Two seconds in Kajol and Shah Rukh Khan Kuch Kuch Hota Hai pack more chemistry into the two hours and 44 minutes of Ranbir and Shraddha’s romance Tu Jhothi Main Makkaarfeels Sukanya Verma.

The biggest jhooth Bollywood managed to trick us into believing that a leopard changes its spots, promises are set in stone and compromises are the same as choices as long as they fulfill the only goal of a love story, a happy ending.

Tu Jhothi Main Makkaar rejoices in this dated scam and stays true to the director’s trademark.

It is a commonly accepted truth that Luv Ranjan’s cinema is not kind to women.

Once again, the girl is the villain of the play, although she has every reason to step on the gas. But it is not brought up almost to the end in favor of the hero’s virtues and magnanimity. What makes it worse is the movie’s love-me-love-my-dog mindset, which oscillates between gaslighting and guilt.

If Tu Jhothi Main Makkaar wasn’t so concerned with struggling to have a family together, it would actually address the issue of space and suffocate relatives who are breaking up a young couple, rather than just seeing it as one’s burden, the other’s obligation.

Being a rom-com, much of his opinions are conveyed in jest, calm over foggy eyes, and a melodramatic background music.

Though for a premise that begins on a devastatingly frivolous note, things get pretty corny, only to be narrowly saved by the boisterous Punjabi family high-jinks cramming themselves into a car much like Hugh Grant’s romantic allies notting hill‘s high point and en route to a typical airport meetup.

As the latest addition to Luv Ranjan’s universe of wacky home names Rajjo, Gogo, Chikku, Chauka, Sonu, Titu, Sweety, Ranbir Kapoor plays Mickey.

From a firm believer Pyaar Hota Kayi Baar Hai Until the hook, line and sinker fall for the first girl he sees first, Mickey happily has his cake and eats it too.

Tu Jhothi Main Makkaar is fortunate to have a leading man in Kapoor. A veteran of the genre, the actor transitions his character from ready, firm, to Romeo Sanskari Sooraj Barjatya archetype with such nimble charm you play right into his hands.

Totally out there and in his element, he creates a superstar cocktail of Salman Khan’s deserved bachelor spunk, Aamir Khan’s loveable rascal and Shah Rukh Khan’s unrelenting romance.

Whether dazzling with his infectious dances, teeming with excitement at monologue overkill, or showing two star graduates from the Luv Ranjan School how it’s done, Ranbir delivers.

Aside from the many family businesses, Mickey sneakily runs a breakup service with his best friend Dabas (stand-up comedian Anubhav Singh Bassi snaps some funny one-liners as the proverbial hero’s sidekick), who charges his clients a few lakhs to end a relationship .

The economy is really booming in this part of the world that has money to split up, do a bachelorette party to Spain where friends meet and the clingy bride and panicked groom-to-be are let down or run riot engagement functions for People who wait until the eleventh hour before quitting.

Wealth is the answer to every problem.

Precocious little niece overhears your mischief? Throw a stack of money to silence them.

Girlfriend wants her own apartment? Promise to build a floor above the family home.

Maybe the girlfriend wants her people too? build two

Why bother with adult discourse when cash can solve everything?

Written by Ranjan and Rahul Mody, Tu Jhothi Main Makkaar love is just as random as luxury.

One glimpse of Tinni (Shraddha Kapoor), a friend of Dabas’ fiancé Kinchi (Monica Chaudhary), who is putting on a Bollywood-meets-cabaret on her bachelor-and-bae vacation in Spain, has Mickey bursting into it all Sadakchaap serenade to Shayari.

The bold Tinni is quick to retaliate, and the two paint the town red in beachwear, showing off their toned bodies perfectly, with no regrets for stealing Daba’s and Kinchi’s thunder.

A sexy vacation is cut short to accommodate a shuddh desi Meet the parents Scenario.

Mickey’s extended family (Dimple Kapadia, Boney Kapoor, Hasleen Kaur, Jatinder Kaur, Inayat Verma) acts like an excited dog when he sees his master.

There are many examples of them being a well-meaning, overbearing bunch, but Dimple Kapadia’s vocal affection and Boney Kapoor’s dry humor and Ranbir’s airy way of dealing with them give him a disarming, ‘what to do? we’re just like that.’

By comparison, Tinni’s equally sprawling family (only Ayesha Raza can just about call it a character, the rest are all tongue-in-cheek) is portrayed as haughty and distant, even though they appear to be okay.

Either way, they are of little importance to Tinni or Tu Jhothi Main Makkaar except to create a complication that is rather made up.

As in the tradition of all rom-coms, there’s a time of heartbreak and indecisiveness, but the mood swings caused by the characters and their sudden urges to ham and hyperbole can’t settle on a single tone.

Swear words are only paged out to allow for a clearly audible f-bomb.

One minute Mickey and Tinni are shedding huge tears, another they are making flirtatious moves Show me the Thumka at her friend’s baby shower.

If there was ever an award for the most self-absorbed friend, Dabas and Kinchis would win by a landslide.

One for zero chemistry too.

There are frequent attempts to create one Tamasha-style RPG revolving around the main characters, but Shraddha Kapoor’s blah-blah performance is no match for Ranbir’s wit.

Two seconds in Kajol and Shah Rukh Khan Kuch Kuch Hota Hai on the television screen of her apartment more chemistry than two hours and 44 minutes of Ranbir and their romance Tu Jhothi Main Makkaar.

Oomph is not about fitness.

Sass lies in it.

As energetic as she is, Shraddha is an uninspired choice for the role.

Lacking the wild impulses to make Tinni mesmerizing, she grabs more eyeballs for her false lashes, which stay in place perfectly even as she steps out of a shower.

Even her awkward attempts at comedy like the ‘Lala hai tu‘ joke broke at Ranbir’s expense when Deepika Padukone’s ‘You are a hello‘ Jibe on SRK interfered Chennai Express.

It’s tempting to imagine Deepika in the same role.

She would play them like an equal. And when Ranbir’s enthusiasm in a meta moment off Tu Jhothi Main Makkaar is to believe so would half a certain ralia.

Tu Jhothi Main Makkaar Review Rediff rating: