Jawaani Jaaneman Movie Review: It takes an Alaya F to help Saif Ali Khan come of age

Jazz (Saif Ali Khan) of Jawaani Jaaneman is an extension of Cocktail's Gautam and Love Aaj Kal's Jai. And it's Alaya Furniturewala's strong performance that helps him come of age.

Movie Name: Jawaani Jaaneman
Cast: Saif Ali Khan

Bollywood has aged and so has its perennial leading men. However, only some of them have become wiser. Saif Ali Khan is one of them. The actor's coming-of-age can be traced by the journey of his characters.

In Jawaani Jaaneman, he again played the quintessential commitment-phobic playboy on screen, a character he has trademarked. But, the only difference here is that his 'age' is coming in the way of him staying aloof. He can't hold his drinks, he needs glasses to read, he dyes his hair more often than he changes his clothes, yet he hates change. Sounds like a man in his 40s?

Well, that's what Jaswinder Singh (or, as our hero prefers, Jazz) of Jawaani Jaaneman exactly is. He is an extension of Cocktail's Gautam and Love Aaj Kal's Jai. But Jazz's body demands attention and his heart yearns for some old-school love. He has come to a point where his "past is longer than his future" as Kubbra Sait (Rhea, in Jawaani Jaaneman) says about Jazz.

Director Nitin Kakkar's Jazz is what a Jai or Gautam would look like at 40. He is still the immature, party-loving guy who refuses to grow up, and needs a 21-year-old daughter out of wedlock to make him come to terms with his reality.

Make no mistake, this isn't a typical Bollywood film where he has a sudden change of heart the moment he finds about his daughter. Jazz refuses to budge. Right after he gets to know that Tia (Alaya Furniturewala) is his daughter, he asks her to leave and go stay with her mother. "Mein responsibility dekhke rakshas ban jaata hu. It's better you stay away." he says.

Respecting her father's space, she leaves the house but rents a place right across the street to stay close to him. They spend time together but never encroach into each other's space - a concept alien to Indian families. Eventually, they develop a bond, helping Jazz find his "first love" in his daughter.

Jawaani Jaaneman is a refreshing take on parenthood and freedom of choice. Our film industry has come a long way from dialogues like "Tune muh kala kar diya" or "Haan ye tumhara he bachcha hai." And Jawaani Jaaneman is a gentle reminder of the same.

Tabu, Tia's mother and Jazz's ex-girlfriend in the film, didn't cry and spend years waiting for her lover to come home. Instead, she got on her feet and raised a kid in her own hippie, messy way. And she does a fine job, as Tia would tell you.

Jawaani Jaaneman banks heavily on its star cast. Saif Ali Khan is delightful to watch on the screen in his age-old avatar. He will definitely make you fall in love with him all over again. Tabu appears only for a few minutes but, like always, she leaves a mark.

The film is largely focused on Saif but it is Alaya who will steal your heart. She is just a natural in front of the camera. With other new-age actors like Sara Ali Khan, Janhvi Kapoor and Ananya Panday in line, she came prepared and it paid off.

Though Jawaani Jaaneman is backed by strong performances, it couldn't make the film memorable. It suffers from a slow-paced predictable plot and patchy editing. How many club scenes does one need to establish that its lead character is a party animal? Jawaani Jaaneman has just too many.

The writing isn't sharp either. It tries to address important issues in the garb of comedy, but the jokes just aren't funny enough. "Tera dil nahi dildo hai," "Iss ghar mein main aur mera swag rehte hai" - come on, it takes more to make us laugh.

Apart from these few glitches Jawaani Jaaneman makes for a decent one-time watch. Saif's fans, it's a must for you guys though.

2.5 out of 5 stars.