Jaani Dyakha Hawbe

Cast:Anjan Dutt,Mamata Shankar,Roopa Ganguly,Parambrato Chatterjee,Payal Sarkar, Anjan Dutt and Debranjan Nag

Ratings:***

RUSHES

Plot:Musical romance with twists

Verdict:Strong technique,weak content

Box-office prospects:Very unpredictable

Jaani Dyakha Hawbe has many love stories in the film. Hiya (Payal Sarkar) and Megh (Parambrato) is the youngest pair and theirs is the only love that ends happily. The credit goes to the filmi manipulations of three cameo characters who unite them. They split over an issue no girl would ever forgive her boyfriend for. The second is between Nirupama (Mamata Shankar) and Ishwar Gupta (Anjan Dutt) missing from a torn photograph in Mamata’s old album. Meenakshi (Roopa Ganguly),the creative head of a music company,goes nostalgic as she narrates why she separated from her husband long ago but keeps pining for love.

It is the love-gone-sour-but-still-alive story between Nirupama and Ishwar that touches a chord. Meenakshi’s narration is practically lost on the audience. These are dwarfed by the antics of Ishwar,the security guard (Debranjan Nag) of the dilapidated building in which Nirupama lives and an all-purpose guy who calls himself Mac Dee (Arijit Dutta) though his father christened him Makhan Charan Das. Ishwar’s one-liners are catchy. The film comes to life when these three characters take to the streets or when it focusses on the loud-mouthed,fashion-photographer Pat (Shiboprosad Mukherjee) who uses the façade to gallivant with pretty girls.

Megh’s caller-tune is set to Roshan’s famous Jo waada kiya woh nibhana padega from Taj Mahal,whose tune has been imaginatively used for the theme music by Indraadeep Dasgupta. Ishwar carries a brass badge bearing the number 786 – a straight lift from Deewaar. He keeps borrowing 100 rupee notes because “I have only 1000 rupee notes”,a line borrowed from Anjan Dutt’s Madly Bangalee while the rescue act by the three good-for-nothing,do-gooders looks suspiciously similar to the rescue act in Ranjona Ami Aar Ashbona.

The cameo characters are fleshed out and portrayed beautifully. Roopa Ganguly,Biswajeet Chakraborty,Kanchan Mullick and Mithu Chakraborty are totally wasted. Dhruv Mukherjee is brilliant as the rock star in a one-minute scene. Music by Neel Dutt and Indraadeep Dasgupta is brilliant. Shirsa Ray’s camera is wonderful in capturing the nostalgia of the forgotten tram terminus,or when looking at Kolkata from the terrace of a ramshackle building,or when Ishwar standing on a rain-washed street as Mamata looks at him through the rain-leashed window of her taxi.

Rating:Three stars for acting by the supporting cast,for the musical score and cinematography.