Film: Jigariyaa
Rating: **
Director: Raj Purohit
Actors: Harshvardhan Deo, Cherry Mardia, Virendar Saxena, K.K. Raina, Navni Parihar
Genre: Romance
Duration: 2 hours 21 minutes
Like: Raanjhana and Juliet
1980. Rich girl. Poor boy. This time, the crossed lovers' tale( कहानी ) is set in U.P, between Shaam and his shayar-shayari life in Agra, and Raadha and her stately TV-serial family life.
There is much to like about Jigariyaa, an earnest attempt to take us back to the days of small towns and young love in the time of dial phones. It is unapologetically old-fashioned, from the shy set up to the freshfaced couple down to the Taj Mahal as a perpetual symbolic backdrop. The director handles his inexperienced lead actors smartly with minimal dialogue, instead letting their expressions sink in at a romantic 2000 fps. The cinematography, title song and supporting cast, especially Shaam's wannabe-actor friend, further lend credibility to proceedings.
Unfortunately, this is a film you desperately want to love, before being let down by moments of filmmaking indulgence. Scenes are constructed to be epic, but more often than not, end in a whimper. Reaction shots are made to linger and invariably, with heavy reliance on a dramatic background score. An entire Mumbai-elope portion looks superficial, and their chemistry is interrupted by random inserts of Shaam's introspective brooding. Despite its design as a timeless saga, one ends up feeling most of the 135 meditative minutes. Nevertheless, there is something about this film, perhaps an oldworld charm and innocence missing in today's flashy love stories.
However, the film could have been at least 30 minutes shorter. The story stays static for a long time in the first half. You get impatient for the climax and while it's effective, it does seem a tad pointless. A cliched story and sluggish pace are major drawbacks. If it wasn't for that, Jigariyaa could have been a film worth remembering.
the film can be watched for its purity and simplicity. It ably captures the beauty of small towns and first love.
