Jawani Diwani Review

Double entendre is supposed to be funny. Well, it was, to an extent, in Masti and a lesser extent in Kya Kool Hain Hum, but it hits rockbottom in Jawani Diwani. Full of bikini-clad women swarming the setup and top Bollywood smoocher Emran Hashmi pegged as a self-proclaimed Serial Kisser (kudos to the producer for trying to sell Emran's best quality as an actor) Jawani Diwani is a  supposedly comic yarn with an apology for a screenplay, and lowers the bar for the genre to ground-level-juvenile.

A childish and cliched storyline takes off (that's only an expression) with a young singer Mann (Emran Hashmi) wanting to make it big. He isn't averse to using or manipulating anybody to achieve his  objective, and yes, he has a weakness for pretty women and his T-shirt announces he's a serial kisser. And by the way, if he has to emotionally exploit any woman to reach the top, well, he's OK with that too. Poor chap having been rejected by music labels, he's got to  be ready to do whatever it takes, really! And before long, Mann sees an opportunity in the form of Radha (Hrishita Bhatt), whose father Umesh Jumani (Tiku Talsania)  is a music moghul who owns a top music label.

So Mann starts singing for his supper, and ensnares  young Radha with naach-gaana, and guess where they head for friends in tow? To Goa, because it's time for a twist in the tale, where a sizzling, scantily-clad Miss named Roma (a bikini called Celina Jaitley) enters his life like a beacon of lust, and Mann falls for, sings to and with, and woos and beds her. And in the process, gets caught by a local don (whatever is Mahesh Manjrekar doing?) who makes sure Mann marries Roma. End of Mann's career coz Radha's out of his life? Will he walk into the sunset with Roma, and only half the movie over? You've gotta be kidding! We have another mega twist!

OK, it's time now to wake up and smell the coffee for Mann, and he knows he's queered his plan how on earth will he now make it big? If he were to dump Radha now, her Daddy-O would get rid of him with a swift kick in the pants, so Mann does the right thing by him and Roma does the martyr act go chase your dreams, it seems. He's free, and goes scurrying to Bombay and to the  innocent and in-love Radha. OK, Fame and Fortune, Mann's the man, and here he comes!

Only, the writers have another twist planned! Roma enters Mann's life again, and at the eleventh hour, just before their marriage, Radha get to know about Roma. Then, Don Chappu does his thing, planting Roma in a video, and Radha plays the cliched martyr and 

Forget it. This series of cliches masquerading as a screenplay spiked with vapid situations and crass double entendre lines that are desperate attempts at humor falls flat.

Forget the juvenile `screenplay'. Forget the bad dialogue. Forget the wooden and flat performances, and the truly arbitrary scattering of songs in the film.

The one big takeaway from Jawani Diwani for prospective producers is: Emran Hashmi may have a talent for smooching, but has no flair for comedy. The only high points in this film if you pardon the terrible effect of the double meaning dialogue on this reviewer were Celina's assets, in stark contrast to which Emran Hashmi's comic timing and performance was truly flat. Guess Hashmi will now have to find a USP other than his osculatory talents  because, in spite of an assortment of bikini-clad women and a setup that should have been grist to his osculatory mill, our serial  kisser gets it in the kisser with this lemon of a movie.  Avoid this one.

Rating : *