Awkward road trip down tragedy lane

FILM: Jia Aur Jia

CAST: Kalki Koechlin, Richa Chadda, Arslan Goni, Zarina Wahab, Sol Roach, Frank M Ahearn, Badheka Harsh, Howard Rosemeyer

DIRECTOR: Howard Rosemeyer

RATING: ★★

Afilm about two unlikely travellers bonding over infinite shots of vodka, while rubbing each other up the wrong way and travailing through Yash Chopra’s favourite locales, could have been much more than an exasperating spree of ill-defined escapades through scenic countryside albeit with frequent visits to pubs, beach parties and some phony drama.

Jia (Richa Chadda) is riven with guilt regarding a tragedy in her recent past while the other Jia (Kalki Koechlin) is unnaturally effervescent regarding a tragedy just waiting to happen. It’s only when they get to know about each other’s personal angsts, that they start to feel closer and overlook the more than obvious burrs in their respective personalities. From the start you are left wondering why two women would want to go on a holiday together when they just don’t get along. They are together only because of the luck of the draw we assume.

The effervescent Jia plays unforgivable tricks on the more morose one- yet they still trudge on together. There’s no reasoning with the illogic here. The dialogues appear forced, the bonding doesn’t feel organic and the tragedy seems entirely contrived. Instead of feeling empathetic to their individual situations you feel annoyed and frequently irritated by their over indulgences. There’s really nothing to feel good about here other than the short runtime.