JAYANTABHAI KI LUV STORY MOVIE REVIEW

Vivek Oberoi made a good impact in movies like Company, Omkara, Raktha Charithra, Shootout at Lokhandwala and Saathiya. But, somehow the box-office hasn’t been very kind to this mercurial actor. Now he is back to entertain his fans with Jayantabhai Ki Luv Story, directed by Vinnil Markan and opposite Neha Sharma.

The trailer showcased the tale behind the movie, one of simple romance between a street ruffian and an attractive young girl who moves into his locality as his neighbor. Both the actors go a long way in ensuring that the movie is likable, thanks to their natural charm. While Vivek, as the loud and boisterous Jayanta is a riot with his crowd-pleasing one-liners, the natural Neha has all the makings of the next dream girl that the male populace would crave for. She is cute, hot, petite and expressive, all at the same time. Her stylist and designer have also given her some extremely hot outfits which she carries off with ease and grace. In all it’s a Neha skin feast, but showcased without any vulgarity.

Vivek has style, which is for sure. He has mastered the local Mumbai lingo and some of his phrases like ‘Joking Re’, ‘Bhailogy’ and his attempts at pronouncing some English words like ‘restaurant’ and ‘saloon’ play to the gallery big time. And despite Vivek being a ruffian in the movie, the director hasn’t upped his mass quotient needlessly. Jayanta is just a local thug who wants to strike it big with his proactive aggression. Till the end, his character graph is maintained consistently.

The chemistry between Vivek and Neha works big time and this ‘chalk and cheese’ combo is indeed memorable. The scene where Vivek rushes to the hospital with an unconscious Neha fixed on his back like a monkey is lively. The love that develops between the two isn’t an instantaneous one and the director has made sure that it is a gradual process, even though the phenomenon of attractive girls falling for street thugs is strictly cinematic. The two also share some lip-locks and other intimate moments which earn the ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ from the young members in the hall.

The movie’s serious scenes which show Jayanta’s bosses, his struggles with an unruly cop (played by Nassar) and his relationship with his understudy, peter out a bit and take the focus away from the main romance.

The music of Sachin – Jigar is already popular and is a major plus for the movie along with the Neha – Vivek pairing. There are just 4 songs but each of them is a winner and earns the audience’s applause. Other than this, the movie doesn’t have major production standards and it is evident that it has been made on a minuscule budget by the producers.

In all, school and college kids are bound to enjoy this movie more than the cine buff that comes for some serious stuff. Jayantabhai Ki Luv Story is unpretentious, doesn’t have any lofty intentions and is just a simple popcorn entertainer. And despite some pace issues at times, the movie is just over two hours long.