There are some films where you know that even if the end result turns out to be a fairly easy-beeezy entertainer, you would be content. This is what Jabariya Jodi is all about. This Prashant Singh directed film tells the tale of ‘jabariya shaadi’ which is said to be prevalent in some parts of Bihar where a groom is forcibly made to marry a bride. Of course considering that this is a commercial masala entertainer, Jabariya Jodi stays on to be light hearted for most part of the narrative. However, as is expected out of a Hindi film, this one does have its fair deal of drama and romance in there as well.
The film is about Sidharth Malhotra and Parineeti Chopra who are natives of Bihar and were childhood lovers. However fate separates them and while Sidharth follows the footsteps of his father (Javed Jaffrey) to enter the business of organising ‘jabariya shaadi’, Parineeti lives with her father (Sanjay Mishra) and turns out to be a young woman of her own free will. They meet again but this time around Sidharth wants to pursue his interest in politics even though Parineeti believes that they are destined to meet.
The film’s overall narrative is peppered with light hearted moments and even when drama arrives (mainly in the second half), it doesn’t turn out to be overbearing. In fact what shines most in the film is Sidharth Malhotra. He comes up with a very balanced performance when with the kind of colourful character that he was playing, he could well have gone overboard. That doesn’t turn out to be the case and he is very convincing with his body language, charm, dialogue delivery and overall persona. As for Parineeti Chopra, she does fine though her characterisation isn’t as consistent as that of Sidharth.
This is what happens with the film as a whole too. Had the graph been even and consistent right through those two hours, Jabariya Jodi could well have turned out to be a much better film that it eventually turns out to be. Somehow you feel that the two lovers aren’t really going all out to let each other know of their true feelings and are relying on just fate to make them meet. Also, though peripheral characters are interestingly built up, somehow the culmination isn’t as convincing.
Nonetheless, you are still fine with what you see since the performances are by and large convincing and the dialogues are witty as well as emotional, basis the need of the situation. The film’s pace is also decent for most part of it and though the portions after the interval point could have been more convincing, last 30 minutes are the highlight as the drama peaks on this side, hence lending audiences a satisfying experience overall.
This is the second time Sidharth Malhotra and producer Ekta Kapoor are working together (after Ek Villain) and the set up is entirely different. Just for the manner in which Sidharth has approached this character and delivered a fine performance, the film deserves an extra star. Watch it for some harmless fun in the offering.