Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na: A pleasant surprise

After accumulating about a 100 movies through the local vendors, I finally watched one from the beginning till the end. JTYJN was surprisingly good. Usually what I hope for in Bollywood movies is the surprise element. If there is something either in the script or performance that surprises me, I consider that an achievement for a Bollywood movie. (And goes without saying that since I usually find neither, I continue to despise Bollywood movies.) With that in mind, you'll understand when I start by mentioning a short but riveting performance by Paresh Rawal, who I think is too good of an actor for the bland Bollywood scripts. He plays a truly menacing and evil villain. I haven't seen him play an evil character in forever and it's a nice shock to realize how good he is.

What I liked about the rest of the movie are the small touches that are sprinkled throughout the movie. Like the character of the heroine's brother who openly loathes the hero, but not out of some random immaturity. Or how not all the main girls pair up with all the guys. Or the subplot about the hero's Rajput family history and the mother's attempts to cover it up. Which brings me to the casting. I loved seeing all these good actors in the movie. The familiar and comforting faces of Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah, Jayant Kriplani and Kitu Gidwani, who made their marks on TV and theater and can take over a scene by themselves. It's a shame we don't see more of them in movies. I was startled when I realized that shaggy dude was Jayant Kriplani, and man, Kitu Gidwani still looks amazing.

A quirky thing I liked in the movie is Meghna's denial of the real animosity between her parents. "Denial" is a word which I don't think has an equivalent in Indian languages. So for an Indian movie to touch on that concept was unique. Did you know that the "Pappu" in "Pappu can't dance" is a reference to Salman Khan? With that in mind, it's surprising to see the brothers of this terrorist-loving killer appear in this movie at all.

However, before I throw up from all the Bollywood love, I'd like to state for the record that the concept of best friends who are oblivious to their love and try to find someone else for each other was first done in a Malayali movie, later remade into Telugu. So sorry Bollywood, you still suck.