JAYESHBHAI JORDAAR is the story of an unusual hero. Jayeshbhai (Ranveer Singh) lives in Pravingarh, Gujarat with his wife Mudra (Shalini Pandey), daughter Siddhi (Jia Vaidya), father (Boman Irani) and mother Yashoda (Ratna Pathak Shah). Jayeshbhai’s father is the sarpanch of Pravingarh and is very orthodox and patriarchal. After Mudra gave birth to a daughter, the sarpanch and Yashoda demand a son from her and Jayesh. However, when she conceives again and it comes to light that she'll give birth to a girl, she is forced to go for an abortion. Ultimately, she undergoes 6 abortions. She once again gets pregnant. When the sarpanch and Yashoda head to the clinic to determine the gender of the baby, the doctor claims that she is unable to comprehend. However, she secretly tells Jayeshbhai that Mudra is going to give birth to a girl. The doctor has made it clear that Mudra has become very weak due to multiple abortions. Hence, she won't be able to conceive again. The sarpanch and Yashoda have decided that if there’s a girl in Mudra’s womb, then Jayeshbhai will dump Mudra and remarry. Jayeshbhai loves Mudra and feels guilty for killing six unborn babies just due to their gender. This time, he’s not ready to take another life. On the internet, he comes across a video of a group of men in a village in Haryana. Their old-aged sarpanch, Amar (Puneet Issar), and the rest of the men are unmarried. This is because there are no girls left in the village after the villagers ruthlessly practised female infanticide. Amar, in the video, claims that he’s ready to take care of any woman who comes to their village and would protect them. Jayeshbhai draws a plan and decides to run away with Mudra, Siddhi and their unborn baby girl from Pravingarh to Amar’s village, Laadopur. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Divyang Thakkar's story is the need of the hour and blends entertainment and a social message. Divyang Thakkar's screenplay (additional screenplay by Anckur Chaudhry) is quite entertaining. He takes up a burning topic but peppers the narrative with some light-hearted, funny and emotional moments. As a result, it never becomes heavy or niche. At the same time, the writing is not consistent; the impact falls in a few scenes. Divyang Thakkar's dialogues are hilarious and sharp. Divyang Thakkar's direction is supreme. It’s difficult to believe that this is his debut directorial venture. The execution is neat and impactful. What’s also impressive is the unique nuances incorporated in the film. Scenes like the ink getting mixed in the aata, Siddhi opening the window while Mudra is driving, the truck driver offering the blanket to Mudra, etc or even the way the humble soap has been used to drive the plot shows that Divyang has a very creative mind. On the flipside, the humour quotient dips in the second half. The ‘pappi’ concept is well-intentioned but looks forced. The conservative audience, especially, might not fully accept it. Lastly, thanks to the Gujarat setting, the film’s collections might be limited to certain key territories. JAYESHBHAI JORDAAR starts on a fine note. The intro scene is superb and Jayeshbhai’s narrative explains the whole setting beautifully. The scene where Jayeshbhai pretends to beat up Mudra is unexpected and lovely. The real fun begins once Jayeshbhai escapes with his wife and daughter and pretends that he’s being forced to do so against his wishes. The scene at the dhaba is nail-biting. The intermission point is clapworthy. Post-interval, the track at the home stay is fine but gets repetitive. The film picks up once viewers learn of Jayeshbhai’s plan. The finale is entertaining. Speaking of performances, Ranveer Singh is in top form. The actor has delivered several memorable performances in the past and this time, he manages to bring something new to the table. His mannerisms, body language and accent all enhance his act. Viewers are sure to love this brave, sensitive and smart heroic character. Shalini Pandey makes a fine Bollywood debut. She underplays her part, as per the requirement, though in a few scenes, she does get dominated by the other actors. Jia Vaidya, as the song of the film goes, is the ‘firecracker’. She is adorable and enhances the fun and madness. Boman Irani is flawless in his part. Ratna Pathak Shah doesn’t get much scope in the first half but shines towards the end. Puneet Issar is lovely and puts up a fine performance. Deeksha Joshi (Preeti; Jayeshbhai's sister) performs ably. Jayesh Barbhaya (Bhika) does well, although his track could have been better. Soumita Samanta (Bengali wife) and Swati Das (Doctor) are decent. Vishal-Sheykhar's music is very poor, and one of the chief shortcomings in the film. 'Firecracker' is the only track that stands out. 'Dheere Dheere Seekh Jaaunga' and 'Dil Ki Gali' are nothing special. 'Jordaar' works in the film but won’t have a shelf life. Sanchit Balhara and Ankit Balhara's background score is quirky and as per the film’s plot. Siddharth Diwan's cinematography is appropriate. Mayur Sharma's production design is realistic. Manoshi Nath and Rushi Sharma's costumes are straight out of life. Oh Sea Young, Sunil Rodrigues and Riyaz-Habib's action is subtle. Namrata Rao's editing is fine. On the whole, JAYESHBHAI JORDAAR has its share of ‘jordaar’ moments, performances and the right message. However, it suffers from inconsistent writing. Writer-director Divyang Thakkar manages to deliver a social message in a light-hearted manner and as a result, the film deserves tax exemption. At the box office, it might start slow and will have to depend on a positive word of mouth from its target audience.Read more

Jayeshbhai cannot hurt a fly to save his life but has a heart that wants to do better and be better than the misogynist and chauvinistic environment that he was raised in. Is he man enough to do that? Debutant writer-director Divyang Thakkar attempts to use humour and satire to question social issues like gender stereotype, disparity and female infanticide. The intent is appreciated but juvenile execution and weak writing make it impossible even for someone like Ranveer Singh to salvage the script. The recent Sharmaji Namkeen also addressed gender constructs with a dash of humour but never trivialised pain. Jayeshbhai is unable to acknowledge the issues as it's more obsessed with offering quirky entertainment. However, to achieve that, the writing needs to be clever and that's not the case here. Be it domestic abuse, victim shaming or girl child empowerment, nothing makes an impact as the comic punches rarely land. Ranveer’s monologue on pappi (kiss) comes at such an inappropriate moment in the film that it evokes unintentional laughter. That funny moment, too, loses its charm once it's overstretched. The setting and accents too seem pretentious. Given the plot, you patiently wait for moments that tug at your heartstrings but they never come. Ranveer Singh is a firecracker when it comes to performances and screen presence but the script douses his fire. However, despite the creative glitches, Ranveer's energy and relentless effort to entertain keeps you hopeful and hold onto the film till the end. The original Preeti from Arjun Reddy (Shalini Pandey) carries her submissive act forward here as well. For the longest time Hindi films have worshiped alpha males. Divyang hopes to turn that template around and question false bravado through his timid but determined hero. He also tries to take a light-hearted look at grim issues, but uninspiring writing lets his film down by a mile.Read more