Just Married deals with how two strangers come together in an arranged marriage and from there on how their relationship gradually grows. Simultaneously it explores the lives of four other couples and their relationships. Though the concept is relatively new, it sounds quite similar to the recently released ‘Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd’. Apart from this setback the film seems to be a mixture of some delightful moments where the director manages to captures the finer nuances between the budding romance of a newly wed couple but at times the pace slackens quite a bit. Director Meghna Gulzar makes use of subtlety to tell the story of the couple; she wants to make it seem akin to real life. Contrary to the usual bollywood fare where there is great drama, chaos or hype it seems like no major events are taking place in this film except towards the end. But unfortunately the climax too does not create the hard hitting impact. However the subtlety of the film does have it’s appeal and even the performances are fine and hence the film is average.
Just Married has be written and directed by Meghna Gulzar and produced under the Pritish Nandy Communications banner. The film stars Fardeen Khan as Abhay, Esha Deol as Ritika, Bikram Saluja, Perizaad Zorabian, Sadia Siddiqui, Mukul Dev, Satish Shah, Kirron Kher, Raj Zutshi etc. The screenplay has been done by Meghna and the music has been composed by Pritam.
Abhay and Ritika are from middle class families and like all kids under parental pressure to get married; they too succumb and agree for an arranged marriage. After just a few meetings they tie the knot and embark on their new journey with each other. Abhay and Ritika go off on their honeymoon to Ooty, but while Abhay is excited with the prospect of spending time with and getting to know Ritika, she is a bit uncomfortable. Ritika needs time to get to know the man that she has married, his ways, his habits and his thoughts. Abhay decides not to rush Ritika and give her the time and space that she requires to get accustomed to this new life.
On their honeymoon, along with discovering each other, they also meet some other couples, an old couple who have spent many years together with each other, a couple who can’t keep their hands off each other, a couple who love each other and live together but are not married and finally a couple who were earlier friends and then lovers. Abhay and Ritika learn several things from these couples and also about each other. But Abhay and Ritika have only five days to get to know each other, will they be able to love and understand each other in such a short time span?
Meghna Gulzar’s direction is able but the script seems a tad boring and could have been spiced up a bit more. No doubt Gulzar has depicted the subtle romance budding between the couple well, but after a while the coy glances and the sweet nothings fail to hold the viewers attention. The subtlety works but there has to be more to keep the viewer interested. The lack of any concrete event in the proceedings and also the slow pace is a disappointment. However Meghna manages to incorporate the humorous quotient through several of the parallel tracks of the other couples. Also another interesting factor is that several scenes seem to be a slice of life itself and are portrayed very realistically.
Meghna portrays the institution of marriage in a realistic and subtle manner. However the climax is a major disappointment and seems immature. Pritam’s music is average and the songs seem to fit the situations. Cinematography by Sachin which captures some beautiful locales in Ooty is good. Dialogues too are note worthy.
Performances by the lead are in keeping with the film, subtle and fine. Fardeen Khan delivers a sincere performance and Esha too gives a convincing performance. Kirron Kher and Satish Shah as the older couple are extremely competent as well as lovable. Bikram Saluja is average and Perizaad Zorabian delivers an enthusiastic performance. The rest of the cast are average in their parts.
Just Married is a simple love story that begins after marriage and it uses a subtle approach to tell its story and manages to do so in an average manner. The script is average and the performances are fine. At the box-office the film may appeal more to the multiplex audiences and the film should do average at least.
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| Reviewed By: Rachel Fernandes |
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