Once the shocking value and comic potential of a woman selling condoms has dried up, Janhit Maine Jaari loses its charm, Deepa Galot notices.

Less than a year ago in the movie Helmetwhen a group of young people sell condoms, they cover their faces with motorcycle helmets.

So it’s a giant leap of progressiveness when a woman sells rubbers without any embarrassment, in Janhit Main Jaari.

Written by Raaj Shaandilya and directed by Jai Basantu Singh, the film is set in picturesque Chanderi in Madhya Pradesh, as all films about subjects not to be mentioned in polite company are set in North Indian cities that seem to need carry into the 21st century.

Even in big cities, women would feel uncomfortable buying contraceptives at the nearest medical store, and this is in a country where Nirod was advertised as a method of family planning in the 1960s.

The main character, played by Nushrrat Bharukcha, is called Manokamna, meaning “the desire of the heart,” an uncharacteristically poetic name for a young woman from a traditional family who expects her to marry when she completes her education, earning a double master’s degree. worthless in the labor market.

Manokamna wants to get a job before she settles down, and her mother gives her a month-long ultimatum, fed up with her daughter’s rudeness to potential suitors.

Interestingly, she belongs to a family of three sisters and a brother, which is a fairly common occurrence in son-obsessed India, which has caused the government program to fail.Ham Do Hamare Doa slogan that hoped in vain to control the population.

After failing several interviews, she ends up with a company that she believes is an umbrella company, but in fact makes condoms under the Little Umbrella brand.

Owner Adarnia (Brigendra Kala, without whom no provincial movie seems to be made) is worried about falling sales and believes that a woman will be able to interest him in the product.

Manokamna finds that men are not easily persuaded to buy condoms and is either laughed at or scolded for doing such a disgraceful job.

She has a best friend Devi (Paritosh Tripathi), oddly enough, her only friend, with whom she drinks beer and whose loving look she does not notice.

She falls in love with performer Ramlila Manoranjan (Anud Singh Dhaka) and breaks Devi’s heart.

She boldly suggests to the guy who is so afraid of his father Keval Prajapati (Vijay Raaz) to “arrange” a meeting between the families so they can approve; caste and status are equal, the writer does not even mention the possibility of an unsuitable pair.

The large Manoranjan clan accepts the gifts their daughter-in-law buys, and her spineless husband doesn’t have the courage to tell them what his wife does for a living.

For now, the film is enjoyable, with witty lines and lovable characters.

There is a predictable uproar when Keval finds out about Manokamna’s work, especially since he is running for office.

Then a tragic accident turns Manokamna into an activist, and the film slides into a sanctimonious PSA sermon, Janhit Maine Jaari the message that gives the title to the movie. This has been going on for far too long as Manokamna promotes contraception as a method of female reproductive health and birth control.

The humor that marked the first half of the film is lost, and it becomes tiresomely heavy-handed.

However, the film raises some important questions and encourages women to take responsibility for their own well-being, which speaks volumes in a conservative society where women have so little power.

Nushrrat Bharukcha is upbeat and boldly speaks for a modern young woman who wants to make her own choices, be it career or marriage.

The support line-up, made up mostly of newbies, is good, although they don’t have much to do.

Devi, for example, deserved more, or why even have a spare tire?

The length of the film could have been shortened, because once the shocking value and comic potential of the woman selling condoms dries up, the film loses its charm.

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