Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar Movie Review : A modern love story with humour and heart in balance

Review: Ranbir has a sidekick in Anubhav Singh Bassi. Along with running family businesses, the boys also double up as relationship gurus, who run a breakup service on the side. They offer packages (platinum costs 2 lakh) to people who need help in ending relationships. It’s all fun and games until Mickey’s expertise comes back to bite him in the ass.

The first half of the film resembles Imtiaz Ali’s Tamasha (Corsica chapter). The second half is a mix of Barjatya-Karan Johar-Priyadarshan narrative set in a Luv Ranjan universe. The previous half has the gorgeous beaches, attractive lead actors in swimwear and foot-tapping youth anthem ‘Tere Pyaar Mein’. It's all easy on the eye but aimless. The characters aren’t etched out enough, which compels the audience to read between the lines and that feels like work.

Kartik Aaryan’s terrific cameo works like a booster as the film picks up drastically in the latter half and transforms into a hilarious family entertainer with an outstanding airport climax. Mickey is surrounded by a progressive mother (Dimple Kapadia), supportive sister (Hasleen Kaur) and an independent girlfriend (Shraddha). He is the clingy-needy talkative boyfriend. Luv Ranjan, known for making films that are largely patriarchal, moves away from that zone to focus on the perils of modern dating. “Tujhe Pyaar karna hai ya time pass?”, asks Mickey to Tinny upfront so neither wastes any time. The two fall in love faster than one would imagine and talk about anything and everything except for the things that matter. More talking, less listening. Commitment or battle of the sexes are not the issues here; communication is. Can Mickey make some tough choices for Tinny and vice versa?

Ranbir Kapoor is most beautiful when he essays broken characters. His silence speaks volumes. He enters a new territory here, the one Kartik Aaryan has mastered over the years. He adapts well to frothy romance, excessive talking and constant monologues. He looks great with Shraddha, but the chemistry needs work. Shraddha seems uninhibited and spirited on screen this time around. Dimple Kapadia and Hasleen Kaur stand out in the crowd.

In total 'Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar' has its humour and heart in balance but character building could have been better.