Jhoom Barabar Jhoom

I can't understand that many people don't like the movie ....I think many peole didn't understand it..

You can sense the joy that went into the making of Jhoom Barabar Jhoom right from the time the title makes its appearance....Amitabh has a great cameo, Abhishek is different but good too - Preity is always beautiful...in this one i like here better than KANK...Lara and Bobby are great ..I've always like this couple...but I was surprised that i enjoy Bobby's play most...

he plays this character with a lightness...and I have really enjoy it when he was on screen...have wait all time that he appears...

I can only say go watch it!!!! ...it is different Bollywood but thats good ....can only say very Entertaining Movie...don't listen to the reviews ...last but not least you will enjoy it..

I love Bollywood films. Ravishing, well-invested musicals, song and dance, dialogues which are larger than life, wonderful actors, strong characters. The song numbers have been an artistic tradition Hindi films, and what particularly amazes me about all these films is the complete irrelevance of the song numbers to the film's story itself (unless it's a film like Dil To Pagal Hai, where the music is part of the script).

I think Jhoom Barabar Jhoom is a brave attempt to make a film with the songs being part of the screenplay. But even then, it just doesn't work. Why? Because there is NO screenplay. The entire film is a big dance show. And it shouldn't be like this. When there are no songs, the film consists of silly jokes and plastic "acting". Some sequences are so ridiculous that you start hating anyone who's been ever involved with this film. It is intended to be funny and crazy, which is a good purpose, but this film manages to be neither this nor that and instead, it sadly ends up being a big silly show. I do admit that the songs are well danced and catchy, but they become tiresome at some point, mainly because most of them are actually the same song in different versions.

The acting (not that it can be called acting in this case) is bad. Abhishek is annoying and miscast. Pretentious performance. Preity, an actress I like immensely, is her usual bubbly and vivacious self, but here, somehow lifeless. The fact that a great actress like Preity could even think of appearing in this film makes me want to slap her. Bobby and Lara are terrible. They ham, overact, and even in the dance numbers get overshadowed by the leading stars (at least here they make some sense). Lara is particularly horrible as a prostitute with her fake French accent. All in all, I do recommend to watch it if you intend to go and dance through the entire film. Quite a special watch buhaaaa...

I saw Jhoom Barabar Jhoom while travelling in Rajasthan, in the Raj Mundir in Jaipur, which is, with some justification, described as the best cinema in Asia (and it certainly beats watching a film in a 'Multiplex' on a screen the size of a large TV in London).

As the film ended and the huge audience of all ages rose, making its way into the grand, pretty foyer, I turned to an Indian man in his thirties next to me and asked him in Hindi if he liked it. He said he loved the songs, particularly the song of the title, which he thought would get even the most unlikely person in the cinema dancing in the aisles. Then he added,

'But the the rest of the film is nonsense'.

I certainly agree with him about the infectious song of the title, having badly hummed it often. However, I don't think the rest of the film is nonsense. What I believe many people mistake for nonsense is actually a playful, kitsch, knowingly referential film revolving around the desires and problems of self-mythology, and the power of Bollywood fantasy.

The film is set in Waterloo station where a young Indian man and woman of Pakistani origin bump into each other and form an acquaintance while waiting for infamously late English trains. But their talk about themselves, we come to see, may not quite be so credible and ingenuous. Not only this but there is something magical in the air at Waterloo Station, for a wondering busker, Amitabh Bachan, looking like a sixties drop out, is somehow mysteriously involved in the lively plot.

The two leads, Bachan's son Abishek, and Preity Zinta, make engaging leads and, alongside the wonderfully outrageous Laura Dutta and Bobby Deol handle the film's sense of fun and comedy vigorously (though perhaps the nods to the famous Bachan/Deol partnership in Sholay goes too far).

Another thing about Jhoon Barabar Jhoon is its sure sense of place, something few Indian films set in Britain can claim. Preity Zinta's Alvira is an NRI and the film makes a playful but genuine attempt to engage with the London Indian diaspora.

Yashraj Films know they have a set audience that will turn up and watch whatever they put in the cinemas. I've never known such loyalty towards a production house.

But JBJ will be a massive wake up call for all concerned. The film has its good moments and some worthy performances. But the overall product is nothing short of being a complete disaster. Fair enough the Director may have thought that he has come up with an ingenious idea, but sometimes certain ideas or thoughts are far better off staying within the confines of ones head, as they sound and look a lot better swirling around 'up there' than on a large screen.

The protagonists (Abhishek Bachchan and Priety Zinta) look unconvinced by their characters and the whole scenario. And despite Abhishek's best efforts, you almost end up hating both the main characters, purely because the film has bored you senseless by the time proceedings really begin. And by this I mean the introduction of the other two main characters (Bobby Deol and Lara Dutta) - this time in person rather than in the imaginary world of AB and PZ.

Bobby Deol does a very good job considering that he is offered very little in the way of screen time. He plays both his characters very well, in particular the mummy's boy. Lara Dutta is amazing and really puts Priety Zinta in the shade with her performance. Despite both BD and LD having peripheral parts in the film - they both, in my eyes, walk away with the honours as the most entertaining pair on screen.

Amitabh Bachchan is wasted and only appears every time they need to break the monotony of the main characters. He also appears in the dance competition to lend his support to a rather over long sequence.

Overall, JBJ offers very little in the way of a storyline. The treatment of the subject is what you expect of Yashraj films. But even they couldn't dress this weak subject up. DVD rental material at the most.

I read in an Abhishek interview that when he was initially presented with the JBJ story idea (while shooting Bunty babli) it was set in a Delhi train station platform......i can just about imagine the charming scene. Abhishek and his heroine chatting over a cup of chai next to the tea stall. How did that potentially charming romantic tale turn into this over the top Bollywood film based in London? Jhoom Barabar Jhoom was an utter disappointment to me considering the same banner and director came out with the thoroughly entertaining Bunty Aur Babli. The movie felt like a 2hr long music video/ fashion show. I felt the person who would get the most mileage out of the movie would be the fashion designer/stylist of the movie which had a lot of outlandish costumes none more so than the attire of the Big B in the title song.

The first half felt awkward although there were a few funny moments thanks to the Lara and Abhishek. The movie picks up in the 2nd half but it was more due to the performances of the actors rather than the progression of the story. The actors did a relatively good job considering the weak script. I felt Lara Dutta and Bobby Deol were the standout performers from the movie as they had the opportunity to portray characters that had different shades to it. Lara was especially cute with the French accent and the potty mouth of the 2nd half. Bobby had some excellent comic moments in the 2nd half. Abhishek took a bit of a risk by playing such a loud character...he does go a bit over the top at times but I still think he is a good actor and he has his moments. For me Preity Zinta has been repeating herself in all her movies recently (except maybe Lakshya)...ever since Kal Ho Na Ho, she seems to be playing the same character over and over again i.e. an Indian who is either born and brought up abroad or living abroad. She too improves only in the 2nd half when she is not trying to put on an accent. There was not enough chemistry between the lead pair although you could see that they are buddies.

The music was excellent although Shaad Ali managed to drag all life out of the catchy title song since it pops up all over the film. The slow romantic number was also good.

I feel that Yash Raj films are catering more to the NRI crowd with their movies and subsequently took the soul out of this movie by presenting on this enormous scale.. you cant really blame them as it is a business and they need to recoup their costs.

The film has its moments but it is in no way anything more than an average product.