Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar is a breezy, fun watch

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When you go to watch a Luv Ranjan film (except aberrations like the recent co-production Kuttey, but including the movie written and produced by him—De De Pyaar De), you automatically expect a contemporary and fresh look at romance, with society’s changing kaleidoscope included. Tradition mixes up with modernity wholesomely and rivetingly and you know you will not watch something done before.

That benchmark is again confirmed and reached with this breezy and colorful confection that makes us forgo logic for its Hum Aapke Hain Koun!…-esque charm, freshness and tang. Shot picturesquely in Spain (and also in Mauritius as per the credits) besides in and around Gurugram and Delhi, it reminds us of the deliberately wonkiness of Luv’s previous love capers with unexpected flashes of crazy humor even in seemingly sad or dramatic sequences.

The cinematography (Santhana Krishnan Ravichandran) is a riot of appealing colors. Hitesh Sonik’s background score is a shade overbearing at times but largely competent. The production design (Shashank Tere, Dipankar Das and Manini Mishra) is arresting and gives the film an upscale spin along with the camerawork and the costumes (Samidha Wangnoo).

But all these technical razzmatazz would have little meaning if the film had had no soul. And it is that soul (script, direction, music, performances and general aura) that makes Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar an arresting watch. Pritam is in form again after Brahmastra, with Tere pyar mein as the pick of the lot among the songs.

Mickey a.k.a. Rohan Arora (Ranbir Kapoor), scion of a rich family and yet also self-made, has a lucrative hobby with close friend Manu (Anubhav Singh Bassi). For a (high) fee, he specializes, as Rohan Arora, in organizing break-ups between couples (engaged or as twosomes) so that neither comes across as the bad ‘un. This “business” is doing very well by word-of-mouth. And when Manu himself wants a break-up from his own fiancée, Kinchi, Mickey talks him out of it during a bachelorette that the two have in Spain.

And it is here that Mickey meets and falls for Kinchi’s friend Tinni (Shraddha Kapoor) and wins her over with his charm. Despite a physical fling, he still wants to spend the rest of his life with her, and Tinni agrees. Their families like the respective choices and an engagement date is set. But Tinni has a change of heart as she is overwhelmed by Mickey’s family’s attention and feels that Mickey and she will never get enough space in their married life.

So she wants out without hurting Mickey, and therefore calls ‘couple-breaker’ Rohan to do the needful. Now here is where logic goes for a toss, as neither recognizes the party at the other end of a phone. Rohan goes about his business, but soon realizes that the girl, Nisha, who has already paid him his fees of two lakh, is Tinni. Hurt and curious, he decides to play along and Tinni even comes up with a fake boyfriend (Kartik Aaryan in a cameo, funny) and a seductress who fails to entice Mickey (Nushrratt Bharuccha, hilarious), both of which fail to have the desired result.

So Rohan suggests a ploy to his client, of getting a job in Bangalore, and as Mickey, he gets angry and breaks up with Tinni, leaving his own family aghast. Tinni actually signs up for an assignment at London. But soon, at Manu’s and Kinchi’s baby shower, Tinni gets injured and is looked after by Mickey’s family. In the process, by an interesting script device (like Hum Aapke Hain Koun!… again, innocent but original), she comes to know that Mickey and Rohan are the same person. What happens next is a crazy romp by the entire Arora family that raises the bar for airport climaxes.

The aces of the film are its lead players. Ranbir Kapoor is plain fantastic as the golden-hearted young man who has his values spot-on as an Indian boy. Shraddha Kapoor, in hot mode (I would compare her reinvention to Urmila’s in Rangeela in 1995, but only in the outer-crust sense), is a revelation as Tinni. The two provide the film with its completeness as a family entertainer. The supporting cast is outstanding, Anubhav playing a best friend, Hasleen the firm but affectionate sister and Inayat Verma the precocious child to perfection. Monica Chaudhary is a revelation as Kinchi, and Jatinder Kaur steals many a moment as the progressive grandmother.

Boney Kapoor, poor man, has nothing to do really, and neither do the actors playing Tinni’s family members (Rahul Vohra, Rajesh Jais, Ayesha Raza Mishra). And just one grouse: why was a fine actress like Dimple Kapadia made to needlessly be so high-pitched in normal scenes?

But for this small hiccup, Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar is a clear winner.

Rating: ***1/2

T-Series Films & Luv Films present Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar  Produced by: Luv Ranjan, Ankur Garg, Bhushan Kumar & Krishan Kumar Directed by: Luv Ranjan Written by: Luv Ranjan & Rahul Mody Music: Pritam Starring: Ranbir Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia, Boney Kapoor, Anubhav Singh Bassi, Monica Chaudhary, Hasleen Kaur, Jatinder Kaur, Inayat Verma, Amber Rana, Rahul Vohra, Rajesh Jais, Ayesha Raza Mishra, Sp. App.: Kartik Aaryan & Nushrratt Bharuccha & others