Jagga Jasoos, quick review: Unbelievable and not in a good way

Director: Anurag Basu

Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Saswata Chatterjee, Sayani Gupta, Saurabh Shukla

Finally, it is here. The film everyone, including Rishi Kapoor, waited to watch for three years. Watching it in a theatre with 20-25 percent occupancy is a huge shock. This is Anurag Basu’s Disney fantasy-adventure. Our own Harry Potter-meets-Tin Tin-meets-Barfi. And didn’t Ranbir and Basu create magic in Barfi, not so long ago?

As expected Jagga Jasoos (JJ) wears a huge Barfi hangover.

Let’s say it right away. Cinematographer Ravi Varman’s work is out-of-this-world. Every frame is a visual feast, every shot a painting. Having said that, there remains a dark question hovering over this stubbornly light and airy musical.

Would the audience accept a film where every conversation is a song? And not very pleasant ones at that? Pritam’s music is, with no polite way of putting it, annoying and awful. He needs to understand there is a difference between cool casualness and outright laziness.

Ranbir and Katrina seem to be braving their way through a blizzard of conversational songs sung in some of the most scenic locations. But instead of breezing through the epic journey, they seem to be wheezing across what looks like a grand slog.

I love the smell of fresh air that the film exudes. The outdoors are so refreshing. I want to immediately take a holiday in those locations. But as we all know Man (and Woman) cannot survive on fresh air alone. I can see Ranbir and Katrina struggling and stumbling through a journey that promises to be as painful for them, as it is for us.

Sorry, but going by the restless, angry audience response this could have been Ranbir’s own Tubelight, but then he already had his in Bombay Velvet.

So what IS this? I am still trying to figure it out. Beautiful to look at, yet annoying.