Jhootha Hi Sahi - Movie Review

Read more! Cast :: John Abraham, Pakhi, R Madhavan, Raghu Ram, Anaitha Nair, Manasi Scott

Every film should be judged purely on the basis of its merits/demerits. Comparisons or drawing parallels with another film, even if it's helmed by the same director, is not right, in my opinion. But if the posters/billboards/newspaper ads/promotional material of JHOOTHA HI SAHI has an eye-catching line that screams 'From the director of JAANE TU YA JAANE NA', if not comparisons, the expectations from JHOOTHA HI SAHI do multiply five-fold, since JAANE TU YA JAANE NA was, in terms of economics, the biggest hit of 2008.

Sadly, Abbas Tyrewala's new offering JHOOTHA HI SAHI falls flat for this reason [it doesn't meet the expectations] as well as several other reasons. What comes across is unexciting, boring and lethargic. Moments make a love story work and JHOOTHA HI SAHI never reaches there. It lacks the fizz and heart, to put it bluntly. Also, the chemistry between the lead pair - John Abraham and Pakhi - is plastic.

Another department where the film fumbles, besides writing, is its music. It's an unspoken rule that love stories should be embellished with terrific music, but maestro A.R. Rahman's compositions in JHOOTHA HI SAHI are lifeless.

When Siddharth [John Abraham] wakes up one night to a call from a desperate man threatening to jump out of the window, he isn't prepared for what lies ahead. A mixed-up phone number. A desi suicide helpline in London. And various callers demanding that Sid give them a reason to live. Or else... Until one fateful night, Mishka [Pakhi] calls. And they both discover an unlikely bond.

Sid becomes her nameless friend. Her faceless philosopher. And she becomes his reason to rethink about life. Along the way, he also lies to her. Lies about his exciting adventures and daring escapades. The mountains he has climbed and the sharks he has tamed. Until the day they accidentally meet. And Sid falls in love.

How can he tell her the truth? That he's just a simple bookseller? With four friends, a small apartment and a girlfriend whom no one likes and he doesn't love.

The first and foremost thing that you expect from a film is an engrossing story and of course, a cohesive screenplay that keeps your attention alive for the next two hours. But the screenplay [Pakhi] is devoid of moments that bring a smile on your face at the end of the screening. Ideally, one would expect the focus to be on the principal pair, but the sub-plots [the friends and their sequences] dominate a good chunk of the film. And that, consequently, makes the film verbose, talk-heavy, tedious and verrry lengthy.

On retrospection, the female protagonist [Pakhi] comes across as a confused character, who finds stability in her life when John stages an entry, but goes back to her ex [Madhavan] for no particular reason. And the moment she does that, she drops John like a hot potato. That's not all, she, all of a sudden, dumps her ex too and goes back to John. Thanks to this reason, the character comes across as someone who's stone-hearted, cold and confused and that's also the reason why you don't jump with joy when the lovers unite towards the end.

Also, like I pointed out earlier, the multiple tracks in the film are a deterrent. The track of the gay couple is silly and unimaginative, while the relationship between the aggressive and dominating pregnant sister and her Japanese fiance is weird. Also, if the sensibilities of the film are Western and the humour British, the ending becomes Bollywoodish conveniently. The entire sequence at the bridge looks so filmy.

Director Abbas Tyrewala has filmed a number of sequences impeccably, but the writing is flaccid and the prime reason why the film fails to register an impact. Rahman's music is of the fast-forward variety and that's all the more surprising since the duo [Rahman and Tyrewala] had come up with a winning score in JAANE TU YA JAANE NA.

John makes a sincere attempt to look the part, but he's awkward, especially in sequences when he stammers. Pakhi is a complete miscast. She looks too matured and has her limitations as an actor. Amongst the sundry characters, Raghu Ram is noticeable. R. Madhavan should avoid such flimsy characters.

On the whole, JHOOTHA HI SAHI is an absolute letdown in terms of content. Given its high costs on one hand and weak merits on the other, the film will make a big hole in the pockets of its investors.


Download Jhootha Hi Sahi MP3 Songs
01 - JHS - Cry Cry@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
02 - JHS - Maiya Yashoda (Jamuna Mix)@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
03 - JHS - Hello Hello@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
04 - JHS - Do Nishaaniyan@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
05 - JHS - Pam Para@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
06 - JHS - I.ll Be Waiting@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
07 - JHS - Maiya Yashoda (Thames Mix)@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
08 - JHS - Do Nishaniyaan (Heartbreak Reprise)@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
09 - JHS - Call Me Dil@review-of-movies.blogspot.com

01 - JHS - Cry Cry@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
02 - JHS - Maiya Yashoda (Jamuna Mix)@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
03 - JHS - Hello Hello@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
04 - JHS - Do Nishaaniyan@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
05 - JHS - Pam Para@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
06 - JHS - I.ll Be Waiting@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
07 - JHS - Maiya Yashoda (Thames Mix)@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
08 - JHS - Do Nishaniyaan (Heartbreak Reprise)@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
09 - JHS - Call Me Dil@review-of-movies.blogspot.com

Watch Jhootha Hi Sahi Videos

Jhootha Hi Sahi - Music Review

Read more! Cast :: John Abraham, Pakhi, R Madhavan, Raghu Ram, Anaitha Nair, Manasi Scott

No, it’s never easy to comment on a song composed by Rahman. Reasons are many. For one, they’re never ‘bad.’ You’ll always like them at least a bit even if at the start they sound strangest thing in the world. Secondly, he has built so high reputation and expectations in people’s minds that it’s not easy to get to that level even with the best songs. And then, he has so many fans. But the worst thing is that u can not always be sure of disliking a song of his. Probably that is why he is Rahman.

The album starts with the child’s play called Cry Cry. A song that is going to be a hit simply because of it’s simplicity. Though I didn’t like the lyrics of the song much, the message the song gives is good and Rashid Ali and Shreya’s singing is sweet. Not too good in terms of music, but a likeable thing.

The next song of the album is Maiyya Yashoda, something to be enjoyed. Sung by Javed Ali and Chinmayi, the song sounds quite good, though somehow I didn’t enjoy Chinmayi’s singing so much as I generally do. It may be because of Javed Ali who sounds relatively more fun. Rahman sounds like in his old mood here, and though the song is nothing like Radha kaise na jale, and doesn’t get close to that standard too (especially due to the huge difference in the standard of lyrics), the song somehow reminds me of Lagaan. Anyway, likeable stuff again.

The next song, Hello Hello, is Rahman’s own Karthik calling Karthik. The song that talks of phone and is sung by Karthik, may not sound too impressive initially as all the beeps and ringing might be intriguing, but the melody of the song, even though short, sounds fine. The lyrics are good too and to top it all, Karthik sounds really smooth here. Especially the lines ‘mujhe chhod do, mujhe thaam lo, kho jaane do, mera naam lo, sab theek hai, ho jayega‘ go in a beautiful flow. Doesn’t sound like a very long term thing, but sounds good for now.
The next song Do Nishaniyaan brings us the wonderful combination of Rahman and Sonu again, and in their old avatar this time. A slow, soft, soulful song where you like the lyrics without even hearing them. You only get a jerk when he talks of a ‘phone’ among those dreamy words, but then, it becomes a part of the song soon. Anyway, something wonderful in the album that I know will be liked more every time I hear it. Do listen.
Pam pa ra is definitely not the best song of the album. Oh, you know what I mean. The song sung by Shreya Ghoshal with Suzanne D’Mello is neither as catchy as Lattoo and nor has the attitude of Aye Bachchoo, and still sounds something like them both. Do I need to say more?
The next, I’ve been waiting of Vijay Yesudas, though, is something to cherish again. Quite smooth with the English lyrics, quite good with Hindi, and easily shifting from one language to the other, Vijay makes me love his simple singing in the song. A good, part romantic, part classic, part experimental song from Rahman. Thanks, sir.
The next thing on the album is Maiyya Yashoda (Thames Mix). If I didn’t tell you, the earlier version was called Jamuna Mix. Of course a remix of Jamuna, Thames still sounds fine, and except that the singers’ voices sound a tiny bit too much in the background, the song is all good to ears.
The next on the list is the Heartbreak reprise of Sonu Nigam’s Do Nishaniyaan. This time Rahman and Abbas seem to have decided that the life of this song is lyrics and hence put them right on top. Sonu Nigam sings this one awesomely too and gets us one more small lovable song.
The end of the album comes with the same name it started with. I need not think twice to know that Abbas Tyrewala is a fan of Rashid’s voice and after a lovely Kabhi Kabhi Aditi and a lovable kahin to hogi wo, he starts and ends his new album with Rashid only. In Jhootha hi Sahi, while the first song of the album is the opener of the movie to public, the last one is a pure Rahman piece that is just lovable.
One of the best, or probably ‘the best’ song of the album, Call me dil-Jhootha hi Sahi is the double title song as it takes in both, the earlier title of the movie ‘Call me Dil’ and the final title ‘Jhootha hi Sahi.’ I won’t say much about the song, just listen to it.
Overall, Jhootha hi Sahi is quite good an album from Rahman. The music is good and while I was expecting the lyrics to go really down after cry cry, they aren’t that bad either. The album starts attractively, and ends beautifully. In between you get a wonderful ‘I’ve been waiting’, a soothing ‘Do Nishaniyaan.’

Download Jhootha Hi Sahi MP3 Songs
01 - JHS - Cry Cry@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
02 - JHS - Maiya Yashoda (Jamuna Mix)@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
03 - JHS - Hello Hello@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
04 - JHS - Do Nishaaniyan@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
05 - JHS - Pam Para@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
06 - JHS - I.ll Be Waiting@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
07 - JHS - Maiya Yashoda (Thames Mix)@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
08 - JHS - Do Nishaniyaan (Heartbreak Reprise)@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
09 - JHS - Call Me Dil@review-of-movies.blogspot.com

01 - JHS - Cry Cry@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
02 - JHS - Maiya Yashoda (Jamuna Mix)@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
03 - JHS - Hello Hello@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
04 - JHS - Do Nishaaniyan@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
05 - JHS - Pam Para@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
06 - JHS - I.ll Be Waiting@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
07 - JHS - Maiya Yashoda (Thames Mix)@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
08 - JHS - Do Nishaniyaan (Heartbreak Reprise)@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
09 - JHS - Call Me Dil@review-of-movies.blogspot.com

Watch Jhootha Hi Sahi Videos