Filmfare awards were announced last night & as expected the main awards were swept by "Dangal" which as I had predicted has become the biggest Bollywood grosser. Even though it is unlikely to be challenged at the box office until "Raees" hit the screens, we have the first significant release of the year in the form of "Ok Jaanu". So will it be able to create a stir at the box office, hmm... well it remains to be seen for reasons mentioned above.
Adi (Aditya Roy) is a video game developer who had moved to Mumbai with the purpose of providing an impetus to his career, so as to land with a plump job in US. He meets up with Tara (Shraddha Kapoor), a talented architect & both of them hit off famously due to their similar outlook to life. In time, they decide to have a live in relationship & Tara moves in to Adi's place even though his family friend & landlord, retired judge Govind Srivastava (Naseeruddin Shah) needed some convincing. Though they enjoyed each other's company, neither of them were keen on a commitment which they believed would hinder their career. But as the days pass by, they come to realise that it was much more difficult to go back to their care free life than they anticipated.
The project has been helmed by Shaad Ali who began his career as an assistant to Mani Ratnam & made his directorial debut with "Saathiya" which was the remake of his mentor's "Alaipayuthey", His latest venture also follows a similar trend as it is the remake of "OK Kanmani", But the similarity ends there as it pales in comparison to the original in terms of execution & performance of the lead pairs. Though they share the same chemistry as in "Aashiqui 2", their characters fails to connect with the audience due to the lack of an engaging screenplay. Even the subject which felt fresh a couple of years back, doesnt feel the same as "Befikre" which was a scaled up version tackled a similar subject a few months back. Almost all the technical aspects are similar to the original be it Ravi Chandran's visuals or A R Rahman's music,except that it just didnt have the same effect.
Both Aditya & Shraddha has given commendable performances especially the former but the problem is that they didnt have the persona or acting capabilities like Dulquer or Nitya to make it endearing to the audience. Naseeruddin Shah rocked as the retired judge while Leela Samson who had also essayed the same character in the original was apt for the role.
Verdict: Irrespective of "Dangal", this will struggle to keep itself afloat at the box office. Even though it is a frame to frame recreation of the original, it will fail to impress the audience. In short, the lead pair have done their part but the rather bland screenplay meant we will have to tell the makers that the movie is "Not ok Jaanu"!!!
Rating: 2.25/5
Regards...Ben
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