3.5/5
Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar feels like a Luv Ranjan film ghost-directed by Sooraj Barjatya with some portions handled by Imtiaz Ali.
Rohan “Mickey” Arora (Ranbir) and his best friend Manu Dabbas (Anubhav Singh Bassi) are rich brats, who along with running their several family businesses, also run a ‘break-up’ business for fun and for some extra lucre. Their philosophy is that couples should rather separate amicably than waste time in dead relationships. They have their ethics, mind you. They only help unmarried people. Married couples are strictly told to sort their matter through court and counselling. Manu is engaged to Kinchi (Monica Chaudhary) but is having second thoughts. The trio zoom off to Spain for their pre-wedding vacation. Kinchi’s bestie, Nisha “Tinni” Malhotra, joins them there.
While it’s love at first sight for Mickey, Tinni doesn’t mind having a holiday fling with him but doesn’t want a serious relationship. Her very Tamasha-like philosophy is that we’re different people while on vacation and hence such hook-ups shouldn’t be taken seriously. Mickey contrives to make her believe he’s really fallen for her and she finally consents. The relationship continues when they come to India. Mickey’s family, comprising his mother Renu (Dimple Kapadia), father Ramesh (Boney Kapoor), sister Minny (Hasleen Kaur), niece Sweetu (Inayat Verma) and even his granny, adopt her as a member of their family. They’re everywhere together, be it lunch or dinner dates or cinema outings. Tinni, who lives independently from her parents, finds it all a bit suffocating. She feels she won’t be able to handle the extra love all her life and decides to opt out of the relationship. Instead of making her feelings clear, however, she chickens out and unknowingly hires Mickey’s ‘breakup’ agency. A comedy of errors ensues, leading to much melodrama, heartache and surprisingly for a Luv Ranjan film, a happy ending.
The director has been accused of making misogynist films. Be it Pyaar Ka Punchnama (2011), Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2 (2015) or Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety (2018) – they all give out the message that the female of the species isn’t to be trusted when it comes to love and it’s men who suffer more in relationships, thanks to their scheming girlfriends. Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar seems to be his way of saying sorry for past digressions. Here, both the protagonists are shown to be ardently in love, and the girl, while recognising their incompatibility, wants to break off in a way which doesn’t hurt her boyfriend’s feelings. She’s career-minded and independent while he’s a bit of a slacker and family-bound. They’re both good-natured and find a way to reach middle ground, even as they explore their true feelings towards each other.
Things do become quite emotional in-between, though by and large, the film is a broad comedy. The most fun portions occur when the whole family is seen interacting with one another. Dimple Kapadia comes alive as the doting wife and mother who doesn’t hesitate from slapping her son when she gets irritated. She holds the ensemble scenes together, even when she’s shouting on top of her lungs, and we love her for it. Boney Kapoor makes his acting debut of sorts, playing the caring father who takes charge during the climax. Inayat Verma oozes confidence as the cutest member of the Arora family. Apart from the family scenes, which elicit several laugh-out-loud moments, the bromance between stand-up comedian Anubhav Singh Bassi and Ranbir Kapoor too works in the film’s favour. Their repartee is witty and smacks of real conversation between childhood buddies.
Shraddha Kapoor and Ranbir make for a fine pair. She looks fabulous in every frame and is comfortable with all the layers of her character. Be it mush or oomph and even scenes where she tears up, she handles everything with gusto. Ranbir Kapoor seems to be enjoying himself in the film. He rattles off monologues with aplomb and makes acting look easy, making you believe in his character. He brings a forthrightness to the film. And it’s fun to see him squaring off against Dimple Kapadia, reminding us of the easy chemistry shared by his dad, Rishi Kapoor and the actress.
Watch Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar for the fresh pairing of Ranbir and Shraddha and for its several comic moments. At 164 minutes, it’s a bit long. You laugh the most in the last 30 minutes. If only Luv Ranjan had sustained that manic energy throughout, he would have given us a great comedy. It’s infinitely better than his earlier products and let’s hope he continues to tread this newfound path.
Trailer : Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar
Renuka Vyavahare, March 8, 2023, 7:34 AM IST
3.5/5
Story: Both belonging to wealthy Delhi families, Rohan Arora (Ranbir Kapoor) is besotted with Nisha Malhotra (Shraddha Kapoor) the moment he sees her on their Spain vacation. The two hit it off in no time but modern love has a way of complicating things.
Review: If Sonu, Titu, Sweety were a lot to keep up with in the 2018 Luv Ranjan hit, the director amps up the nickname game in Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar. For a major part of the film, you find yourself investigating if Ranbir is called Rohan, Mickey or Jeetender. Turns out he has multiple names and so does the leading lady. Shraddha is Nisha and Tinny and has a best friend called Kinny (Monica Chaudhary), or something like that.
Ranbir has a sidekick in Anubhav Singh Bassi. Along with running family businesses, the boys also double up as relationship gurus, who run a breakup service on the side. They offer packages (platinum costs 2 lakh) to people who need help in ending relationships. It’s all fun and games until Mickey’s expertise comes back to bite him in the ass.
There hasn’t been a film in the recent past with such a diverse two halves. The first half is Imtiaz Ali’s Tamasha (Corsica chapter) reimagined. The second switches to being a Barjatya-Karan Johar meet Priyadarshan narrative set in a Luv Ranjan universe. The previous half has the gorgeous beaches, attractive lead actors in swimwear and foot-tapping youth anthem ‘Tere Pyaar Mein’. It’s all easy on the eye but aimless. The characters aren’t etched out enough, which compels the audience to read between the lines and that feels like work.
Kartik Aaryan’s terrific cameo works like a booster as the film picks up drastically in the latter half and transforms into a hilarious family entertainer with an outstanding airport climax. Women are not the enemy here. Mickey is surrounded by a progressive mother (Dimple Kapadia), supportive sister (Hasleen Kaur) and an independent girlfriend (Shraddha). He is the clingy-needy talkative boyfriend. Luv Ranjan, known for making films that are largely patriarchal, moves away from that zone to focus on the perils of modern dating. “Tujhe Pyaar karna hai ya time pass?”, asks Mickey to Tinny upfront so neither wastes any time. The two fall in love faster than one would imagine and talk about anything and everything except for the things that matter. More talking, less listening. Commitment or battle of the sexes are not the issues here; communication is. Can Mickey make some tough choices for Tinny and vice versa? Our urge to end things instead of mending it… the take is refreshing.
Ranbir Kapoor is most beautiful when he essays broken characters. His silence speaks volumes. He enters a new territory here, the one Kartik Aaryan has mastered over the years. He adapts well to frothy romance, excessive talking and constant monologues. This is perhaps the most he has spoken in a film till date and the way it alters his personality is interesting to watch. He looks great with Shraddha, but the chemistry needs work. Shraddha seems uninhibited and spirited on screen this time around. Dimple Kapadia and Hasleen Kaur stand out in the crowd. Boney Kapoor gets very little to do.
Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar has its humour and heart in place. Character building misses the mark, given the duration.
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