Indoo Ki Jawani Movie Review : An unfunny mess of a story that’s all over the

place

 TIMES OF INDIA

Ronak Kotecha, TNN, Updated: Dec 10, 2020, 09.21 PM IST Critic's Rating:  2.0 /5
STORY: When her pervert boyfriend betrays her, Indoo decides to find love through a one-
night stand on a dating app. But what is meant to be a romantic evening, goes horribly
wrong, when her date turns out to be from Pakistan.

REVIEW: From adolescent boys to retired uncles, everyone’s leching on the voluptuous
Indira Gupta (Kirara Advani) and by her own admission, the only thing that’s trending on
Ghaziabad’s social media is #IndooKiJawani. She’s dating a sleazy loser, who is desperate to
make out with her, but Indoo won’t put out, unless he mans up and formally asks for her
hand. He ends up cheating on her and Indoo turns to her trusted friend Sonal (Mallika Dua),
who is an encyclopedia on ‘what boys want.’ She convinces Indoo that all men are skirt-
chasing pervs and the only thing they want, is to get into her pants. So get on to ‘Dinder’
(like ‘Tinder’…get it?) and swipe right for no-strings attached action, before it’s too late.
Don’t ask for the logic here, but Indoo takes this ill-advice and in her very first swipe, a
handsome young dude named Samar (Aditya Seal) lands up at her house, when she’s home
alone. Meanwhile, the town is abuzz with some Pakistanis on the loose and Indoo could’ve
just inadvertently invited trouble home.

The first ten minutes of ‘Indoo Ki Jawani’ are surprisingly promising. In those few early
scenes, we get the feeling that this could be the comic spy thriller with unpredictable twists,
but soon, the plot derails and never gets back on track. As creepy old men and weird teens
make a beeline to grab Indoo’s attention (or whatever else they can), it becomes amply
clear that casual sexism is going to be passed off as comedy, which is loud, unfunny and
downright crass. And without an ounce of conviction in the telling.

Mallika Dua, once again plays the stereotypical small-town girl, who’s the heroine’s BFF. She
manages to bring in some laughs with her spoofy north accent, but once all the action winds
down to Indoo’s home, there’s no redemption for this film.
While there’s barely any chemistry between the lead pair, which could be by design, their
exchanges are repetitive and scenes laborious. Their accents are also all over the place. That
said, both Kiara and Aditya are eye candy and there’s a forced shirtless scene thrown in too.
Kiara looks gorgeous and strives hard to make sense of the randomness of her character.
Her comic timing is weak, but Kiara’s screen presence is extremely appealing. Ditto for
Aditya, who too is let down by weak writing.
The film’s music is listenable and the songs are well-shot. The setti ng of the middle-class life
in a small-town is deftly showcased, but sadly the character actors (including seniors like
Rakesh Bedi), who should breathe life into those sets, are a hamfest. For a comedy, ‘Indoo
ki Jawani’ lacks sorely on funny dialogues and humorous punches.

Logic is often scarified at the altar of comedy and entertainment, but the problem with
writer-director Abir Sengupta’s story is that it’s highly preposterous and profoundly silly.
Just like Indoo’s character that cannot decide whether she wants to be the badass and have
all the fun or worry about ‘log kya kahenge’, the film’s narrative also seems confused. From
full on Pakistan-bashing to half-hearted jingoism and from preaching about not judging a
book by its cover to saying that all Indians are highly judgmental, ‘Indoo Ki Jawani’ tries to
go everywhere and reaches nowhere