Aap Jaisa Koi Zameen Par: A tale of 2 superstars

Let's face it, rom-coms in today’s Gen Z era have become a challenge. The star-crossed Laila Majnu is done to death; college romance is not enticing new stars. Shah Rukh Khan has started looking visibly older, Salman Khan has a protruding belly and makes bad movie choices, Ranbir Kapoor has been proven an insensitive Casanova, and Barjatya's are in hibernation. 

Filmmakers are running out of biopics to mess with history. Hence, modern love stories leave a little to experiment and wokeism [read Hollywood-inspired tales] is the new Orange. 

Yet we are hopeless romantics, graduating from Mills and Boon romances to the Korean dramas. 

Like Action got a new lease of life with larger-than-life South Indian-inspired gore and actors; romance is finding new shades - noir or modern relationships made complicated yet unnecessarily cynical. Hyper feminism has drugged Indian Cinema wherein everyone wants to be an Angelina Jolie with tons of surgeries. 

In such a scenario, a whole lot of responsibility has fallen onto ever charming R Madhvan's shoulders. An actor who gracefully accepted his age and delivered graceful roles, including Rocket Nambi [what a film!]

Well, this blog is not about R. Madhavan, but rather his latest release, Aap Jaisa Koi, on Netflix.

The trailer gives you a hint about the film, and those danseuses around Madhavan soars up your expectations until you watch the film, and Newton's law hits. 

The film, with a heart in the right place and a camera in cinematic prose, yet fails to touch the chords it could have had if it had been made a couple of years ago.  Let me tell you what didn't work for me in this film and why.

There are certain flaws, woolled under woke modernism or feminism, like your Biryani being sautéed with multiple bay leaves while you complained about the cardamom. Unfortunately, unlike bay leaf, it is not therapeutic and induces acidity. 

1. Making Virginity a Taboo: The dialogue- expecting a girl to be a virgin after 17years of age is more outrageous than blasphemous. It is like- it's ok if you are not a virgin, but you cannot unnecessarily peer pressure or falsely influence to corrupt the young minds. The conviving trick is often used to gaslight others, whether it is smoking or adultery or so. 

2. Embossed Cinematic delusion: It is one thing to look cinematically poetic, but too much of it, unless it is a period drama, makes it look- trying too hard. 

And yes, despite the obvious "on-your-face" desperate attempts, AJK doesn't live up to the charm of Minakshi Sundreshwar. While it could have been better candid, without the added floss.

3) The Jamshedpur-Kolkata Angle: It was a fresh, well-thought-out, but not as well-executed. The cultural linkage, the exchange between these two states, has its own charm that wasn't inevitable in the film. On top, you had the lead actor hailing from the city. Mani Ratnam's Yuva had it better without looking as if it is being tried too hard. 

4. Madhvan's Caricature: Since Banegi Apni Baat, Alai Payuthe, he is the constant favourite that even his problematic character in Minnale was loved. He is a living, walking charm, but why did the filmmakers make him look so bad in the film? He looked caricaturish throughout almost all of the film when he could have just banked on his on-screen simplicity, squirrel smile. He was made to look like a villain who suddenly gets a change of heart after he finds his bhabhi finding love outside her wedding. The 42-year-old patriarchal and chauvinistic just transform into an ichchadhari groomzilla.

The sets have more colours than the bland/clichéd characters the film had. Everything about Bhanu Chaudhary is grey, black, dark and dirty.  

On the other hand, there is Sitare Zameen Par that sends all the right messages, without making you feel too overburdened with a philosophy.

Sitare Zameen Par [SZP]

It's a beautiful film that doesn't pities on itself. The cause is 

The problem with Amir Khan is that he tries to be funny but becomes goofy or slapstick. That's what kind of diluted Laal Singh Chadda, his spin-off resemblance with Tom Hanks notwithstanding, acted as another deterrent, as the length exceeded, the span of attention went for a walk. You know what I mean? Akin to what happens when 30ml becomes 60ml.

Notwithstanding his emotional repertoire in all movie promotion interview podcasts, Amir Khan is indeed a smart actor as smart as this life lesson dialog from the film- "Apni kamzori ko apni taakat banao". Apparently, Amir Khan took all criticism in stride and pulled his best to bring Sitare on zameen, even though inspired by Champion. And that makes this film a must-watch, a delight to watch.

Just avoid the unnecessary Mummyji's and Daulatji ka romance, in a Renaissance-like hotel suite of Mumbai. Did someone say- they struggled with finances only to live in a hotel's lavish room?

You need such films to be made not cause people who are different need someone to fight for them. Trust me, they may not need anyone to fight for them, but they really pity people fighting with them. There's one scene from Amir's film Sarfarosh where he chases a goon with his plastered legs, falls down, yet he smiles. If you know, you know, right? 

Such films need to be made cause it not teach that society in general is a spectrum, a difference that you need to respect. A difference that exists, not just by accident but often by nature, also. Normalise what is not your normal, as it is also normal, if not for you. :)

Even if they don't ask you to fight for them, cause some of them are fighting for you, yet you ride on their support and pin them down, in all arrogance, all thanklessness, only to hide skeletons in your closet. Lolz, if we can take our everyday challenge in stride, struggle and yet become a subject of your derision, know how to finally choose friends, if not jokers in friend's garb? 😆