/> MOVIE DETAILS
Cast: Fardeen Khan, Kunal Khemu, Arbaaz Khan, Dia Mirza, Anjana Sukhani
Director: Puneet Sira
Producer: Narendra Bajaj, Shyam Bajaj
Music: Bappa Lahiri
Lyrics: Sameer, Omer Inayat

THE FILM
'Watch this movie as if you are going through a 70s caper, don't worry too much about the predictable plot, ignore the twists and turns (some interesting, most of them not), be willing to laugh at a villain who is neither full-on unintentionally comical like Kay Kay Menon (Drona) nor belonging to the fantasy world of Mogambo & Shakaal, forget all about a leading lady (Anjana Sukhani) who emerged from a sea only to disappear from the scene in quick time (did her character return to the sea?) and basically ask no questions, come what may!!!"

Well, this is all I said to myself before I put on the DVD of Jai Veeru and then played it on for those two hours. Till about the interval point and a little beyond, I could afford to laugh along (and to be honest even enjoyed myself) with some silly banter between our very own Jai (Fardeen Khan) and Veeru (Kunal Khemu).

So what if the duo coming together in a Mehek Chahal dominated dance bar was hardly original (and by the way, haven't dance bars closed since long?), it was still fun to see them getting into some 'chor-chor' act, only to see an aborted end to the proceedings after a 'beach' stint.

Fardeen Khan dons the uniform of a police inspector (something that he had abandoned to be pally with Kunal in order to reach out to 'saare-villains-ka-baap' Arbaaz Khan)!

Once the uniform comes on, the only dialogue that Fardeen is left to mouth from this moment on is - 'Main Sirf Apni Duty Kar Raha Tha'.

Kunal Khemu - Tune mujhe dhokha diya
Fardeen Khan - Main Sirf Apni Duty Kar Raha Tha

KK - Tu Mujhe Arrest Karega
FK - Main Sirf Apni Duty Kar Raha Tha

At one point you think whether Fardeen is making a parody of this oft repeated dialogue from the Hindi films of the 80s but then to your horror realise after a point of time that he was after all being dead serious about his act.

The story, which was not so bad till this point of time, especially with a twist around the interval point, starts meandering once the action reaches Bangkok (hasn't it started happening a little too often that a story disintegrates the moment it reaches Bangkok?

We saw that quite recently in Aa Dekhen Zara as well)! What further pains is to see a couple of superb tracks like 'Tainu Leke' and 'Sufi' going completely noticed in a film like Jai Veeru which doesn't belong to the musical genre by a far distance.

The background score of Jai Veeru is another plus as it goes with the young mood of the film. Also noticeable is some striking cinematography which is easy on eyes. So what works for this film eventually?

Kunal Khemu. The young boy has been showing promise as a leading hero since he made his debut with Kalyug and demonstrated his comic streak with recently released Dhoondte Reh Jaaoge.

In between he also did an emotionally charged Superstar hence showing all the way that he has the trappings of the fine actor if he works in good projects.

PACKAGING

The DVD comes in a regular plastic case though it is better than the usual Moser Baer 'thin plastic case' that had almost become a trademark for cheap priced DVDs over the years

DURATION

The film's duration is 120 minutes

SPECIAL FEATURES

The DVD doesn't come with any special features

TECHNICAL DETAILS

- 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen Presentation
- Subtitles in English
- Dolby Digital 5.1 and
Stereo

PRICE

Rs. 99/ CONCLUSION

Jai Veeru never boasted of a terrific storyline but it's treatment could have made a difference. For at least half the duration, the film tries to maintain a tempo as well but towards the latter reels it starts disintegrating. It's the climax though which is really unpardonable as it makes a complete mockery of affairs, hence making you wonder how the film was commissioned to begin in the first place! Rating: *1/2