The director takes up the issues of female infanticide and superstitions among others through the lens of entertainment.
Prabhatha Rigobertha
Divyang Thakkar’s Jayeshbhai Jordaar is what you get if you grind Ayushmann Khurrana’s formula of social films and also some Akshay Kumar ones like Toilet Ek Prem Katha.
The director takes up the issues of female infanticide and superstitions among others, he narrates it through the lens of entertainment. Even when the film moves into a dark zone the narrative style doesn’t lose its core.
Jayeshbhai Jordaar is definitely a breadth of fresh air among the spate of biggies like RRR and KGF 2. However you just wish that the director had paid more focus on the development of some characters, case in point being Shalini Pandey’s Mudra. It looks like the actress had hopped from the sets of Arjun Reddy to this one. Shalini tries very hard but the mostly one- dimensional character coupled with the forced Gujarati accent makes it hard to sympathize with her.
Both Ram Lal and his wife want Mudra to deliver a boy who will carry forward the lineage.
Ranveer Singh and Shalini Pandey play a young couple living under the thumb of the overbearing elders. They have to bow down to whatever the elders say, and this includes a sex determination test too. Jayeshbai’s father is sarpanch Ram Lal (Boman Irani). His character is very reminiscent of those politicians who think that woman wearing short clothes leads to rape. There is a bizarre scene where Ram Lal bans soap to protect the ladies. Siddhi (Jia Vaidhya) is the daughter of Jayesh and Mudra. Ratna Patak Shah plays Boman Irani’s wife. Both Ram Lal and his wife want Mudra to deliver a boy who will carry forward the lineage. There is also a subplot involving a village in Haryana. The people in that village want help as it is an all- men’s village. The sex-ratio is terribly skewed. The rest of the story plays out like a road movie with Jayeshbhai desperately trying to save his wife. The daughter Siddhi is Jayeshbhai’s biggest support.
The best part of Jayeshbhai Jordaaar is how the director maintains the character of Jayesh. Jayesh is a timid person who cannot oppose his father publicly, but he still stands up for his wife on many occasions making sure that she doesn’t get hurt. There is a scene early on when Jayesh is asked to beat his wife by Ram Lal. The reason being Jayesh’s sister is being abused in her martial home. Mudra’s brother is the husband of Jayesh’s sister. Jayesh closes the door and creates a charade that makes Ram Lal and his wife think that he is beating Mudra severely.
Ranveer Singh has always been one of those actors who brings something new to the table.
Jayeshbhai is someone who relies on his brains and not fists. At no point Ranveer turns into a Salman Khan of the Tiger series.
Ranveer’s scenes with Jia Vaidhya are the soul of Jayeshbhai Jordaar. Ranveer shares a far better chemistry with Jia than he does with Shalini Pandey. There are occasions where Siddhi behaves more like an adult but it still works. Jia Vaidhya is a definite a fire cracker in her role.
The sub plot involving the Haryana village is also smartly integrated into the narrative. The comic scenes are also quite good. A particular mention must be made of the scene involving the black cat. It is hilarious.
Ranveer Singh has always been one of those actors who brings something new to the table.
As Jayeshbhai the actor delivers another terrific act. His role here is a far cry from the flamboyant Ram that he played in Ram Leela, that was the last time that Ranveer had played a Gujarati.
Musically there is not even one song that you would remember which is sad given that banners like YRF and Dharma are known to deliver popular soundtracks irrespective of the quality of the films.
One big minus of Jayeshbhai is that a majority of the supporting actors are mere gap fillers. Even someone like Ratna Pathak Shah doesn’t get much to do. There is a transformation which happens toward the end, however it is too sketchily written for you to buy it.
Boman Irani is appropriately menacing but the one note characterization gets tiring after a point. His character also gets a makeover eventually, but again it is difficult to buy it.
The hangover of films like Toilet Ek Prem Katha and others are very visible. As a result there is a sense of déjà vu that creeps in.
Musically there is not even one song that you would remember which is sad given that banners like YRF and Dharma are known to deliver popular soundtracks irrespective of the quality of the films. Jayeshbhai Jordaar has an important story to tell but a sense of familiarity plays the spoilsport here.
Rigobertha Prabhatha is a student of English Literature and writes on movies, books, web series etc on social media platforms and runs his own You Tube channel named ‘prabhathalovesmovies’. Currently working as Content Writer at Pudami Publications based in Hyderabad. email : rprabhatha@gmail.com