October 22, 2010
Cast: John Abraham, Pakhi, Raghu Ram, Alishka Varde, Manasi Scott, R Madhavan, Anaitha Nair
Director: Abbas Tyrewala
Jhootha Hi Sahi, directed by Abbas Tyrewala, is the kind of film that makes you embarrassed for everyone associated with it. It’s one of those films that might have been so bad that it’s good, except that it’s not even bad enough to be enjoyable!
Written by the film’s leading lady Pakhi, who also happens to be Tyrewala’s wife, the script is hare-brained and predictable, and has neither the wit nor the charm to work as an engaging romantic-comedy.
John Abraham is cast as Sid, a nerdish bookshop owner in London who stammers in the presence of pretty girls. When Sid’s home phone number gets mistakenly advertised as a suicide helpline, he sportingly volunteers to talk callers out of taking their lives. One night a weeping female caller named Mishka (played by Pakhi) leans on him to pull her from the brink. Over frequent phone conversations, their friendship grows. Sid seeks her out in person, and romance gradually blossoms. But he never reveals he’s the same guy on the other side of the phone line who knows all her secrets.
Much of the film’s problem lies with the fact that it’s trying too hard to be cool. Sid’s group of friends are straight out of any American sitcom – no parents, no families, no real care in the world. This gang includes Sid’s Pakistani best friend and his unwed-but-pregnant sister, her Japanese boyfriend, two gay men, and Sid’s airhostess girlfriend. Apart from a few genuinely clever moments, the scenes between these friends appear awkward, and the humor forced. The dialogues are over-written and they come off as labored when delivered by the actors. There’s an idiotic subplot involving Mishka’s ex-boyfriend, played by R Madhavan, and his is easily the film’s worst written character.
To be fair, the central conflict appears too trivial for a film trying so hard to be contemporary. Add to that the rawness of leading lady Pakhi, and the indifferent direction by Tyrewala, and you can see why this film doesn’t work. At roughly two hours and thirty minutes, it’s a test of your patience, and it doesn’t help that even AR Rahman’s music suggests that the maestro wasn’t inspired to give his best.
Save for John Abraham who offers an earnest, endearing performance, and a few light moments between the friends, this film is a plodding bore. I’m going with one-and-a-half out of five for director Abbas Tyrewala’s amateurish Jhootha Hi Sahi. I’ve seen school plays that are more entertaining!
(This review first aired on CNN-IBN)
rajeev sir, in my opinion it wasnt that bad … atleast it deserved a 3/5. I dint get bored watching the film.. of course the plot was predictable but still there was some sweetness about the movie… john rocked n pakhi showed some talent..
Comment by mithun m chand — October 22, 2010 @ 11:17 pm
agree. Movie sucks big time! Pakhi looks like an aunty. Music is also not great. Crappy movie. I knew it wld flop.
Comment by Kyra — October 22, 2010 @ 11:55 pm
Abbas may become ReTire wala after the disastrous casting of his wife as the heroine.Should have given her the boot and called film JOOTA HI SAHI !
Comment by PANKAJ — October 23, 2010 @ 10:14 am
it is a good movie.
dont go only by rajeev’s opinion only.
go for it this weekend and check out for yourself.
i enjoyed the movie and it was not at all that bad.
it is worth a go, the story is may be predictable as pointed out rightly but still the movie contains a kind of freshness not been seen in movies of recent times…
Comment by arjun — October 23, 2010 @ 3:56 pm
it is predictable ill give u that but its worth a watch i went wid my frnds and enjoyed it thoroughly!!
Comment by ankita — October 23, 2010 @ 4:23 pm
yeah not a really enjoyable movie.. but it will fair good i think… cuz last nite when I was watching it , there were people around me jumping up and down on some of the “humor” situations..!, which really werent there,.. Some guys were turned on to see “Roadie fryer” Raghu being made to be a loser for once, or him not wearing a pant too was funny for some.. So the casting worked there.. there are people out there who will like it, just bcz the movie advertises itself as very young and fresh, and ppl want to be associated with that feeling.. But serious movie-goers will find it boring…
all in all it was yawningly long, songs were kind of labored into the movie, bg score was nowhere near rahmans best.. yuck.. i wasted a my 2.5 hrs on it.. GUILT!
Comment by Durgeish R Sirwani — October 23, 2010 @ 4:28 pm
Com’on Rajeev Sir… It’s a nice movie. I enjoyed it. So did my friends. It deservers atleast 2.5 out of 5.
Comment by Jagrat — October 23, 2010 @ 7:02 pm
John Abraham’s acting has certainly improved by leaps and bounds but i still suspect his ability to carry a movie entirely on his shoulders.
Comment by Umesh Nair — October 25, 2010 @ 12:24 pm
Ohhh @jagrat liked this one… 🙂
No offense dude..
I couldn’t even muster the courage to spend my hard earned money on buying tickets for this one. I’ll watch it when it airs on TV. So wouldn’t really comment about the movie.
Comment by Y. Kamesh Rao — October 26, 2010 @ 8:06 am
@Kamesh Rao
It seems U’ve taken my comments on yours relating to RC too very personally.
I can’t understand your reaction here at my views on JHS, that too without watching it.
Rajeev has his own views on every movie. So do I have, and Arvind has as well.
Hope U have the same too of your own.
Comment by Jagrat — October 26, 2010 @ 2:33 pm
@jagrat Hey. PEACE.
nothing personal. Sorry if you were offended.
Comment by Y. Kamesh Rao — October 27, 2010 @ 7:56 am
This movie is very cute..and it has some freshness in it…
Must say Masand is losing his senses..
Comment by Sumit — November 30, 2010 @ 7:16 pm
This Film is Damn Good…. You Sud hav given Max. 3 out of 5 …..
Comment by Punit — February 23, 2011 @ 4:55 pm