Directed by Raj Mehta, ‘JugJugg Jeeyo’ is a loud, raucous, high-kicking film. Unapologetic Punjabi humor triggers some genuine laughs. It’s a film where lame, WhatsApp-conquesting jokes and smart gags land with equal force, elevated by fine performers.
Kukoo (Varun Dhawan) and Naina (Kiara Advani) are childhood sweethearts, who grow up and get married. Naina lands a job in Toronto, and Kukoo—though unwilling to leave his home and family behind—follows her there. Five years pass. When we meet the couple again, something has palpably changed.
Since Kukoo’s sister is getting married in a few weeks, the couple decides to hold off their divorce, flying down to Patiala as a ‘happy couple’—till Kukoo finds some time to break it to his father. This, though, doesn’t go as planned. Instead, Bheem (Anil Kapoor) reveals that he’s divorcing Kukoo’s mother (Neetu Kapoor).
Bollywood has made several films around marriages falling apart and ‘JugJugg Jeeyo’, too, talks at length about ‘shaadi ke baad sab badal jaata hai (everything changes after marriage)’, but it’s the treatment which appears a bit fresh this time around with an attempt to delve deep into how a marriage of 35 years and a marriage of 5 years stand the same fate.
Back on screen after a long time, Neetu brings so much calm in every scene. Surprisingly and thankfully so, she isn’t shown to be this loud Punjabi mom that Bollywood has normalized for a long now. She’s subtle, rational, and pragmatic about life, unlike her onscreen husband. Kiara, too, delivers a restrained performance where she brings in just the right mix of emotions.
Varun and Anil bring the house down with their infectious energy — be it in their expressions, dialogues, or the way they talk, laugh and cry. Anil as the modern-day father is chilled out and doesn’t think twice before confiding in his son about his extramarital affair and brings shades of good and bad in his character. Varun adds life to a complex character while dealing with a dysfunctional family, a non-functional marriage, and his own inferiorities.
‘JugJugg Jeeyo’ is an absolute family entertainer that talks about choosing relationships over selfishness and while doing so, there’s nothing preachy about it.
