Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na follows the life of two best friends Jai and Aditi. They refuse to have romantic feeling but realises their love for each other once they start dating different people. It marked Tyrewala's full-fledged screenwriting and directorial debut. The film's soundtrack was composed by A. R. Rahman with lyrics written by Abbas Tyrewala.[4]
The film was theatrically released on 4 July 2008, and proved to be a major commercial success at the box office. Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na received positive reviews from critics, with praise towards its direction, story, screenplay, soundtrack, cinematography and cast's performances.[5][6]
The story begins as four friends travel with a guest to an airport, when Jignesh "Jiggy" Patel, Ravindran "Rotlu" Sahu, Sandhya "Bombs" Sahay and Shaleen Varma offer to tell Jiggy's date, air hostess Mala Mishra, the unique love story of Jai and Aditi, two friends who they have known. Jai "Ratz" Singh Rathore is the most non-violent Rajput to have ever existed, while Aditi "Meow" Mahant is an impulsive girl. Her nickname is the result of her abuse and scratching of people.
Despite their differences, Jai and Aditi are best friends in college. They seem perfectly meant for each other, a fact acknowledged by everyone except the two themselves. Aditi often has a bickering relationship with her brother Amit, who seems to hate Jai because of his polite and cool nature, and since Aditi cannot stand any insults against Jai, she regularly picks up fights with him. Aditi dreams of a virile, macho husband, while Jai wants a sweet, romantic girl. Since they do not believe that they are in love, they search for a perfect life partner for each other after finishing college. Jai falls in love with Meghna Pariyar after spotting her in a club where two rough men were misbehaving with her. He rescues her by tricking the duo, thus winning Meghna's heart. When Meghna and Jai get close to each other, Rotlu, Jiggy, Sandhya, and Shaleen are happy for Jai, but nobody notices that Aditi is missing Jai's company. Meghna informs Jai that her parents squabble but cannot live without each other. Jai visits Meghna's parents and sees that her father, Mahesh, is an alcoholic who has much friction with his ex-wife Sheela. Due to the meeting, he misses Aditi's surprise birthday party. Realizing that he missed the occasion, he goes late at night to wish her but is sent back after a conversation between the two culminates in Aditi asking him to leave.
Feeling deserted, Aditi gets engaged to her father's friend's son, Sushant Modi. She sees in him the macho man she always wanted. However, Sushant is also a spoilt playboy whose ex-girlfriend, Richa, has landed him in trouble twice. Amit, upon having a word with Sushant in person, tries to make her see Sushant for who he really is but Aditi continues her relationship, considering that Jai is still with Meghna. At Jiggy's birthday party, where Jai and Meghna are also present, Aditi introduces Sushant to everyone. Both Jai and Aditi are upset with each other's relationship. During a romantic dance, Sushant finds that Aditi is crying and kisses her, which upsets Jai further.
Meghna tries to cheer him up, but Jai becomes angrier, shouting at her and chiding her for being ignorant of the friction between her parents. She breaks down and tells him about her parents' divorce due to Mahesh's extramarital affair which affected her psychologically, leading her to imagine a perfect world and be childish so as to not be burdened with the reality of being a forced thread between her parents. The next day, Jai breaks up with Meghna whereby she is shattered to learn that he loves Aditi and leaves with a goodbye kiss. As for Aditi, she is under duress from Sushant, who, after realizing she loves Jai, slaps her on her face, leaving a bruise. She decides to break the engagement and go to New York to study alone, while actually wanting to return to Jai. When she meets Jai, he spots the bruise on Aditi's face, and contrary to his usual non-violent nature, goes to Sushant's house and beats him up for daring to lay a hand on Aditi.
Inspector P.K. Waghmare, who is at odds with Jai's mother Savitri Singh Rathore, arrests Jai for thrashing Sushant and puts him behind bars. Later that night, while still in prison, he meets the two men who were found harassing Meghna at the club and is surprised to see them celebrating their imprisonment. They tell him that for a boy to become a man in their clan, he must complete three conditions:
1) thrash someone
2) get arrested
3) ride a horse.
As they narrate to Jai the story of their adventures in Mumbai and mention that it wouldn't have been possible for them to fulfill these conditions in Ranjhor, he inadvertently reveals his credentials as a native of Ranjhor, which causes the two men, seemingly brothers to each other, to sit up and decipher his identity. Once he mentions that he is the son of the late Amar Singh Rathore and the two men confirm that his mother's name is Savitri, they clutch him to the ground in joy, and he discovers in an epiphany when they address him as "Mowgli" that the brothers are his long-lost cousins, Kuber "Baloo" Singh Rathore and Vinay "Bagheere" Singh Rathore, from whom he had been separated in childhood. Jai, who has already fulfilled the first two conditions required for becoming a man in the Rathore clan, finally comes to terms with his legacy, realizing that Amar was actually never the non-violent type Savitri had painted him as and that she was lying to him all along.
Meanwhile, Aditi makes her way to the international airport to depart for New York. Baloo and Bagheere, who are sons of Amar's cousin, now an MLA, use their influence to bail Jai out, after which Jai rides to the airport on a borrowed horse to stop Aditi from leaving. This makes him fulfill the final condition, and an initially worried Savitri, after spotting him, decides to return home, dejected that Amar's dream has come true. Jai finds Aditi at the airport lounge and sings her the titular song which he had confessed earlier as the one he would sing for the love of his life. Aditi, delighted, hugs him and cancels her travel plans. Back in the present, Rotlu, Jiggy, Sandhya, and Shaleen conclude the story and welcome Jai and Aditi, who return from their honeymoon after 5 years, at the airport. Mala gets extremely delighted to see them and introduces herself as Jiggy's girlfriend, and they leave the airport together.
Shakun Batra as Nilesh "Pappu" Pandit, Vivek's friend
Production
Development
Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na was first announced by producer Jhamu Sugandh, who later offered the script to Aamir Khan, after facing financial difficulties. Khan's production then announced the film in 2007.[8] The film marks Abbas Tyrewala's directorial debut. He also worked as the writer and lyricist for the film.[9] The title of the film is taken from a song of the same name from the 1973 Hindi film Aa Gale Lag Jaa.[10][11]
Casting
The film marked Khan's debut and D'Souza's return to Hindi films
Aamir Khan's nephew Imran Khan was cast as the lead, Jai. The film marks his acting debut.[12]Genelia D'Souza was cast as the other lead, Aditi. It marks Genelia's comeback to Hindi films after a long hiatus.[13][14]
The soundtrack received highly positive reviews. Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com said, "Looking for a soulful, uncomplicated, pleasant music? Rahman's frothy tonic of vibrant and breezily-tempered creations in Jaane Tu...Ya Jaane Na should certainly catch your fancy."[26] Atta Khan of Planet Bollywood added, "Jaane Tu soundtrack is successful on a number of fronts; it reaches out to its target audience (the younger population and of course Rahmaniacs), it provides a timely relief to the bollywood music scene which is currently starved of quality, and ultimately gives the producers a good base for the movie launch."[27] Joginder Tuteja from Bollywood Hungama wrote, "The soundtrack here is unlike a conventional Bollywood score and instead introduces a style, which goes with the contemporary youthful setting. It is an album, which deserves to be bought this season."[28]
Charts and sales
The soundtrack held the number one spot on the music charts for several consecutive weeks.[29] According to the Indian trade website Box Office India, with around 15,00,000 units sold, this film's soundtrack album was the year's eighth highest-selling.[30]
Release
Following all the post-production work, Aamir Khan took on digital promotion head-on with pop-up ads on various portals, for the film.[31]Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na was released on 4 July 2008. The premiere of the film was held at the PVR Cinemas in Goregaon, Mumbai. The film was released with 473 prints worldwide, which includes 282 analogue prints, 81 digital screens and 110 prints overseas.[32] In its second week, the number of shows at multiplexes were increased while 100 more centres were opened.[33][34]
Reception
Critical response
Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na received widespread critical acclaim upon release. Raja Sen of Rediff.com gave it a 4 out of 5, praising it for "a rock-solid ensemble cast that is mouthwateringly perfect". Prasanna Zore of Rediff gave the film 3.5 out of 5, writing "Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na, written and directed by Abbas Tyrewala (who scripted the fun Munna Bhai series, Main Hoon Na and Maqbool among others) is a fun-filled, engaging entertainment. Rarely do you feel bored as four friends narrate the love story of the protagonists -- Jai and Aditi -- to a bored newcomer, who joins the group by the time the film ends."[35]
Taran Adarsh of IndiaFM gave it 3.5 stars, and called it "a breezy entertainer which will be loved by its target audience – the youth".[36]Khalid Mohamed of Hindustan Times gave the film 3.5 out of 5, writing "There’s enough comfort food on the platter. Tyrewala’s dialogue as well as first-time direction are skillful, with his cinematographer Manoj Lobo using the close-up lens brilliantly. A. R. Rahman’s music score is remarkably bouncy, especially the 'Kabhi Kabhi Aditi' and 'Pappu Can’t Dance Saala' tracks".[37]Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express wrote, "In his sparkling debut feature, Abbas Tyrewala has his lead pair slapping backs rather than kissing cheeks, but he knows and we know that that's where Jaane Tu.. Ya Jaane Na is headed, even before its starts. The journey is cleverly-written, smartly-acted, and packed with enough fuzzy-frothy moments to make it a fun run".[38]
Box office
Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na was an early success, with 80% or more in morning shows and 100% by the noon shows across India.[39] Monday usually witnesses a drop in business for films in India, but Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na had strong showings on Monday (75%), Tuesday (70%) and Wednesday (60%+).[40] The first week all-India gross was ₹200.1 million (US$2.5 million) with an average of ₹656,524 per print.[33] For the second week, the number of shows were increased and it started the week grossing almost 100% at several screens.[41][42] The film grossed ₹175 million (US$2.2 million) in its second week, taking its total to ₹375 million (US$4.7 million). Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na grossed approximately ₹840 million (US$11 million) in full run. When adjusted for inflation, the film is still among the highest grossers worldwide.[43]
Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na remains one of the most popular romantic comedy in Hindi cinema. It was named among Bollywood's top 10 most romantic movies by Vogue and Filmfare.[54][55]Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na is also considered among the best films made on friendship.[56][57][58]
The song "Pappu Can't Dance Saala" has been used in a scene in the 2010 film Peepli Live, also produced by Aamir Khan.[59] The 2011 film Pappu Can't Dance Saala, starring Vinay Pathak and Neha Dhupia, has taken its name from the film's song of the same name.[60]
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