Jia Aur Jia movie review: Kalki is breezily pleasant, the film is not

Directed By: Howard Rosemeyer
Produced By: Mirza Askari
Cast: Richa Chadha, Kalki Koechlin, Arsalan Goni
Duration: 1 hours 33 minutes
Bollywood Bubble Rating: 2/5

-Sirf teen din mein kisiko kisise pyar ho jata hai kya?

-Toh kitna time lagta hai? Teen hafte, teen mahine, teen saal! Ya phir nahi… tees saal!

One of the many wisdom thrown in the film that go futile.

It would be pretty difficult to judge ‘Jia Aur Jia’. Primarily because, we wholeheartedly believe in what the film tries to preach. To not give up on life, to embrace each moment of your existence, to fall in love unapologetically, to win happiness. Hence, when a beaming Kalki Koechlin quips, “Itni manners, tameez chalti nahi hai khushi se, Sali ko chhin ke lana padta hai zindagi mein”, it puts a broad smile on everyone’s face.

But the bottomline is, ‘Jia Aur Jia’ is short of a powerful impact.

As the film kickstarts, Jia Venkatram (Richa Chadha) and Jia Garewal (Kalki Koechlin) are supposed to be tour partners in Sweden. Kalki is chirpy, vibrant, happy as ever. She’s the windy vibe that even whiplashes your gloom. Richa, on the other hand, is calm and composed. She’d not indulge in madness, but would stay back and soak herself in the moment. The two drastically different characters set out on their much-awaited tour. No one knows that both are awaiting their lives to end, in different ways.

As we are introduced to the first twist, I looked forward to witnessing a titillating story of unforeseen friendship and unmatchable positivity. Kalki, sadly, is the only saving grace of this film. Director Howard Rosemeyer tries his best to infuse it with many relatable philosophies; the primary one being one’s urge of overcoming fear of death and resisting suicidal thoughts. Way too many loopholes and weak performances play spoilsport.

What goes wrong is, the most dense emotions are handled ineffectively. However, the intentions are true.

A dying Kalki Koechlin decides to take the wedding vow. Ideally, it should’ve inspired us beyond measures. Here, it is a mere forced attempt of emphasising on her thirst for life, which was evident anyway. Debutant Arslan Goni, who plays Kalki’s lover-turned-husband, is another misfit. Apart from silently screaming novelty, his character does nothing. Further, he is disturbingly inexpressive and has spoilt some of the otherwise most tender moments of the film.

But, the one who shocks is Richa Chadha. What has happened to the woman who acted in films like ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ and ‘Sarbjit’? Richa is plain sulking throughout. The more intense the moment gets, the more uncomfortable she gets!

Kalki and Richa’s camaraderie, that could be the turning point for ‘Jia Aur Jia’, is instead a semi-successful attempt. Barring few moments, it looks plastic. Albeit, it was a treat to look at Kalki. She’s got the ability to colour up your day instantly.

The decently shot film has soothing music, barring the one ‘Naach Basanti Naach’, which is again, nothing but an emphasis that the ‘good girl’ will dance only when she gets drunk.

Missing out on this one will be of no harm!

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