Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar surprises viewers as a standout film despite underwhelming title
The article discusses Luv Ranjan’s latest movie, Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar, which retains the trademark elements of male bias and monologue but has made a sincere attempt to eliminate blatant misogyny. The male-centric narrative, which typically portrays women as manipulative and maniacal, still exists. The author also comments on the director’s penchant for testing the audience’s tongue-twisting skills. However, the movie is an improvement from the previous ones as it attempts to balance out the male-female perspective.
The story follows Mickey (Ranbir Kapoor), a Delhi boy, who specializes in breaking off relationships with the promise of causing zero heartbreak to either party, in partnership with his friend, Dabas (Anubhav Singh Bassi). The movie has a solid premise for a rom-com, and the narrative is about Mickey’s future relationship being impacted by his own business. He meets Tinni (Shraddha Kapoor) on the beaches of Mallorca, where he thinks he is in love, but she doesn’t believe in summer flings, leading to complications and heartbreak, with the audience getting the chance to empathize and sympathize with both.
The author comments that the movie’s first hour is stilted, with some parts going by too quickly, while others get stretched out interminably. Consistency isn’t the strong suit of the first half, but the film picks up well in the second half, becoming a crowd-pleaser that entertains without always sticking to the Luv Ranjan template. In fact, it kind of swings the other way and does a Sooraj Barjatya on the viewer. The movie turns out to be an overall crowd-pleaser that tries to balance out the male-female perspective.
The author comments that Ranbir Kapoor’s performance is the pull of the film, and Shraddha Kapoor also gives a sparkling act, especially in scenes that ride heavily on emotion. The chemistry between the two is not as sizzling as one would expect, but they dance the hell out of Show me the thumka, which has Pritam’s pulsating beats meeting Amitabh Bhattacharya’s wacky and wild lyrics in one of the best ways possible. The film’s album, with three of the four songs belonging to Arijit Singh, who swings between splendid and sublime, is a major strength, as is a strong supporting cast led by Dimple Kapadia, who is equally at home on a Luv Ranjan set.
Although the movie throws in the odd sexist line, it is a vast improvement from Luv Ranjan’s previous movies. The male-centric narrative still exists, but the movie attempts to balance out the male-female perspective. The author comments that the movie is a crowd-pleaser that swings the other way, doing a Sooraj Barjatya on the viewer, and turning the familiar Bollywood airport climax trope on its head with a sideways nod to Notting Hill.
