Jaadugar Review: Finally, Jaadugar was released earlier today on Netflix, and it had some high expectations. Jitendra Kumar was coming in hot after the second season of Panchayat, where he stole the show.
Just like that, he was terrific here as well. Posham Pa Pictures produce the latest Netflix original. The production house comprised some of the original TVF creator’s team members. After some internal fiasco, the creators decided to take this decision.
And their first solo project can be called underwhelming, at the least. There was nothing wrong with the movie, but there was nothing suitable. There are as many negative points as positive points.
The movie comes from the makers of some of the best series we have seen, like Humorously Yours, Yeh Meri Family, Permanent Roommates, Tripling, Kota Factory, Hostel Daze, and Panchayat. And these are just few names on a very big list.
Jaadugar Review: Plot Analysis
Jaadugar Review: The movie’s official synopsis reads, “Magic Meenu, a small-time magician in Neemuch, M.P., has to win a local football tournament to marry the girl he loves.”
As you can see, the plot of the movie is really simple. Jitendra will play the role of a magician in the small village of Neemuch in Madhya Pradesh. There is a yearly football competition where his colony’s team takes part.
His team always comes last in the tournament. Meenu always avoids playing football as he has no interest in it. But when he falls in love with a girl, he has to take his team to the competition’s final.
Jaadugar Review: Positives
Cast
The cast of the movie has done a tremendous job. Jaaved Jaffrey was excellent in his portrayal. Jitendra Kumar will be seen in his usual avatar that we all love and enjoy. We know he has not done something new in a while, but it works every time.
Arushi also did a fine job with her performance. Other supporting cast members like Ajay Mehra, Ajeet Singh Palawatt, Sandeep Shikhar, and Imran Rasheed were also brilliant. Bit there is no doubt Javed Jaffrey is the star in this movie.
Some Magical Moments
There are some magical moments in the movie. Most of them come because of Javed Jaffrey and the chemistry between Jitendra and Arushi. Javed Jaffrey showed why he should be considered the best Bollywood comedy actor.
While the VFX made every magic trick vibrant and beautiful, the romantic angle between Jitendra and Arushi was good. But the good part only came when we got a conversation between the only two of them.
Music
We did not get the vintage TVF music, but the movie’s music was still good. The title song ‘Jaadugari’ by Nilotpal Bora is just a fantastic song. It captivated the feelings of both the characters and elevated their chemistry as well.
The movie’s background score is a different story as it was utterly disastrous. Only if we had a few more songs in the movie would not have been this disastrous.
Jaadugar Review: Negatives
Pacing
I don’t know how these brilliant minds decided to make a movie that is almost 3-hours long, a slow burner. The slow-burner romantic movie is 167 minutes long. And that is lots of minutes when you count them.
I don’t have any problems with long movies, but it is problematic when the movie’s main plot is revealed after 80 minutes. 30-minutes of nothingness follow any type of plot progression, which was frustrating.
Screenplay
I don’t know what I was watching and who I was supposed to root for. Our main character Meenu was the most despised character out of everyone. You start rooting for other members of the team rather than him.
At first, I thought this must be how the plot is supposed to be, and we would see redemption. But that was not the case. Other characters were worth more rooting for rather than our main protagonist. And there are lots of other dumb decisions in the movie throughout.
Direction
The direction was nothing special. You will be surprised that the same Sameer Saxena has given us gems like Yeh Meri Family and some other TVF masterpieces. The direction of Jaadugar was devoid of any of his usual styles and flair.
The editing of the movie did not help either. It was bland and did not provide for anything worthwhile. You can say that the jumpcuts were ill-timed throughout the movie.
Runtime
As I stated earlier, I don’t dislike long movies. But it is terrible when nothing is happening in front of me for 3 hours. The 167-minute runtime of the movie might be the biggest flaw of the movie that led to its ultimate letdown.
Jaadugar Review: Is It Worth It?
Jaadugar Review: Jaadugar is a lousy movie in so many aspects. It has its pleasant moments, but as a whole, it fails miserably. It was a struggle to sit throughout the movie; you should not feel anything like that.
You can say that this week is terrible for Bollywood movies as both big releases, Jaadugar and HIT: The First Case, have been lackluster. But makers made an intelligent decision to release Jaadugar on the OTT platform. And when promising OTT releases like Good Luck Jerry are around the corner, you can skip both movies.
Also read: HIT: The First Case Review
Good Luck Jerry: Everything You Need To Know
