jai assumes he's being offered a job; Aditi's parents are thinking more in the way of a marriage arrangement. Thing is, Jai and Aditi aren't in love, and they vehemently shut down this marriage talk. But they come to realize that their closeness might keep them from finding that special someone. Jai and Aditi arrange to play matchmaker for each other. And, if you're an old hand with this sort of romantic dilemma in cinema, you can pretty much guess how that's gonna play out. Jai does meet someone (in a hilarious nightclub scene). And Aditi does meet someone. But you know that's not the end of the story.

To pad the plot, there's some fluff about Jai's being haunted by dreams of a desert warrior and his having to fulfill three conditions for his rite of passage. There's some nonsense about a crooked Police Inspector (played by Paresh Rawal, who I guess is contracted to be in every Bollywood film ever!) and two cowboy types who sporadicaly pop up on the screen and also the horses they ride in on. Bemusingly, somehow, it all ties in.

To quote lyrics from my favorite song in this film, JAANE TU makes you feel that "...everything's gonna be okay!" Maybe the next time I see this movie, I'll be more critical. Next time, maybe I won't relish Imran and Genelia's performances as much, or laugh at the humor or get a kick out of the romance. But I just got done watching this, and, right now, JAANE TU feels like such a breath of fresh air. While there's nothing new in the plot, and the romance plays out pretty much as expected, the whole thing is done in such high spirits and with such a light touch and a spontaneous vibe that you get drawn in. In fact, the film goes down so easy breezy that you might even get startled by the film's emotional punches. One of the best and impactful moments in the film takes place in a scene in which Aditi and Jai, while slow dancing with their respective partners, are simply looking at each other. Making this scene ever more telling is that this is the same painful instant in which Aditi's fiance and Jai's girlfriend realize the connection between Aditi and Jai. Imran Khan and Genelia D'Souza make their characters so relatable. Imran makes an auspicious film debut, and is very natural and disarming as Jai. I have to believe that Genelia, who's been in a few movies already, lands the best role of her still very young career. Her Aditi cuts a different figure from other more subservient Bollywood heroines. Aditi definitely knows her own mind, has a vile temper, and sports an irrepressible smile. It's actually glimpsing this smile on the dvd cover which convinced me to purchase this film. What defined Aditi and Jai for me and also made me fall in love with them is the musical number "Kabhi Kabhi Aditi," which promptly follows their introductory scene. "Kabhi Kabhi Aditi" not only is a great song, but it also readily establishes Jai and Aditi's tight-knit relationship.

I don't mean to diss the rest of the actors; this is a well-rounded cast. It's nice to see supporting characters with added dimensions - except for Jai's dad, who is one-dimensional (but that's because he's a painting). Jai's girlfriend, for instance, obstinately chooses to view life thru rose-colored lenses, to escape an acrimonious family situation. Her habit of playing the make-believe "What's This?" game starts out as annoying, but, at the end, it makes you sad. Another stand-out is Aditi's slacker brother, who used to be close to his sister before Jai came along. Dude misses his sister so much. And, near the end, whoever has that bit part as airport security plays it straight and is, consequently, very funny. As for Jai and Aditi's group of friends, who wouldn't want to hang out with them?

This being Bollywood, there are musical numbers - that's simply part of the psyche of the Indian cinema-goer. I liked all the tracks in this one, although the one I really got into was the mellow, catchy "Kabhi Kabhi Aditi." "Pappu Can't Dance" is energetic and has that dancehall groove going for it, while "Tu Bole Mein Bolun" is jazzy cool. I also dig the score's quick piano riffs which embellish the film's cool, contemporary tone.

Okay, what I have is the 2-disc set. Disc 1 has the feature film presentation, as well as Writer/Director Abbas Tyrewala's audio commentary (in English) and the song selections. Disc 2 is the bonus disc, mostly in English, and offers up the following stuff: a comprehensive 77-minute-long Making Of featurette; 7 deleted scenes (but no English subtitles); deleted songs (two versions of "Jaane Tu Mera Kya Hai" - from Jai's viewpoint in one, from Aditi's in the other); segments shot at the film premiere & release, of reactions from fans and other Bollywood actors; Aamir & Imran Khan being interviewed on CNN-IBN (Aamir Khan, longtime Bollywood actor, is Imran's uncle and also co-produced this movie); tons of promos; and production stills. Not bad bonus stuff.

It's still a bit of a while before this film industry catches up to Hollywood in terms of glitz and polish and cynicism, and it'll be a crappy day when that happens. JAANE TU is one of the hippest Bollywood flicks I've seen, but even it reflects several of Bollywood's more fatuous elements. If there's one thing that bugged me, it was the corny nicknames. Jai is "Rats." Aditi is "Meow" Then we get Bombs, Jiggy, Peachy and Pumpkin. And - even the director admits this in the commentary - the film's climax at the airport happens to be one of the most often used Bollywood cliches ever. In the parlance of Bollywood, how "filmy!" Except that, in JAANE TU... YA JAANE NA, the cliche works. It's a marvelous ending, again pulled off perfectly by the two leads, and with that airport security guy making sure that the scene doesn't come off as too soppy (He reports into his radio: "The terrorist was singing, sir."). Only in Bollywood.