Saif plays Jazz, aapka typical bigda munda (ki Uncle bolein?), a party animal who fears commitment and grey hair. In his own words “Kya main lagta hoon unhappy married types?” His seemingly uber chic lifestyle of constant merriment, tight clothing, one night stands, binge drinking, trips to the parlour (LM wonders yeh kaam kab karte hai?) is threatened by the arrival of 21 year old Tia (Alaya F), who claims to be his child, a product of a brief “sambhog wala” encounter with Tabu’s character during a college trip.
What follows is disbelief, protest and dialogues such as “Main guard ke bina batting hi nahin karta ji” (LM nod of approval for talking about safe sex) on Jazz’s part. Jazz hitting on Tia, before he finds out she is his baccha, was a little uncomfortable to witness but superbly handled. One DNA test later, with an excruciating wait time and too many results, Jazz is not only a Papa he is also a Nana, Tia is preggers!
Tia is longing for her father to accept her but she never pushes it. She gives Jazz the space (although she moves into a place across his bachelor pad) and time to come to terms with the fact ki woh baap bangaye hai. LM swoon for Jazz for respecting Tia’s decision to keep her baby and not coercing her in any way!
It isn’t easy for Jazz to accept his age and it takes a humbling tumble at his favourite haunt, his friend’s night club, to slow him down and see life with a new set of eyes. Fatherly love is ignited when Tia meets Jazz’s father, mother and brother and she thanks him for giving her a family. She moves in with him and soon hamara Aasihk Awaara transforms into a doting Daddy.
We are totally loving Jazz’s special camaraderie with his responsible elder brother. Bade bhaiya doesn’t miss any opportunity to pull Jazz’s leg yet he offers guidance without being patronising. Sibling goals, indeed! Similarly, Tia’s open, no holds barred relationship with her hashish rolling hippie Mum is super se bhi upar. Recreational drugs aside, who wouldn’t want such a woke Mum?!
Jazz maintains his youthful appearance with regular visits to his friend’s, Rhea (Kubbra Sait) salon. She styles his hair and offers regular doses of life quotes on the side. She is comfortable with him (she is closer to his age) and shows him the mirror, literally and figuratively.
After a night of excessive drinking he wakes up in Rhea’s house and in this scene she candidly talks about how she is looking for stability and romance. Our Jazzy boy (matlab man) mistakes her friendly hug as sign to get all touchy feely and as a result gets an earful from her. He apologizes for misreading the “moment” and respects her wishes. An LM swoon for our Jazz because he gets the meaning of consent!
LM finds it refreshing that a “Hero” is acting his age. From squinting his eyes while reading because he doesn’t want to wear glasses to panting after a short dance routine are testaments that ageing impacts men as women, and a glimpse into male insecurities dunked in humour was insightful.
Now time to focus the LM lens on 1 thing we loved and 1 thing we hated:
Being single shouldn’t be viewed as a stigma and one shouldn’t marry because “budhape me koi dekh bhaal karega”. Now we understand that everyone needs love and some serious TLC but self- partnering is totally cool as well. After all, loving yourself is the first step, hai na?
We LM-ers love the non-judgmental vibe that flows through the entire movie. Sex before marriage or babies out of wed lock are not looked down upon and are dealt in a matter of fact manner. No khandaan ka muh kala kar diya or log kya kahen ge. Instead, Tia’s grandma hugs her warmly acknowledging Tia in all her glory.
Another fine example is Jazz’s response to his Mom, who is worried that he isn’t “settling down” and even more worried that he may be gay, “Gay hone main kya problem hai?” A big LM thumbs up for attempting to normalize all of the above.
As for ratings: Jawaani Jaanemaan gets 3 huge hearts for handling usually taboo topics in our part of the world peacefully and maturely. We love that Jazz figures out his “first love” is his daughter. One tiny LM monster being shipped across to this film kyunki we wanted more Rhea and Jazz romance to warm the cockles of our hearts.
In Love Matters Movie Reviews, movies are for analysed for how they have portrayed Love, Sex and Relationships. The movie that shows LM-style romance will get LM Hearts! And the film that loses sight of consent, judgment or rights, it will meet the LM Monster!
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