Aap Jaisa Koi
Introduction
The Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani (2023) hangover is imminently evident in the new Hindi film Aap Jaisa Koi. Here our replacement for Rocky Randhawa remains Shrirenu (R Madhavan), a 42 year old virgin who hasn’t tasted love even once in his cursed life. He isn’t as effervescent or charming as Rocky was, almost being subdued and shackled in his relatively small town of Jamshedpur. Elsewhere, the replacement of Rani remains in the same mould featuring Madhu (Fatima Sana Shaikh) who has a broader outlook to life even with her ideals that don’t interfere with the compromises in her life, all of it while residing in the metro city of Kolkata. For instance, she is clear at stemming casual sexism in her vicinity by breaking up with her ex who is more interested in knowing about her virginity (and rightly so). The couple are literally polar opposites to each other – a trait that is reflective in their settings, to their contrasting upbringings, and the difference in castes that is also hinted at. Shrirenu teaches Sanskrit and remains conservative, Madhu teaches French and remains liberal, will love stand a chance?
Story & Screenplay
Written by Radhika Anand and Jehan Handa, one of the themes that the film caters to successfully is that of sexuality, particularly early on in the film. The frivolous nature of what sexuality means for males is represented through Shrirenu’s friendship with Deepak (Namit Das), who coaxes his incel but virgin friend to join a s*xting app to counter the emptiness of love and s*x in his life. This persistent issue has literally been a thorn in the flesh for Shrirenu, even while being partly bullied by his own students, to the point that he is now lonely in life. Even whilst being on the app, there is a sense of dignity that he maintains in his conversations with a stranger who flirtily describes him as ‘Gulzar meets George Clooney’.
Another theme which is tackled here is directly borrowed from films like Meenakshi Sundareshwar (2021) or even 2 States (2014), a concept that was also reflective in Rocky Aur Ranii Ki Prem Kahaani (2023) – the cross cultural divide between families of Shrirenu and Madhu. It almost feels too curated when two cultures collide and merge into one, something that fairy tales are made up of. I liked how the writing veered past a few ‘potential’ obstacles, even as you witness Shrirenu’s even more conservative brother Bhanu (Manish Chaudhari) give in by saying that ‘Caste Is Of The Past’. It is a counter establishment sentiment of a character that is deeply conservative, a plot-point that I shall get to in a minute. Even the trait of Madhu further exclaiming on how she actually finds Ashok Kumar hot while watching Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958), was an indication in itself on how the actual hero in her life wasn’t the Kishore Kukar coded Namit, but the Ashok Kumar coded Shrirenu. So far so good!
The catalyst to the conflict here circles back to the app named ‘Aap Jaisa Koi’, a phrase borrowed from the song in the 1980 film Qurbani which had sexualized its lead protagonist. That again remained a very male gaze, a point that would eventually tilt the tide for the worse for both Shrirenu and Madhu. The underlying commentary of male chauvinism remains palpable, and is literally the need of the hour. The writing highlights that even a green-flag like Shrirenu could fall into the trappings of questioning a woman for her pleasurable activities which are indeed the needs of the body for everyone! But and where is where the but comes in, the messaging itself is so preachy that it almost felt like the needs of the algorithm for Netflix to cater to the lowest common denominator!
Remember how Rocky in Rocky Aur Rani, takes up the mantle of a classical dance perceived to be a feminine trait, by breaking the shackles in front of a packed house. The realisation of Shrirenu that follows post his argument and breakup with Madhu, is only through the lines uttered by his niece ‘I Woke Up The Day I Mistakenly Typed I Am In My Way’, an underlying sentiment that doesn’t necessarily use the audio-visual medium too well. The point being actions are larger than words, and if only words could create an impact, then this review would be on top of the charts. But then I digress, even as the commentary on sexuality in women (which is very important) doesn’t always hit the sweet spot.
Some of the other characters around the couple have a slightly bigger impact with respect to the social commentary in story. I will circle back to Bhanu who is a repeated offender here, often treating his wife Kusum (Ayesha Raza Mishra) like a door mat. In his private space when his wife tries to initiate with moments of intimacy, he retorts by ridiculing her age. Even with respect to his daughter Nisha (Shriyam Bhagnani), the direction remains only to do the household chores while only using education as a medium to be self-aware. It is also a ‘The Great Indian Kitchen’ zone that both these female characters are trapped in, a grey area that will potentially trigger so many males of our country! Hence the impact of the social commentary on chauvinism is more with respect to this character whose life changes when he gets to know that Kusum is indeed in love with another man.
I would be lying if I were to tell you that the love story hit the sweet spot too! Yes, there are some really heartfelt and pleasing moments that define the core of the love story. Yes, you also feel for both the characters at times, if as you witness a partially changed Shrirenu ditch his friend’s advice and to apologise to Madhu, only to be turned down. But the noise around the love story is so preachy, that it weighs down the impact of it significantly. This remains true even for the final act that is sweet but utterly preachy (a subplot involving the illness of a character that is used as a tool more than anything else) with its redemption for the characters. If only redemption was as easy as drawing an ‘Uno Reverse’ card in life, that too with a vessel of ‘gyaan’ to accompany it. The screenplay here has its moments to shine and I appreciate what it was going for, but it doesn’t always land smoothly.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are impactful when they choose to be soft and understated. Lines like ‘a lonely person looks the same while being happy or sad’ definitely does hit home. But when the lines choose to start imparting knowledge, is the time when the impact itself fades, veering the drama in a rather preachy territory! The music is good even as the notes ooze of an old school charm that deftly calms the most pulsating nerve on your body. The BGM beautifully accompanies the narrative as well, subtly making an impact at several emotional instances in the narrative.
The cinematography is beautiful and aesthetically pleasing with frames that are symmetric and oozing of stylized brilliance. In fact even with its opening shot, you see a young boy proposing to a girl against the backdrop of Televisions dazed in white noise, that perfectly symbolizes the underlying emotions. Elsewhere, the chimneys emerging flames from the factories in Jamshedpur also have a story to tell about the personality of Shrirenu. The aesthetic wide shots are reminiscent of a Wes-Anderson film that utilizes similar techniques, whilst conveying the story. Hence, it was all the more baffling with the creative decision to rely on dialogues to convey the messaging of the film (and this is where Netflix’s algorithm diktat comes into play). And in this regard, the editing could have been crisper to counter the lags and the heaviness of the drama in the second hour.
Director Vivek Soni understands the aesthetics of the drama really well but doesn’t always score with the execution. There is a definite sense of world building and characterization that he scores wonderfully with, but his overt reliance on dialogues to convey the messaging lowered the impact of the drama. The frames were in placed and already conveyed the messaging but it didn’t need to be accompanied by the lines too. The direction was decent but it did fall short of the sweet spot.
Performances
The performances are pretty good by the members of the cast. Beena Banerjee, Karan Wahi and Anubha Fatehpuria are wonderful to witness while having their moments to shine. Shubhronil Chatterjee as Joy is understated and delivers a supremely dignified performance. Shriyam Bhagnani as Nisha captures the emotional core of her character really well while putting form a competent performance. Namit Das as Deepak was a moderately sketchy character written as a sidekick but it remained the prowess of Namit to rise above the obvious and deliver a measured act that doesn’t come across as annoying. He maintains a fine line here, holding on to the understated tone of the character and that makes his character work here!
Ayesha Raza Mishra as Kusum is perhaps one of the best written characters of the film. Kusum is a silent cross-bearer for more than two decades in her marriage with little to no appreciation from her husband. And so the arc to her character occurs only when she falls in love with another character, thereby aspiring to terminate her marriage. It was perhaps the first bold move of her character, and she puts forth a graceful performance. Manish Chaudhari as Bhanu has the exact opposite arc to play with – a family patriarch with fixed beliefs that ultimately becomes the cause of the cracks in the family. He remained intimidating while putting forth a commendable act.
Fatima Sana Shaikh as Madhu looks beautiful while having a graceful screen presence that immediately makes a splash. She is quietly charming and really affable while using her poise to convey her emotions that are often shown to be brimming beneath the surface. She is subtly firm and assertive even in conflicts involving her loved ones, and that remained a unique trait with respect to her character. She was a treat to witness here!
R Madhavan as Shrirenu is easily affable despite his conservative ways of the mind, a trait that automatically acts as a trigger for his redemption arc as well. Over the course of the film, you see him evolve and realise his mistake, which is the way to go for green-flags – acceptance remains the key. And his charming energy finds its way beautifully in the narrative, wherein Maddy puts forth a wonderful act!
Conclusion
Aap Jaisa Koi is an aesthetically pleasing old school romance that stumbles partly with its “preachy” social commentary (although the messaging holds a lot of importance). And it remained the curious case of an algorithm-driven OTT narrative to highlight the messaging through its verbose dialogues for the lowest common denominator, despite the frames conveying most of the intended messages. And that’s what ultimately transformed a great film into a decent one by the end of it. Available on Netflix.