JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM - My Review :)

Hmmmm ....So....JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM !!!!
I Dont know what to say !!!!
Who am I kidding.... I always have a LOT to say :)
So hear goes....

OK…. Picture this –

What if…. Zaara from ‘Veer Zaara was living in present day London and met Bunty from ‘Bunty aur Babli’ and both of them started talking about their love lives.

Sounds whacky !!!! Hmmm????
What if their love stories (flashbacks) took you through events such as Princess Diana’s funeral and places like Madame Tussauds wax museum and a mad song and dance sequence at none other than Eiffel Tower!!!!

Sounds Over The Top ????

WAIT!!!! That is just the first 45 minutes !!!!

What if…. After discussing their respective fairy tale romances they ponder upon what would have happened had they not met their ‘partners’ and met as two single people. And this dream sequence took you to what can only be described as the director’s tribute to Yash Chopra’s Veer Zaara .

WHOA!!!! HANG ON HANG ON…. You thought the first half was Over The Top????

Then the second half is ‘OVER whatever you can BLOODY IMAGINE’

So what do I think about Shaad Ali’s third directorial venture !!!!

IT BLEW MY MIND AWAY.

JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM ROCKS BABY !!!!

Because somewhere between the ‘Over The Top’ phase and ‘Over the Bloody Everything’ phase I realized that this movie isn’t supposed to be taken seriously or logically or practically. That’s just not what its asking of its audience. Its like one of those wild rides you hop on in an amusement park and just let yourself go crazy not knowing what to do when every moment is a new surprising experience.

Is it one of the best films I’ve ever seen …. NO
Is it one of the best screenplays ever written….NO

But it’s genuinely one of the bravest and sincere attempts I’ve seen of a film that redefines mainstream hindi cinema. Its in true terms a refreshingly different piece of entertainment.

Yeah Yeah…the ‘Nay sayers’ can go ahead and sue me for using the (oh so criminal) word ‘DIFFERENT’ for a (OH MY GAWD!!!!) Yashraj Film’s production.

I am sure many self claimed critics and reviewers would ask the film’s makers- ‘What was the necessity of Amitabh Bachchan’s presence in this film ?’
Well, all I would like to say to that is…. If you could get the icon himself to be a ‘Sutradhar’ in your film, would YOU ask yourself this question. I know to many people Mr. Bachchan’s presence in the film would seem like a ‘waste of his talent’ or just an attempt by a father to contribute some extra face value to his son’s film. MY QUESTION IS…. Whats wrong with either of those reasons being true !!!! Wake up and smell the coffee guys, tomorrow if you ever make a movie and you’d give a leg and an arm to even have him present at the ‘Mahurat’.


“Getting a Tad Technical”

The first half of the film has an international feel throughout. Whereas the second half magnificently pulls you out of the fairytale love stories set in London and Paris and throws the audience on to ‘Saaadda HINDUSTAN’ (read Punjab) and Southall (‘OH JI London da Punjab’).

*Note to Abhyanka Bose (Cinematographer) and the entire Art Direction team :-

A brilliant job people !!!! I’d like to specially mention the ‘Steve’s Office sequence’ and the entire pre-climax dance competition sequence for an exemplary effort by both the departments. But….(and this is for the cinematographer…. the never ending ‘round about’ trolley shot in the ‘Bol Na Halke’ song in front of Humayun’s Tomb made my head spin :( Sorry !!!!

The music by Shankar Ehsaan Loy in one word…. ROCKS !!!! Every number is of chartbuster variety and is complimented beautifully by the genius of Gulzar saab’s lyrics. Whether it’s the soft and breezy ‘Bol Na Halke Halke’ or the ever energetic climax version of Jhoom.

“Jo baanware se lagte hain,
woh log bhale hote hain ….;
Jo pyaar mein jee nahin sakte,
pehle se mare hote hain ….”

The simplicity with which something so meaningful has been conveyed has Gulzar saab’s name written all over it.


The major flaw of the film is the sluggish pace of the first half. The film has a running time of a little over 2 hours, yet it seems to have some scope for a bit of trimming in the initial reels. The song ‘Ticket to Hollywood’, no matter how foot tapping and well choreographed seems unnecessary and could have been done without. All the other songs have been interestingly shot as well, may it be ‘Kiss of Love’ – the film’s tribute to the Oscar winning Richard Gere starrer ‘Chicago’ or Bol Na Halke’ – an ode to ‘Veer Zaara’ perhaps : /

*Note to Vaibhavi Merchant (Choreogrpher) :-



Girl….you arrived with a bang with ‘Kajra Re’, but spiraled down to mediocrity and repetitiveness as you made Aishwarya Rai dance to a modern ‘Kajra Re’ in ‘Crazy Kiya Re’ and a historic ‘Kajra Re’ as Umrao jaan Ada !!!! I am sorry for being ruthlessly honest but that’s because I’ve always felt that there is definitely more to you. And you have proved me right with a FANTASTIC job in Jhoom Barabar Jhoom. How you’ve made four ‘non-dancers’ look believable as participants of a Dance Competition is definitely plausible.

Director Shaad Ali has a flare for comedy and that comes across effectively in the film. JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM is as MAD and CRAZY as nothing else I’ve seen in a long time. It makes the director’s last film Bunty aur Babli look like a serious art film. SERIOUSLY !!!!J But its not a LOUD film. Yes I am aware the above two statements sound contradictory but you’d understand what I mean when you watch the film.

Also, Mr. Shaad does a fine job of extracting some ‘real life’ moments and making them fit seamlessly into the film which is as close to reality as Taj Mahal is from Eiffel Tower.

Case and point;
*Abhishek and his friend ordering kababs in South hall, London ('Bakra kaat raha hai kya')
*Ms. Shabbo and the ‘cat calls- Awaaz nahin aa rahee’ –reminds you of watching a film in small cinema hall in olden day’s Amritsar.
· Preity and Lara’s ‘girly’ (ahem….bitchy) ‘FIGHT” scene in the green room


Perfomances by Abhishek Bachchan and Lara Dutta ( in whatever little role she has) are brilliant. Specially Lara Dutta, who stuns you with her most polished performance to date. She works the audience brilliantly in her two different ‘avatars’ in the film.. Hang in there Ms. Dutta, you’ll get your due very soon as you clearly deserve every ounce of it.

Bobby Deol gets a similar opportunity in the film where he gets two diametrically opposite personas to potray and he does a decent job. He manages to look like a hot and suave Indo-Brit lawyer and then a silly Punjabi mama’s boy with amazing finesse.

*Note to Preity Zinta and Aki Narula (Costume Designer)

Preity…. Oh Preity….I don’t hate you, in fact I really adore you as an actress but this film didn’t really have much different to offer you as a performer than the other films you’ve done in the past. But you still prove to be sincerity personified in a role that seems to have been written just for you. Oh and a special mention to your look in the song ‘Kiss of Love’. Girl when you came on screen in that silver number….You looked hot enough to make even a gay man blush !!!!

SO .... Would this film work at the Box Office ???? Would it appeal to the masses or would they find the 'hollywood-ish' first half too iffy !!!! I don't know the answer to these questions. What I DO know, is that due to the fantastic marketing and immense pre-release popularity of its music, it will get a good opening at the domestic and international box office.
So the crux of the situation is....

Meaningful cinema it isn’t…. But then it never pretends to be so…. Just watch it and enjoy the silliness

My verdict :- PAISA VASOOL [Popcorn Included !!!! :)]


*Psssst…. Don’t miss the ‘first look’ of the Shahrukh Khan starrer ’Chak De’ directed by Shimit Amin (Director; Ab Tak Chappan) in the beginning of Jhoom Barabar Jhoom. It’s a 5 and a half minutes long music video starring Shahrukh himself and the entire cast of the film. So if you go to watch JBJ, just try and make it to the theatre on time.