Everyone has heard the famous old saying "Old wine in a new bottle" right? But for "Jaane Tu...(JTYJN) let me rephrase it a bit "Old wine in a old bottle but served in a brand new glass" I mean this particular thought has been so often experimented in our films and not once but dozen a times and has been successful always like JTYJN

But it is the narration and the presentation style in JTYJN which wins it all...Popular lyricist and screenwriter Abbas Tyrewala makes his directorial debut with this film and guess what he “Impresses”.

Imagine in today’s competitive film making times when the other biggies are making duds and delivering zero value for the hefty amount spent on fantasizing and visualizing a Mumbai which seems next to impossible here comes a film (JTYJN) which makes you believe that there may be still time for us to witness those amazing flying cars in Mumbai but the cute and light moments of life which are shown in JTYJN could be experienced and felt right here in 2008.

That is the winning point of this film...its refreshing to see the raw treatment which the director has given to the film...I felt that I was watching a nicely and thoughtful snippets of a film shot on a handy cam by a friend of mine and I guess that was the idea.

I noticed a very strong chemistry between all the friends....the brother and the sister....a strong bonding between a mother and a son....and more importantly the relationship that the two childhood friends Jay and Dipti have...

The only portion which looked boring to the core was the jail portion of Jay with Arbaaz and Sohail Khan...all that "Ranjhore Ke Rathore" act was sounding a bit bearable and ok to me until that buffoonish act of the trio in the jail spoilt it all for me. That somehow gets on your nerves grrrrrr

Music as always by Pitaamah Rahman :-) is soulful and growing....it reflects the youth completely...My pick of the lot has to be "Kabhi kabhi Aditi" simply great...the rest of the songs definitely compliment the scenes and story almost everywhere...

The best part which I liked about JTYJN was its background score...I am speechless on how well and sensibly it has been used in the film...no unnecessary cacophony created...there is not even a single beat of music in certain emotional scenes which I as an editor and a wannabe director strongly believes and agrees with, whose ever decision it was to treat it that way...Kudos

The camera work is good and displays the kind of authority the director had on his script which the cameraman followed obediently....

The Art dept needs a pat on their back for having a very realistic approach...the sets looked very real and believable and not overdone at any place...I mean to say the status comparison of Jay...Dipti or for that sake Meghna would have been a totally different one if a proper briefing was not passed on to the Art Dept. Good work in the end

And now the director Abbas Tyrewala...for him these might be those wonderful and feel good times of relief…happiness and pride because after completing a successful stint as a lyricist and screenwriter now his directorial debut has also been received by the audience with open arms....and why not? He deserves it for keeping his head between his shoulders and not going overboard anywhere...need I say more...he dishes out JTYJN which is as an example of a homework done properly and as per Aamir uncle’s expectations and with limited funds available barring that ultra boring jail sequence of the trio :-)) and yes it was too hilarious to see Naseer bhai communicating with his wife through the picture frame and delivering all the required info, by doing this, the director acted smart and avoided using a “flashback in flashback” format which would have become too confusing and chaotic for the audiences in an otherwise smooth running film

Also the smallest details have been taken care of and incorporated in so many scenes….like we all know the relevance of a horse in Jay’s life by the time we are quite a bit into the story….see how wonderfully the director keeps reminding the audiences about that little but an important Horse factor on and off in the story….

A)    the rain sequence where Jay is disturbed on the fact that someone kissed Aditi and he loses out on Meghna because of that…see that shaadi ki ghodi passing in the background

B)     The Horse baggi in which Genelia goes for ride with her fiancé is seen almost in three to four scenes thereafter in the film

C)    Sohail and Arbaz’s mode of transport is shown as a horse through out the film

Performances:

Imran Khan: Oh my God!!! Confident and how Confident...Superb is not the word for this future dependable actor....amazing performance and a perfect watchful launch...Zabarrrrdast

Genelia: loved her for the originality she carried through out the film....though in the beginning one feels that her voice is a bit too odd but then after you get adjusted with her character, its all fine and nothing matters there after....very good and genuine performance....

Pratik Smit Babbar: Now, if not anything else watch the film for this dude...he is such a surprise packet I tell you...and who says he has a small role...rubbish...imagine his first film and he bagging the all so important role of the lead actress's brother.... And not a regular bro role mind you...a role which has a depth in it....his own list of sorrows, joys, pathos and a discreet feeling of loneliness and one who makes his sister realize of certain facts regarding her own life....check him out in the scene when after memorizing a list of friends of Genelia, most of whom he remembers till date and  he then asks Genelia if she remembers his friends and Genelia says NO...too good that for a sequence :-))

Manjari Phadnis: a somewhat look-alike of Rimii Sen :-) as I always get confused anyways I seriously loved Manjari's  work in Mumbai Salsa and yes she does full justice to her role here too...very confident and a good actress with a bright future....

Ratna Pathak Shah: Amazing as always...portrays all the qualities of a good, friendly and a warm modern day mother...a strong lady bringing up her only child in this ruthless society and at the same time fighting against injustice...and not forgetting her duties as a mother at the same time... A straight away popular mother figure for the youth....

All the friends have acted very well and the whole credit for this goes to the casting director who chose such confident and perfect faces...because friends always reflect one's personallity and how well did they fit as Jay and Dipti's friends...WooooW

Jayant Kriplani... Anuradha Patel... Rajat Kapoor...Kittu Gidwani (My childhood crush :-)) from her TV serial Air Hostess Days)... Paresh Rawal all of them deliver what is expected of them....a good job

A good film with a bit of a dragging and a clichéd second half but still watch able nonetheless

Go and feel good about a Mumbai we are living in right now rather than fantasizing a Mumbai of 50 years from now :-)