What Is the Story About?
After a messy breakup with his girlfriend Shehnaaz, Zubin moves to London for a holiday and bumps into Ruby, an intimacy expert on film sets. Realising Zubin’s love life is in disarray, she decides to help him out and even lets him stay in her room. He, in turn, restores the balance in Ruby’s financially insecure existence. Zubin, Ruby and her roommate Quinn forge an unlikely friendship over a week.
Performances?
Prateik Babbar is maturing like fine wine. He’s an apt choice for the role and one senses he’s similar to Zubin in more ways than one – just that he’s figuring himself in front of the camera. Sayani Gupta is equally convincing as Ruby, her characterisation is one of the film’s major strengths. Kubbra Sait is a natural, though one would’ve liked to see her role fleshed out more convincingly.
Despite the brief screen time, Danish Hussain makes an impact with a well-written part. Freddie Love’s segment is a breath of fresh air, given it adds a new dimension to relationships within the film. Lillete Dubey, Kaizaad Kotwal, Karan Kalra, Shahrukh Sadri are alright in their blink-and-a-miss appearances.
Analysis
There’s an unknown joy in finding films that align with your tastes, almost without any expectations. Khwaabon Ka Jhamela is ‘that’ film this week – helmed by Break Ke Baad filmmaker Danish Aslam, starring Prateik Babbar, Sayani Gupta and Kubbra Sait. The refreshingly light-weight rom-com serves as an authentic portrait of ambiguities plaguing modern-day relationships, romance and beyond.
Danish Aslam creates a bunch of lively, flawed characters, puts them together in the unlikeliest of situations and lets the tale unfold organically, without rushing towards a culmination. Ultimately, the film is Zubin’s story and through his eyes, you discover various characters – his parents, Ruby, Shehnaaz and several others. It’s a coming-of-age tale, but there’s more to the film beyond his transformation.
The messiness in Zubin’s love life is portrayed with a pinch of salt. He doesn’t know what’s wrong with him and blames it on vague compatibility issues. Multiple girlfriends dump him claiming he functions like a ‘timetable’. One of them even slips into sleep while making love with him. Like a reversal of Queen, he goes on a solo holiday to London, letting ‘life’ happen to him.
It’s equally interesting how Danish showcases his women – not as embodiments of perfection, celebrating them in all their hues, with respect and no judgment. In any other film, Shehnaaz would’ve been just the guy’s ex, reduced to a caricature. Through the story, you realise she is as confused as Zubin himself and the filmmaker normalises the chaos in all their lives sans gender prejudices.
With Zubin and Ruby’s equation too, the film doesn’t spoonfeed and keeps teasing us with hints – it’s obvious there’s more to their relationship beyond friendship. They almost complete each other with their imperfections. As Zubin sorts himself out, the film makes time to heal wounds from Ruby’s past too. That Zubin, Ruby and Quinn unite for a ‘pride’ event is a terrific idea to celebrate inclusivity in relationships.
Though Khwaabon Ka Jhamela addresses a wide array of aspects – intimacy in relationships, the pressure to have a partner, the baggage of the past and the quest to find one’s identity – it’s nothing like sermonising. While celebrating the character’s flaws, the film isn’t without its problems either. It takes some time for the viewer to make sense of its wayward tone and what it’s trying to convey.
The idea of casting familiar yet untapped actors for the film is a certain advantage – you don’t expect a character to behave a particular way because of their ‘image’ (or the lack of it). At just under 2 hours, Khwaabon Ka Jhamela is compact and still, it ‘flows’ – not necessarily in one direction. Had the film released in theatres, one would’ve been tempted to slot it under ‘multiplex, urban cinema’, but we suggest you figure it out yourself.
Music and Other Departments?
The film’s album is vibrant and eclectic and it’s not exactly surprising that as many as five composers have worked on it – Siddharth Basrur, Surya Raghunaathan, Chandan Raina, Subhi Khanna and Ed Geater. Sagar Desai preserves the spirit of the story with his chirpy score, while Anshuman Mahaley’s non-touristy cinematography is refreshing to watch. The screenplay – developed by Danish Aslam, Arpita Chatterjee, Harman Baweja – is erratic and uneven at times, though it’s hard to doubt their sincerity and the effort to stay true to the story’s essence.
Highlights?
Realistic performances
Refreshing portrayal of modern-day relationships
Compact, light-weight narrative
Drawbacks?
Haywire start
Uneven storytelling
Slightly convenient resolutions
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes, maybe because I watched it without expectations
Will You Recommend It?
If breezy urban rom-coms are your forte
Khwaabon Ka Jhamela Movie Review by Binged Bureau
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