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Jaadugar Movie Review: Tries To Blend Romance With Sports Drama Ends Up Becoming Neither

Rohit Shetty July 15, 2022

598 4 minutes read

Jaadugar Movie Review Rating:

Star Cast: Jitendra Kumar, Jaaved Jaaferi, Arushi Sharma, Manoj Joshi & Ensemble.

Director: Sameer Saxena

( Photo Credit – Poster from Jaadugar )

What’s Good: Jitendra Kumar trying to make sense of it all with his hard work.

What’s Bad: The confusion about what the film exactly wants to be and why has Biswapati Sarkar started writing in the Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah format?

Loo Break: It’s an almost 3 hour long movie but seems like 6, don’t ignore nature’s call at all.

Watch or Not?: If you have no other option or you are a fan of the Indian daily soap style of content.

Language: Hindi (with subtitles).

Available On: Netflix.

Runtime: 167 Minutes

User Rating:

So a budding magician Meenu is a hopeless romantic who only knows filmy love and never divulges into details. Football somehow always haunts him and he has a tragic past with the sport. But to win the girl he loves, he is supposed to excel in the game and I don’t know why was he a magician in the first place at all.

( Photo Credit – Still from Jaadugar )

Jaadugar Movie Review: Script Analysis

I refuse to believe that Jaadugar comes out of the same pen that has written Permanent Roommates, and the most iconic Pitchers. Biswapati Sarkar is know for staying in reality and building takes that give hope while making you realise that there will be bad days too. But what exactly went wrong here Biswa? This isn’t you.

Jaadugar on the face of it is an ideal thought. It creates a man who is hopeless from every possible direction. He talks about being the best love but isn’t really doing much to begin one. His idea of life is so childish that I can see him in some PTSD health group being completely traumatised 5 years later. There is a lot to do with this character, but the teams end up doing nothing. Rather they take refuge under the umbrella that belongs to some funny daily soap where an IPL rip-off tournament is played with the most hilarious twists and turns.

As a screenplay, it is all the time confused about what it exactly wants to be? A story about a hopeless magician who wants to learn the craft with love? Or a gully football team that magically learns the sport in 7 days that they have failed to even understand in past many years? The makers decide to so both and end up creating a mess that belongs to no genre.

Like if you take a bird’s eye view over this story board, why is Meenu a magician at all? He could have been anything and the story could still have been the same with minor changes. Which means the thing you are selling as your hook in itself makes no sense. The two plots never blend other than the point where an over dramatic father of a girl challenges her boyfriend to first win a match and then lose it to test his dedication. Like seriously! I still can’t believe Sarkar wrote this.

I haven’t dug deeper because it will only end up being messier. Like how Jaaved Jaaferi’s redemption is never given any weightage because his struggle looks more comical than serious. Or how the twist never seem to end and just go on creating no impact.

Jaadugar Movie Review: Star Performance

It is only the actors who make this a little less suffering. Jitendra Kumar brings his subtle game and tries a whole lot to make sense of the mess he is thrown into. But what will he even do if the base is weak?

Even Jaaved Jaaferi puts efforts and does impress but to no use. Arushi Sharma brings a good vibe with her but that’s it. There are some amazing actors who play the teammates and they are fun to watch.

( Photo Credit – Still from Jaadugar )

Jaadugar Movie Review: Direction, Music

Sameer Saxena has directed Tripling, Yeh Meri Family & Permanent Roommates in the past. This makes me think were these two trying to show the world we can be bad too? His direction choices are so bizarre here that you can see the confused nature. If that wasn’t enough, add to it the runtime that is ages long.

Music is just randomly placed and doesn’t add anything to the viewing experience.

Jaadugar Movie Review: The Last Word

It breaks my heart to write this about two of my most favourite creators. I have learnt a lot about the craft from them, but this recent flick isn’t what they should be known for. Jaadugar lacks the magic and the content that makes sense or even brainlessly entertains.