Aap Jaisa Koi Review: Starts ‘Kadak’, Loses Flavor in 2nd Half
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram) Click for short audio version
What is it with some storytellers using the conflicts of a supporting character to propel their leads? Not that it’s a problem, but at least give that side character enough space in the story to make it feel legit. Like in thrillers, where the author casually mentions a harmless first cousin in two pages, and then suddenly reveals them as the killer in the end? ‘Aap Jaisa Koi‘ does something like that towards its climax, derailing the overall mood. Although to be honest, it started testing my patience after the first hour, despite a pretty fun, cute first half. So it starts ‘kadak’ (strong) but loses flavor fast.
Directed by Vivek Soni, ‘Aap Jaisa Koi‘ follows Madhavan as Shrirenu Tripathi, a 42-year-old shy, conservative Sanskrit teacher in Jamshedpur, raised under the shadow of a chauvinist elder brother (Manish Chaudhari). Fatima Sana Shaikh plays Madhu Bose, a 30-something bold French teacher living in a feminist joint family in Kolkata. How an unlikely romance brews between these two contrasting personalities is the crux of the tale.
‘Aap Jaisa Koi‘ kicks off with a 1990s flashback to a party, with the hit song ‘Koi Mil Gaya‘ (Karan Johar is a producer) playing in the background. A school-going Shrirenu approaches his crush and is hilariously rejected. Cut to 2024, Shrirenu is in his early 40s with zero romantic experience and fading future prospects. All that changes when his sister-in-law (Ayesha Raza Mishra) brings along an arranged marriage proposal. With the charming Madhu Bose.
With an almost 2-hour runtime, Fatima Sana Shaikh’s Madhu doesn’t even make her dreamy entry until after the first 20 minutes of “Aap Jaisa Koi”. When she does, she gets a very Bollywood-style intro, mildly reminiscent of Sushmita Sen’s gorgeous saree-clad professor role in “Main Hoon Na“. Until then, the film comically focuses on Madhavan’s struggles as a single man.
Shrirenu’s close friend (Namit Das) convinces him to join an app for anonymous audio sex chats, where you’re never matched with the same person twice. With no hope for real-world romance, Shrirenu is content with his digital flirtations. This bit is portrayed entertainingly, including an entire song dedicated to Shrirenu’s secret chat sessions, where he imagines himself surrounded by beautiful women while doing daily chores. When he finally meets Madhu Bose for coffee, that’s when love walks into his life for the first time.
Shrirenu and Madhu don’t click immediately, and the Sanskrit teacher begins to wonder if someone is playing an elaborate prank on him. Why, after all, would a much younger, very attractive woman want anything to do with a ‘boring’ guy like him? At least that’s what he and his friend think, so they hilariously travel to Kolkata to do a background check on Madhu. The ‘rishta‘ seems legit, the family is quite nice, and things start to move quickly between the teacher couple. However, once Shrirenu discovers a ‘wilder’ or not-so-sanskari side of Madhu, trouble brews between them, after their engagement!
If it weren’t for the smartphones and the app subplot, “Aap Jaisa Koi” could have easily unfolded in the 1990s or early 2000s, and viewers wouldn’t know the difference. But the film is set in 2024 and takes viewers through the streets of Jamshedpur and Kolkata. The latter, of course, wears its colonial hangover so strongly that walking through some of its streets even today feel like stepping through a time portal. The Kolkata setting gives the film a cinematic nostalgia, further deepened by both Madhu and Shrirenu’s love for old Bollywood songs.
Okay, look, this is supposed to be a romantic comedy, and I don’t want to drone on and on about it. At its heart, “Aap Jaisa Koi” tries to be a feminist romance about ‘equal love’, with Madhu challenging Shrirenu’s patriarchal double standards about what makes a ‘good woman’. Although in the end, Madhu learns his lesson through a close relative’s ordeal, the very side character who should have gotten more screen time.
Both families have interesting members, though curiously, Fatima Sana Shaikh doesn’t quite fit into the ‘Bengali’ household and isn’t fully convincing as a sassy Bong lass. Even her grandmother, who is supposed to be in her 90s, doesn’t look the part, though all the uncles and aunties do. Still, Madhu’s big Bengali family is a joy to watch, full of vibrant, talented women. It’s just a shame those moments are so fleeting. Madhu herself is an accomplished pianist, and there’s a great scene where she and Shrirenu share a jugalbandi: she on the piano, he on the sitar. It might just be the only point in “Aap Jaisa Koi” where their romance genuinely clicks.
Despite starting off as a potentially refreshing romantic comedy, the humor vanishes in the second half of “Aap Jaisa Koi”, which also throws in the very cliched ‘love rival’ twist in the mix. The music and songs are a strong element early on, but in the climax, the background score becomes over-the-top and needlessly dramatic, trying to force the mood onto viewers. The onscreen chemistry between Madhavan and Fatima Sana Shaikh is cutesy but not memorable. In the end, the film turns into yet another formulaic flick. Maybe it should’ve been a mini-series, where the characters got the space they needed to grow, to leave a stronger impression by the end.
Rating: 6 on 10. Watch ‘Aap Jaisa Koi’ on Netflix.
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