This is 132 minutes of convoluted chaos
NANU KI JAANU Direction: Faraz Haider Actors: Abhay Deol, Patralekhaa
Yamraj makes an error and the wrong woman dies. The right guy had a wife who was heavily into praying and going to temples, so the God of Death switched targets to keep the register ringing. It didn’t help that our heroine, now a moody ghost, wasn’t wearing a helmet at the time.
So Siddhi (Patralekhaa) is thrown off a bike and lying in a pool of blood on the road when Nanu (Abhay Deol), a brash but well-meaning neighbourhood thug, finds her. He rushes her to hospital, where a rather callous doctor informs him, on the spot, that ‘she is no more’.
Patralekhaa begins to haunt Nanu, distracting him from his land-grabbing scams and his team of sidekicks — who, incidentally, include a girl always on the verge of ripping her clothes off.
This could have been a light, frothy comedy. Instead, it’s oddly serious in the parts that could have been funniest, so that you’re left wondering whether you’re meant to laugh or cry.
The scenes that are meant to be funny elicit, at best, a giggle.
Loosely based on the Tamil film Pissasu (2014), Nanu Ki Jaanu gets more slapstick and hard-to-watch as the film progresses.
Suddenly it’s a revenge tale. A desperate father finds that his daughter is now a chimneyloving ghost. She caresses him; he chases after her on his hands and knees as she hides behind refrigerator and cupboard.
Then, all of a sudden, there are miracles, changes of heart and a really random lecture on morals and duties.
None of this is intentionally funny.
Thankfully, a cameo by Manoj Pahwa shines and brings much-needed relief.
All in all, this is 132 minutes of convoluted chaos. Some serious talent is wasted; talentless actors are given free reign. What a waste!