Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai REVIEW: Varun Dhawan, Mrunal Thakur, Pooja Hegde’s Predictable Rom-Com Fails To Impress

Film:
Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai

Director: David Dhawan

Writer: Yunus Sajawal

Cast: Varun Dhawan, Mrunal Thakur, Pooja Hegde, Manish Paul, Chunky Pandey, Jimmy Shergill, Mouni Roy, Ali Asghar, Rajesh Kumar, Rakesh Bedi, Johny Lever, Raajpal Yadav

Runtime: 2 Hours, 17 Minutes

Platform: In Theatres

Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai Review

Taking place partially in India and London, HJTIHH is centred on the life of story of Jaswinder aka Jass (Varun Dhawan) and the chaos that erupts when both his partners get pregnant at the same time. Jass – a wedding photographer, meets and falls for Bani (Mrunal Thakur) while working on her sister’s wedding. After a Bollywood-style clash and a couple of dances, Bani is charmed by him, and marries him within days of their first meeting. However, 5 years later, Bani asks for a divorce because Jass wants to have a child, while she wants to concentrate on her career.

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Before granting the divorce, the judge (Ali Asgar) gives them six months to rethink their decision and hopefully reconcile. However, Bani is clear that she wants to separate. Soon after, a heartbroken Jass shifts to London, where Preet (Pooja Hegde) kisses him as a dare. Soon after, they start dating, and Jess even meets her formidable brother. Everything is going fine for Jess until one day, Bani ends up at his place and announces that she’s pregnant with his child. Just moments later, Preet also tells Jass that she’s also expecting.

What happens next forms the rest of the film. But is it worth a watch? Read our review to know if you should book your tickets for a weekend show.

What Works

David Dhawan, as he manages to make a cringe film watchable.

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What Doesn’t Work

Yunus Sajawal’s story will take you back to the 90s but not the nostalgic one, the cringe one

Technical Analysis

Direction

This is David Dhawan’s last outing as a director and it’s exactly what one would expects from it. It’s commercial and vibrant with logic once again taking the backseat. If you go in expecting or thinking there will be something logical, you will be disappointed. But if you go in just to chill and laugh at Jass’ absurd life, you will. The plot is all over the place, but David – with his years of experience, somehow makes sure there are enough drama to keep you away from checking the notifications on your cell.

Story & Screenplay

This belongs to the 90s and should have been left right there. Truth be told – if this narrative had released 30-35 years ago, it would have been loved by masses, especially if we had Salman Khan essay the part of Jass. The jokes don’t land as intended – especially in the first half. In fact, even the situational comedy in the first 30 minutes fail to get a chuckle out of the audience.

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While the second half is a bit better (could be the popcorn and cold drink working its magic), the humour still fails to click. Several sequences will make you think of pass hits such as Garam Masala, Main Tera Hero and more. The climax – which could have and should have been full of madness, misses the landing by a mile.

Farhad Samji’s dialogues don’t land in the first half but succeed in making you chuckle post the break.

Editing

For a film like this to have a run time of over 2 hours is a sin. It feels lengthy and makes you want to head to the washroom even without drinking any liquids.

Music

The songs are peppy and – despite being mostly recreation, manage to keep the audience seated. Raju Singh’s background score is ok and works well with the film’s plot.

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Star Cast

As usual, Varun Dhawan’s Jass is over the top. He’s loud, crass and overall someone good girls would keep their distance from. However, there is no denying that he delivers a massy, entertaining performance. Mrunal Thakur – who delivered impecable performances in frilms like Hi Nana and Sita Raman, struggles in places. Pooja Hegde too struggles but her stunning outfit choices take the spotlight away.

Maniesh Paul as Kunnu has delivered much better performances that genuinely made the audience laugh. Jimmy Shergill as Jogi Randhawa, Rajesh Kumar as Ghuggi, Mouni Roy as Rasamalai, Rakesh Bedi as compounder Selfie Kumar and Chunky Panday as Dr Gulati, all made sure to get you to chuckle atleast once with the antics. In their limited screen, Ayesha Raza as Jass’s mother, Manoj Pahwa as school principal Shukla ji, Rajpal Yadav as sport’s teacher Mishra ji and Johny Lever as the janitor Godbole, deliver in their scenes. PS: There’s is a surprise cameo at the end and it has a Disha connection.

Conclusion

The feeling you get while watching HJTIHH is ‘Hai Paisa Toh, Film Banani Hai!’ If you are David Dhawan or love non-sense masala film, go ahead and watch it. Skip it if sensible cinemas is what you like.

Watch the trailer of Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai here:

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