Jayeshbhai Jordaar

Jayeshbhai Jordaar (2022) : Movie Review -

Female foeticide isn't a new topic for today's audience; it was back then, but definitely not in this internet generation. Even the topic of sex determination during pregnancy isn't new for us, but yes, it's true that we don't use this topic regularly in cinema. There are many episodes of the same in TV serials like Crime Petrol and Savdhaan India because they are inspired by true events. In films, you need entertainment, and maybe that's the main reason why many filmmakers didn't choose this subject for a feature film. Well, from now I can say that Divyang Thakkar's Jayeshbhai Jordaar is one honest attempt, but is it enough? Not really. The film has a good concept and also manages to present it in a satirical way, but the weak writing in the second half causes an unexpected collapse.

Jayeshbhai Jordaar tells a story of Jayesh Patel (Ranveer Singh), who is married to Murdra (Shalini Pandey), but they haven't got an heir. Jayesh's father, Ramlal (Boman Irani), is a proud chief of the village who has male ego transmitted from his ancestors, and he wants an heir to carry forward the male legacy in the village. He forces Mudra and Jayesh to have miscarriages, not twice or thrice, but six times. Finally, they have a girl named Nisha, who turns out to be a pure firecracker. Mudra is pregnant again, but this time Jayesh has made up his mind to have a girl child, and how he battles his father and the entire male-dominated environment of his village is all that forms the rest of the story.

Jayeshbhai Jordaar had a good first half. It's funny and engaging for like 50 minutes and then drags in the second half, which is about 70 minutes long. The climax portion is written poorly, and that's the biggest reason behind this unexpected collapse. The film has many loops here and there, but you overlook them until the narrative looks humorous, but the last 20 minutes have so many outdated cliches that they cannot be overlooked. Divyan's writing puts a full stop to his own progress, which has failed to reach its actual potential.

Ranveer Singh is one of the finest actors from the young brigade of Bollywood, and he continues the good flow with this film. He is coming from a fantastic performance in 83, and Jayeshbhai Jordaar keeps the flow going for him. His accent and body language are notable, but there are shortcomings to his character that could be blamed on the writer. The second best performer in the film is none other than Boman Irani. He is flawless as Ramlal. The only truly deadly character in the film is his only. The debutant Shalini Pandey looks decent as Mudra, while her daughter Nisha, aka Jia, is hysterical. Ratna Pathak Shah has nothing new to offer and the supporting cast of Samay Raj Thakkar, Ragi Jani, Puneet Issar and others is nothing impressive.

The film has a total of four songs; one of them appears in the end credits. Firecracker is quite a fancy and foot-tapping number, which keeps the mood alive with small glimpses throughout the narrative until it appears in its full version at the end. "Jordaar" comes a while in the climax portion, but it is surely the best song from the album. The other situational song, "Dheere Dheere Seekh Jaunga," bores you a little, but not fully. Jayeshbhai Jordaar has got a jordaar but the screenplay is lame. A few of the dialogues have subtle meaning, while some are not suitable for the family audience. That "Pappi" (Kiss) idea is so terrible, and how horrendous it goes in the final scene is even worse.

It's not that bad a film for a debutant, but it certainly shows the faults of Divyang. Rather, it exposes them. You can't expect a family entertainer to have such kind of language and such vulgar references to prove a hard-hitting social message because they aren't used to these urban materials. It's neither a single-screen audience film nor a multiplex-driven drama; it just wanders cluelessly somewhere in between. Divyang Thakkar's idea was great, but not his execution. He lacked the directorial skills that were needed to carry this film, but before that he lacked those writing skills that could have made Jayeshbhai Jordaar a strong film on paper. Overall, it's a misjudged script that should have been checked again and again before going on the floor. Ranveer Singh and Boman Irani's performances might please you, while the film will go down in the memory lane as a half-baked product.

RATING - 5/10*