Jamai 2.0 Review – A Revenge Drama That Bites the Dust

BOTTOM LINE: A Revenge Drama That Bites the Dust

Rating: 4.5/10

What Is the Story About?

Jamai 2.0, a digital sequel to the television show Jamai Raja explores the underbelly of Puducherry through the eyes of Durga Devi a.k.a DD. Owner of several night clubs and also a drug baron, DD sees herself as an uncrowned queen of the nightlife in town, who leaves no stone unturned to expand her murky empire from time to time. While she stays away from her husband Ranjith, she also hides the truth about his whereabouts to her daughter Roshni. Just when the going seems to be smooth, arrives Siddharth Sharma, a standup comedian into their lives. Sid wins the trust of DD in no time, gets into her good books and turns her world around. Is he doing this on purpose?

Performances?

Had the lead actor Ravi Dubey, who plays the role of Siddharth, come with better screen-presence and more energy onto the table, Jamai 2.0 could have been a different series altogether, despite all its problems. Dubey looks handsome and has good body language but lacks the animated quality in an actor who could liven up the masala element in this story. The generally, reliable Achint Kaur doesn’t fare any better either. Though there’s nothing unique to her character apart from being an adamant, power-hungry woman, Achint’s portrayal is quite rehearsed and plastic to ring in any appeal.

Analysis

Jamai 2.0 had all the ingredients to be an entertaining revenge drama with the right doses of action, romance and emotion but things don’t pan out as per plan. If not for the scale of the show, the makers of the series appear to be still in television-mode in crafting their episodes. The oomph, the skin-show, the romance, and brief action segments try to enhance its appeal but can’t do enough to mask the poor scripting minus any highs and lows throughout the series.

While Puducherry is indeed a quirky backdrop for the show, there’s little in the script to make use of the place as an identity. The establishment of the lead characters DD and Siddharth Sharma is extremely one-dimensional and dull. All the writers have done to craft DD as a strong, stubborn and cold woman is to make her go blonde, have her don a series of colourful western outfits. There’s no personality to the character otherwise. The romance between Siddharth and Roshni lacks basis too.

The tone that the show-creators, director Shashant Shah take is also confusing. There are cinematic liberties on one front and the director goes all-too-real in certain segments. The biggest downer for the show, aimed to be a commercial potboiler, is the absence of quality humour. There’s nothing in the series to keep a viewer consistently engaged. It’s quite obvious that Siddharth is getting close to DD on purpose and has a vengeful motive. A series of incidents keep surfacing episode after episode but there’s no surprise value on offer. At best, the cop’s role is interesting.

Jamai 2.0 is a project done in a hurry without much clarity from the makers on what they are trying to accomplish through it. A reasonably entertaining premise is thrown in the bin, thanks to poor acting and tacky execution. Beware, the series, in all possibility, will have an extension too. However, with this jerky foundation, there’s little one can expect from that.

Other Artists?

The only other actors to have some meaty roles are Sudhanshu Pandey and Nia Sharma. While Sudhanshu Pandey, in the shoes of a quirky cop, makes use of his experience as a character artist, Nia Sharma beyond her good looks, doesn’t wish to experiment with her acting chops much. She gets a typical damsel-in-distress role where she needs the hero to rescue her from any apparent danger. Nia’s lack of effort to ‘be’ her character or add some charm to it, truly shows on the screen. Other actors in the cast playing the near and dear of DD, get little to explore their acting talent.

Music and Other Departments?

It’s tough to expect the music to be classy or subtle in a masala potboiler. At best, you could call the music bits and background score adequate in terms of the story needs. Because there’s so little in the screenplay to liven up the proceedings, you sense something amiss in the music department too. The cinematography is one of the better aspects to come out of this show and Puducherry has never looked as beautiful, at least for a Hindi series. The flavourless writing is the biggest issue of Jamai 2.0, it lets down every notable contribution from the cast and crew.

Highlights?

Reasonable premise
Sudhanshu Pandey’s acting
Impressive cinematography

Drawbacks?

Dull performances from lead actors
Flavourless screenplay
Extremely slow progress with the story

Will You Recommend It?

No

Jamai 2.0 Review by Srivathsan Nadadhur

We’re hiring!

We are hiring two full-time junior to mid-level writers with the option to work remotely. You need to work a 5-hour shift and be available to write. Interested candidates should email their sample articles to [email protected]. Applications without a sample article will not be considered.