Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar movie review: Luv Ranjan puts romance before bromance

Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar movie review:Filmmaker Luv Ranjan has been known for making rom-com that inadvertently shows the female protagonist in a bad light and the men as victims in love and relationships. In Ranjan's universe, the men are always at the receiving end from the women who are projected as ambitious, gold diggers, and as manipulative individuals. Considering his past films, I have to be honest I had already judged his latest Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar when the first trailer dropped. The convoluted title (loosely translated as you are a liar and I am a deceit) did help much. But the Ranbir Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor starrer takes a fresh approach to modern relationships and Ranjan can shrug off the notions around him....well almost.

The film primarily is a romantic comedy but also attempts to take a fresh look at how relationships work and slides in a message or two about true love, and familial love. The result is an engaging film with credible performances from its lead pair.

Set in Delhi, Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar has Ranbir Kapoor playing Mickey- a man who has multiple businesses including one of helping people break up- of course for a cost. His best friend Dabbas (comedian Anubhav Singh Bassi) is also his business partner and the two run a thriving business of breaking relationships. On a trip to Spain, Mickey meets Tinni (Shraddha Kapoor) and falls instantly in love. Tinni initially thinks it's a holiday fling, but Mickey convinces her that it is for real. Back home, Mickey introduces Tinni to his family, a boisterous Punjabi family that eats, drinks, and makes merry together. Suffocated and smothered by familial love, Tinni decides to call off the relationship but does not want to broach it on her own.

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Life comes a full circle for Mickey when he realises his girlfriend is trying to seek his help to get rid of him from her life. Does she succeed and more importantly does she find out the truth about Mickey?

Shot by Santhana Krishnan Ravichandran who gets the mood right, Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar looks very good from the word go. Actors Ranbir Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor are in great shape, the locales of Spain are well shot and the whole film has a vibrant feel to it.

Luv Ranjan's actors and frames always look good. It is a story that is debtable mostly. In Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar, the lead protagonist takes no time to fall in love but the way Ranjan and co-writer Rahul Mody approach their relationship, coupled with humour, makes the film worth one's time.

Considering how women are usually projected in Luv Ranjan's films, Shraddha's Tinni is remarkably real and practical. She is ambitious, has a well-paying job and lives life on her terms. This is why it becomes difficult to accept her man with the baggage of his family, who are a constant in their relationship. Shraddha returns to the big screen after a long break and does justice to her role as the practical, level-headed Tinni.

The star of the show is Ranbir Kapoor, who in his goofy avatar is pitch-perfect as Mickey. Kapoor plays the charming Mickey to the hilt. His character may remind people of Prem from Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani and Bunny from Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani but Kapoor is fine a performer and makes Mickey an interesting character to watch.

A scene featuring Rajan's lucky mascot Kartik Aaryan is super Meta and so well written and performed. There are so many references to Shraddha, Kartik and Ranbir's real life and the writers have done a swell job in incorporating all the elements into the film.

The film has plenty of monologues - all delivered by Ranbir. There are some which will remind you of Aaryan but Kapoor holds his own in a role that he has played often on screen before.

Ranjan's films always have humour and this one is no different. A lot of references to pop culture, quirky dialogues and scenes featuring Bassi and Kapoor are well-written.

My only problem with the story was the way the two characters are shown to fall in love which seemed too rushed and half-baked. Even though both Shraddha and Ranbir share great chemistry on screen, the process of their falling in love seems too vague and hurried. I also wish Dimple Kapadia had not hammed so much playing the boisterous Punjabi mother.

Kapadia is a stellar actor and she really could have toned it down a bit. The film also marks the debut of producer Boney Kapoor who plays Ranbir's father in the film.

In Ranjan's universe, the man-child is a 'sachcha aashiq' (true lover) but also a Mumma's boy who needs all his women around him at all times- mom, sister, grandmother and then the girlfriend.

I wish the film had ended slightly differently (not giving out spoilers, relax) because while the writers very carefully balance the character arc of the two protagonists well throughout the film, they ultimately bow down to conventional ways.

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The narrative also appears to be repetitive after a point and the monologues are far too many to appear funny. It comes all together in the last half an hour with the quintessential dash-to-the-airport-to-profess-love scene where the writers and the actors pack in enough humour to provide plenty of laughs.

Despite the flaws, Luv Ranjan's Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaartruly makes for a good entertainer, especially during the festive season. Ranbir and Shraddha look great together, they complement each other as actors and dancers. They both are in top form and so is the director who puts romance over bromance, for a change.