Aap Jaisa Koi Review: R Madhavan, Fatima Sana Shaikh's Film On Female Sexual Desire Drowns In Too Much Talk

NDTV

3 days ago

What's the most disgusting question a man can ask a woman? For Madhu Bose, played by Fatima Sana Shaikh in Aap Jaisa Koi, "You are a virgin, right?" is the long and short of it.
One could argue that this is the 21st century, women are equal to men, they should enjoy the same rights as their male counterparts, blah, blah, blah. But, who are we kidding? It's often one step forward two steps back for women, be it homemakers, students, or working professionals, both at home and outside.
Aap Jaisa Koi, Netflix's latest film directed by Vivek Soni (Meenakshi Sundaram), makes all the right noise about female desire, agency, and an attack on patriarchy, and it almost succeeds. A heavy-handed flourish puts a dampener in the apt messaging.
Perfect Recipe For A Rom-Com
Aap Jaisa Koi is a romantic comedy about a nerdy boy called Shrirenu Tripathi, essayed by R Madhavan, and a cute girl named Madhu Bose. He's 42, she's 32. He lives in Steel City Jamshedpur, she hails from Kolkata. He is a Sanskrit teacher, she is a French teacher. He plays the sitar, she plays the piano. He is shy, mousy, and a virgin. She is assertive, confident, and experienced. They couldn't be more different than chalk and cheese.
On paper, they aren't supposed to work. But they have some things in common, the fulcrum of every staple romantic comedy -- they like their tea with less milk, more patti, and with ginger, fennel, and cardamom; they are looking for a jugalbandi like love; and they both have a common secret unbeknownst to them.
Like many millennials, Shrirenu also grew up in the 1990s, watching Karan Johar's Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (Aap Jaisa Koi is produced by Karan Johar's Dharmatic Entertainment, in case you didn't know) and believing in the mantra of " Pyaar dosti hai". It was until he is "cursed" by his crush that he would neither get pyaar nor sex in life. Result - he is unmarried and still a virgin who is under a false impression that he is educated and liberal.
Madhu is ubashed and assured while talking about relationships, both sexual and emotional. She knows what she wants and goes for it, making her a what a section of society loves to refer to as a "very forward woman". She earns well enough that if need be she could also support her husband financially and also would be ready to move cities. She is among those women who drink, make merry, play cards, and god forbid, if she has a take on politics.
A Plea For Equal Love
There are many callbacks in Aap Jaisa Koi about how love and respect should be mutual, how love only needs love, an equal love, jitne tum, utni main, and how women don't need permission from men to make decisions about their life.
There is this great scene between Shrirenu and Madhu, the protagonists played by an earnest Madhavan and a dignified Fatima. When a sweet Shrirenu patronisingly tells Madhu that when they get married he would allow everything within some limits, Madhu politely claps back, saying "And why will you decide my limits?"
So, who decides what a woman's limit should be and why? Why at all?
The theme is on point and relevant -- women must have agency to work, to choose, to love, to have sex or not have sex, before or after marriage.
But does being woke mean you can't be fun or entertaining? Does being aware of contemporary era mean the messaging has to be heavy handed?
This was the same issue with Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani. While it was Karan Johar's most realised film as a director, it got too preachy and was overstuffed with topics that had to be dealt with before the film ran its time. Both Rocky Aur Rani... and Aap Jaisa Koi have their heart in the right place. They are doing eveything right, there's messaging, the leads are good looking, there are beautiful locations, but they fall short in the execution.
At the end of the day, it is a rom-com and that also from the Dharma stable which has given us some of the greatest love stories (read: dhokha) to millennials.
In the end, Shrirenu emphatically says he's has been a teacher all his life but now wants to turn a new leaf, he wants to try to learn and be a good student in life about love on an equal footing.
He says, " Galti karenge, toh maafi bhi maangege. Aap bas restest ka mauqa dijiyega."
But until when men will have to be taught by women to not become aware, educate themselves about the women's agency and how to shun patrirachy? And why must the onus be on women to rehabilitate men? We can sure pitch in, but the heavy lifting from now must be done by men. No?
Some Things To Love And Hat-Tips In Aap Jaisa Koi
Aap Jaisa Koi gets its title from the iconic Nazia Hassan number from 1979's Qurbani featuring Zeenat Aman. That the song, composed by Biddu and written by Indeevar, was all about Zeenat Aman embracing her sexuality and feeling empowered, fits well here as the inspiration.
Songs from Aap Jaisa Koi, the film, especially Mila Tujhe and Saare Jag Mein, penned by Raj Shekhar, are gems set to Justin Prabhakaran's music.
There are many hat-tips to real people and ghosts in the movie, written by Radhika Anand.
Shrirenu is based out of Jamshedpur, which is R Madhavan's birthplace. There's a fun reference to the horror comedy Stree right in the beginning of Aap Jaisa Koi.
When Shrirenu's sister-in-law Kusum Bhabhi, played by Ayesha Raza in a scene-stealing performance, buys two dozen (must have cost a fortune) avocados, the produce happens to be from former India cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's farm. Dhoni spent his early cricketing days in Jamshedpur's Keenan Stadium.
There's also a fleeting reference to Mann Ki Baat, but otherwise has no connection to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's monthly radio broadcast.
R Madhavan's Shrirenu has shades of Manu Sharma from Tanu Weds Manu franchise and Fatima Sana Shaikh's Madhu is Tanu Trivedi from the Aanand L Rai's movies, only less manic pixie and with a laser sharp focus.