Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na

Jai and Aditi are inseparable college chums. They hang out with their gang. Crack ghastly jokes. Sing songs very badly. But love, naah. That8217;s not they8217;re about. Or are they?

In his sparkling debut feature, Abbas Tyrewala has his lead pair slapping backs rather than kissing cheeks, but he knows and we know that that8217;s where 8216;Jaane Tu.. Ya Jaane Na8217; is headed, even before its starts. The journey is cleverly-written, smartly-acted, and packed with enough fuzzy-frothy moments to make it a fun run.

Part of the film8217;s appeal, which sets out to charm your socks off from the opening frame, is its acutely-observed characters. Jai Singh Rathore aka Rats Imran is a pacifist Rajput, because dissembling mum Ratna Pathak Shah wants it to be so. He smooth talks Aditi Genelia, who goes by the name of Meow, into not scratching and hissing whenever she feels like it, which is a lot of the time.

Rats and Meow, chalk and cheese, geddit? While opposites are attracting away, we are given the gang8212;Rotlu, Bombs, Shaleen and Jiggy, shortened from Jignesh, minus the 8216;h8217;, doing the young college thing. It8217;s the kind of group the film8217;s target audience knows intimately, because that8217;s how they are, too. There8217;s always one guy who can8217;t dance ; there8217;s always another who8217;s sweet on someone who has no idea; and there8217;s always, always a sweet dimwit, who needs everything explained.

But the film8217;s real discovery, apart from scriptwriter Tyrewala finally finding his celluloid voice, is its hero, Imran Khan, producer Aamir Khan8217;s nephew. He connects with his character, never straying from it, with a style all his own, reminding you of the young Aamir only in flashes. Sometimes Genelia gets too pesky-perky for her own good, but the rest of the time, she8217;s sweetly on track. The gang8217;s fine too, especially the guy who8217;s losing his hair already, and whose heart goes pitter patter at the sight of the oblivious Meow. And a special mention for Prateik Babbar, Smita Patil and Raj Babbar8217;s son, who stands out from the rest, in a small, but well-etched part.

Towards the end , the movie starts feeling stretched dad Naseer8217;s delightful cameo overseeing his son changing from boy to man, and some of the side stories are a little contrived Jai discovering long-lost Rathore cousins from Ranchor , but Tyrewala manages to get things back on track just when you start drumming your fingers. The music matches the tone of the movie 8212; it8217;s peppy, preppy, beat-y; A R Rahman at his best. So do the lines. At the end of college, Aditi says to Ratna Pathak Shah, who plays Imran8217;s mom with wry panache: Aunty, pata nahin yeh paanch saal kahaan gaye. Says Ms Shah: Phone pe, beta, phone pe.

Now give me one college kid who won8217;t twig on to that one. 8216;Jaane Tu.. looks all set to be the young love story of the year.

shubhra.guptagmail.com