You Love Him, But You Are “Not In Love” With Him! A true dilemma, isn’t it? Well, another of Luv Ranjan’s “love dramas” hit the Bollywood big screens on March 8, 2023. Titled “Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar” and abbreviated as “TJMM”, this rom-com has been co-written, co-produced, and directed by him. It features Ranbir Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor as two love birds.

Luv Ranjan’s Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar (TJMM): Featuring Ranbir Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor!

Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar (TJMM) Synopsis:

Mickey (Ranbir), a son of a billionaire business magnate, has nothing else to do except for working as a break-up consultant. When Mickey falls in love with a girl named Tinni (Shraddha), things take a vivid turn. They do fall in love and get ready for marriage but suddenly, Tinni feels that she is not yet ready for marriage. So, she decides to break up with Mickey.

Now whom do you think she would contact for her break-up? It’s none other than the famous break-up consultant in town, Mickey! Mickey knows it is Tinni who is calling him and asking him to help her break up with her boyfriend, which happens to be him himself! However here, Tinni doesn’t know that the consultant she is calling is actually Mickey. So, Mickey decides to stick to his business motto, “When I am taking money, I will definitely provide service!”

Mickey starts providing Tinni “service” for his own break-up. A series of interesting and funny incidents occur where Mickey, as a break-up consultant, advises Tinni to do some “tests” on her boyfriend. First comes the “jealousy test” where Tinni hires a guy to act as an old friend of hers. To make Mickey jealous, she seduces that guy and dances with him in front of him. But as Mickey already knew why this was happening, he takes no notice of Tinni’s behavior. Second, comes the “loyalty test” as again advised by Mickey to Tinni. Now Tinni hires a girl to do the loyalty test on Mickey. But in his effort to help Tinni break up with him, he cheats on her with that girl.

After many such odd instances where Tinni acts as per Mickey’s advice, they finally break up and their marriage gets called off. Later when they meet again by chance, Tinni realizes that the break-up consultant with whom she was talking was in fact, Mickey! Tinni is devastated knowing the fact that her ex-boyfriend knowingly broke up with her in his attempt only to help her. She shows her disappointment with him because even after knowing what he was doing, he did not try to sort out matters with her when he knew that she loves him. So, she decides to leave for London and at the end, the scene which I have grown up watching in Bollywood movies of the 80s and 90s happens! Mickey along with his entire family rushes to the airport to stop Tinni from leaving the country. They successfully stop her from leaving, and Mickey proposes to her. She accepts, they get married, and live happily ever after. And oh, at the climax Mickey Junior is born!

Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar (TJMM) Official Trailer:

The Good:

A Rom-Com That Can Make You Laugh With Every Passing Instance!

TJMM is a romantic comedy-drama that will make you burst out with laughter at every instance. The film is filled with funny punches. There are some emotional patches in the film that can make you cry as well. For instance, you will enjoy watching Mickey and Tinni do all sorts of weird activities to break up with each other but finally, when they do break up and later when the truth gets revealed to Tinni about Mickey knowing everything and that he purposefully broke up with her, things do take an emotional turn.

A funny fact about this drama is that it is completely unrealistic. The weird part is that someone would work as a break-up consultant. And after doing so, I mean who would dig his own grave? Even if Mickey knew that Tinni wanted to break up with him, his love for her could have made him take the decision to not help her out. I am not saying Mickey should have acted selfishly here, but he was well aware that Tinni loved him and some strange decision of hers was coaxing her to break up with him. So, when he would have met her in person, then he could have made her understand that marriage isn’t the end of life but a new beginning. It was absolutely safe for them to walk through that path of life together.

In spite of some weird facts, the drama was humorous, interesting, and engaging. In fact, this should be a lesson for modern-day youth as to how they should look into relationships. Nowadays, break-ups due to misunderstandings and incompatibilities are becoming very common. The youth of today can learn from this drama how to make up for their break-ups. But mind you, there are things not to learn from this drama as well! Don’t dig your own grave if you come to know that your girlfriend is planning to break up with you. Rather you need to pursue her and make her understand your love for her, if you really love her of course!

Colorful Cinematography

The locations of TJMM are mesmerizing! Locations included Delhi, Mumbai, Spain, and Mauritius. The backgrounds were breathtaking and the costumes worn by the actors were extraordinarily colorful which made this film a complete visual package. The credits for such outstanding cinematography go to Santhana Krishnan Ravichandran.

Fantastic Songs

Some of the songs in TJMM are bouncy and can make you tap your feet while you listen to them. For instance, check out the song, “Show Me The Thumka”! There are some energetic songs as well like “Tere Pyaar Mein” and “Pyaar Hota Kayi Baar Hain”, and emotional ones too like “O Bedardeya”. In short, TJMM is packed with all genres of songs; romantic, funny, emotional, and energetic! The melodious voices of Arijit Singh, Jubin Nautiyal, Shreya Ghoshal, and Sunidhi Chauhan rocked the songs throughout. Lastly, don’t forget to hear out Jubin Nautiyal’s melodic “Jaadui”.

Aptly Edited

TJMM has a runtime of 2 hours and 40 minutes. If you ask me, I would rather address this as a musical rom-com. The drama maintains a steady flow throughout and, except for the songs, you won’t find any other diverting patches. The songs take up major portions of this film because of which its duration extends a lot. However, editors Akiv Ali and Chetan Solanki have done their best to ensure that the drama maintains its flow and doesn’t divert much.

The Bad:

The Cast Did Not Suit This Film

I found some shortcomings in the casting of TJMM. Frankly, the character of Mickey in TJMM is not made for Ranbir Kapoor. Ranbir is a superb actor and has given some great romantic comedy hits in the past. However, Luv Ranjan’s “love franchise” has over the years cast Kartik Aaryan as the lead. Such cheesy characters which Luv Ranjan creates for his films have always depicted Kartik Aaryan, and the mindset of the audiences has become such that they like to see Kartik Aaryan in such roles only. In the past, Luv Ranjan had featured Kartik in almost every film he had directed like the “Pyaar Ka Punchnama” film series and “Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety”. These were actually small-budget rom-com films. But now, when Luv Ranjan has made an INR 110 Crore budget rom-com like TJMM, he decided to divert to Ranbir Kapoor.

TJMM is plagued with short one-liner Hindi dialogues throughout which can irritate the audiences. Luv Ranjan might be thinking that such one-liner punches are funny but the fact is they can irritate the audiences to the level that they might start pulling their hair out of frustration. Luv Ranjan might have decided to formulate these dialogues keeping Kartik Aaryan in his mind and when Ranbir delivered these dialogues, they appeared a total mess! Kartik Aaryan has a short role in TJMM. He appears along with Nushrratt Bharuccha in a scene. So, when you will compare Ranbir’s acting with that Kartik’s, as he makes his cameo appearance, you will surely notice the difference.

Another wrong casting is Shraddha Kapoor herself. Shraddha is short in height as compared to other actresses in Bollywood. Her pairing with Ranbir doesn’t seem to match up as Ranbir, being 6 feet tall, pairs up well with taller actresses like Deepika Padukone and Katrina Kaif. Also, Shraddha has exposed a bit too much in this film. She has a lot of bikini scenes which I feel was not at all needed. Perhaps, Luv Ranjan wanted to attract the attention of the male audiences by showing her in numerous bikini scenes. Again, one of Luv Ranjan’s “love tactics” indeed!

Now coming to Mickey’s friend Manu, has a major role to play along with Mickey. The character of Manu has been played by a comedian named Anubhav Singh Bassi who, in spite of being younger than Ranbir, is looking like his uncle rather than his friend. I believe, this character of “Uncle Manu” might have been given to Bassi because maybe he happens to be a close buddy of Luv Ranjan? Who knows, he seems to be a complete misfit for this character but still got the role, didn’t he?

Hasleen Kaur, who appeared in the 2014 romantic action-drama “Karle Pyaar Karle”, didn’t have a promising career in Bollywood. That was the only film in which I saw her. She was the lead actress in that. Now, after almost 10 years, she has got the side role of Mickey’s sister in this film.

Boney Kapoor, who is a renowned film producer in Bollywood, acted as Mickey’s dad, and everybody is aware of how “good” he can act. My statement is sarcastic because he has never acted ever before! This is the first time he can be seen on the big screens and that too as the hero’s dad. Dimple Kapadia as Mickey’s mom seemed to fit in her role well.

The Verdict:

Watch it to believe it! TJMM is the new-age entertainer which takes on romance and relationships in a modernized way. The film is packed with family emotions and humor. Moreover, the exotic locations and musical chartbusters have made this entertaining joyride of a comical drama a sure-shot hit! The climax of TJMM was superb with a happy ending. Even if the casting was not appropriate, the drama was surely fun to watch.

I have come across some critics complaining that this movie is misogynistic. Here are some of the reasons they have given. One reason they gave is, “Ranbir has been shown as the main character, and Luv Ranjan’s narrative is based on Ranbir’s side of the story. Shraddha’s character seems lost”. I would say, then you would find every Bollywood movie to be misogynistic! Take for instance a movie of Sunny Deol. In Sunny Deol’s movie, Sunny Deol is the prime highlight. Would you expect the heroine of that movie to beat up goons with a “Dhai Kilo Ka Haath”? In that case, every Bollywood movie where the hero is the primary identity will appear misogynistic to you. Bollywood in itself is male-dominated. In Bollywood films, the hero is always the highlight. In this film, Ranbir is the hero, so his character getting priority is evident. However, nowadays Bollywood has started making female-led movies too.

Now here’s another statement from a critic who addresses this film as misogynistic. “While there is no defined antagonist in the film, it feels like Shraddha’s character is the one who initiates all the ‘bad things’ for example, the break-up, and comes across somewhat as the villain of the story”. So, what he or she is trying to say here is that Luv Ranjan depicts women as “villains of love” in his love stories. They are the ones who initiate break-ups. That’s what Luv Ranjan has been trying to convey every time he makes a film. I am not taking the side of Luv Ranjan here, but I would like to tell such critics that men do try to impress women. Have you ever wondered why they do so? It’s the “fear of getting rejected” that makes men try to impress women.

Not only us humans, but you can see this instinct in the animal kingdom as well. Two males fight for a female and the one who wins gets the female. Coming to us humans, as we are more civilized than animals, we do the same thing in a different manner. Take, for instance, a guy in college who tries to impress his crush, and suddenly her boyfriend appears saying, “Step back! That’s my girl!” This is an animal instinct only. This entire world is “males fighting for females”. What I am trying to convey is that women do have a preference here in terms of choosing their rightful partners. So, a woman, if she doesn’t seem to like the man with whom she is with, can choose to ditch him in search of a better partner. Mind you, I am not talking of women who are already married and are happily living with their beloved spouses. This situation of the choosy “female mentality” occurs at the time when a woman is still unmarried and is deciding on her relationships. You can’t call TJMM misogynistic because it only depicts the true “female mentality” which has been there even before you and I was born. The “female mentality”, can sometimes go choosy! Although Tinni didn’t have a second choice and she still loved Mickey, she decided not to continue her relationship with him after their marriage date was settled by their families. Might be she had some career plans or maybe Mickey didn’t appear a “good fit” for her or Mickey even might have appeared as “Mickey Mouse” to her, whatever may be the reason, she “chose” not to be with him. Women are not “villains of love” as most critics have opined that the film showcases women as such. The fact is; women have evolved to be choosy! It’s an evolutionary trend my dear friends, and it’s the harsh truth!

Women generally tend to choose their male partners who are superior to them in terms of status, career, and wealth. The fact is, in the modern era, “male superiority” is judged by women on the basis of how successful a man is in his career, and how much he earns. Nowadays, the looks and physiques of men have become secondary considerations for women. An ugly duckling who earns millions can appear “attractive” to a beautiful woman rather than a handsome homeless guy with a great physique. So, she will choose the ugly duckling only as her partner, if she is given a choice. In TJMM, Mickey was the spoiled brat of a rich businessman, although contrary to my above statement is that he was handsome also. His father’s wealth and his good looks, which was an added advantage for him, allowed him to get all the girls he desired for. It was really easy for him to influence a girl like Tinni and make her his girlfriend. Later, Tinni decided not to be with him, that’s her choice, and I have done enough explanation on that.

I think I have jabbered enough in English. This goes to all my single Indian brothers; I would like to make you understand the logic in my simple desi-style, “LADKI KE PEECHE BHAGEGA, LADKI PAISA LEKE BHAGEGI. PAISE KE PEECHE BHAGEGA, LADKI TERE PEECHE BHAGEGI!” These are not my statements. These are the copyright statements made by the father of all lover boys in Bollywood.

The Iconic Dialogue: “Ladki Ke Peeche Bhagega” From Wanted (2009)