A
fanciful
air
envelopes
Aap
Jaisa
Koi‘s
modest
drama,
of
a
story
lost
in
its
own
bubble
that’s
only
burst
by
villains
in
the
form
of
judgemental
jerks
and
heroes
in
need
of
rescuing,
observes
Sukanya
Verma.
Ashok
Kumar…hot?
His
tone
smacks
of
surprise
but
there’s
a
glint
of
hope
in
it.
Perhaps
the
sweet,
sober
fella
too
stands
a
chance
with
a
lady
who
finds
Dadamoni
hot.
His
confidence
grows
as
they
test
if
their
cute
girl-meets-nerdy
boy
can
be
turned
into
a
recipe
for
a
rom-com
whilst
giving
into
the
magic
of
the
movies
inside
a
cozy
Kolkata
theatre
playing
Chalti
Ka
Naam
Gaadi.
Director
Vivek
Soni’s
charmingly
crafted
Aap
Jaisa
Koi
wears
its
old-fashioned
heart
on
its
sleeve
but
is
also
quick
to
dismiss
outdated
relationship
ideals
thriving
in
the
shadow
of
patriarchy.
Even
though
Aap
Jaisa
Koi
begins
with
a
song
from
Kuch
Kuch
Hota
Hai
(and
not
the
Qurbani
banger
of
the
same
name),
it
draws
inspiration
from
Karan
Johar’s
Rocky
Aur
Rani
Ki
Prem
Kahani
for
its
social
commentary
wrapped
in
a
romcom.
Here
too,
the
girl
hails
from
a
broadminded
Bengali
family
(spearheaded
by
an
elegant
Bina)
colouring
their
pretty
Kolkata
baadi
with
art,
taste
and
culture.
The
guy
is
a
Jamshedpur
resident
whose
chauvinistic
big
brother
(Manish
Chaudhary
doing
a
befitting
coconut
face
patriarch)
doesn’t
miss
any
chance
to
slight
his
kitchen-bound
spouse
(Ayesha
Raza)
or
berate
his
kitchen-resisting
beti.
Woke
objectives
aside,
these
are
two
different
movies.
Evoking
memories
of
Soni’s
Meenakshi
Sundareshwar
in
its
droll
imagery
and
playfully
curated
visions
of
Justin
Prabhakaran
and
Rochak
Kohli’s
vibrant
score,
there’s
an
easy
air
to
Aap
Jaisa
Koi‘s
thorny
predicaments
penned
by
Radhika
Anand
and
Jehan
Handa.
A
fanciful
air
envelopes
its
modest
drama,
of
a
story
lost
in
its
own
bubble
that’s
only
burst
by
villains
in
the
form
of
judgemental
jerks
and
heroes
in
need
of
rescuing.
R
Madhavan’s
emotional
agility
is
adept
at
both.
He
plays
Shrirenu
Tripathi,
a
42-year-old
virgin
as
well
as
a
Sanskrit
teacher,
which
makes
him
an
unmarketable
force
in
the
middle-aged
wedding
market
and
butt
of
ridicule
in
a
classroom
full
of
prank-playing
pubescent
boys
scribbling
things
like
‘O
Shri
Kal
Aana‘
on
the
blackboard.
(The
teens
win
this
round,
I
have
to
admit.)
The
man
finally
finds
something
to
lighten
up
about
when
he
downloads
Aap
Jaisa
Koi,
a
racy
chatting
app,
on
his
goofy
best
friend’s
(Namit
Das)
behest
when
the
orgasmic
hiss
on
the
other
end
describes
his
voice
as
Gulzar
meets
George
Clooney.
Basically,
the
whole
shtick
is
for
the
sake
of
a
tame
spoiler
that’s
foreseeable
no
soon
as
it
happens
and
yet
the
movie
has
such
a
softness
about
it,
you
play
along.
Things
look
up
for
Shri
when
a
match
shows
up
in
the
form
of
Madhu
Bose
(Fatima
Sana
Shaikh),
a
French
teacher
from
Kolkata.
She’s
too
good
to
be
true.
She
looks
like
a
dream,
earns
more,
is
ready
to
shift
base
to
Jamshedpur,
doesn’t
mind
the
age
gap,
respects
his
boring
personality
and
doesn’t
play
coy.
Turns
out
the
last
bit
is
a
problem
with
Shri
showing
more
toxic
Roopesh
Kumar
than
amiable
Ashok
Kumar
traits,
immediately
casting
a
shadow
on
their
‘époustouflant’
meets
‘indraajal‘
love
story.
Aap
Jaisa
Koi
uses
the
opportunity
for
more
pressing
concerns
on
its
mind
as
it
explores
the
onus
of
propriety
lying
on
a
woman
and
perfectly
courteous
gentlemen
behaving
like
sexist
schmucks
when
confronted
by
a
woman’s
right
to
desire.
Its
underlying
feminism
balks
at
the
breed
of
men
believing
they
are
in
charge
of
a
woman’s
agency.
Before
it
arrives
at
its
trope-y
smash-the-patriarchy
conclusions
in
the
form
of
an
obligatory
speech
to
drive
that
point,
there’s
a
unique
but
underdeveloped
twist,
starring
a
secondary,
silently
brewing
love
affair
that
strives
for
change.
Slipped
in
somewhat
heavy-handedly,
this
oddly-introduced
moment
of
rebellion
doesn’t
quite
make
you
sit
up
and
notice
the
same
way
the
tender
glances
between
the
leads
do.
Scenes
of
the
twain
musing
over
the
romance
of
waiting
or
leisurely
sipped
cups
of
flavoured
chai
come
alive
in
Madhavan’s
affable
charms
and
Fatima’s
lingering
enigma
capturing
their
lyrical
journey
from
Aap
Jaisa
Koi
to
Baat
Ban
Jaaye.
Aap
Jaisa
Koi
streams
on
Netflix.
Aap
Jaisa
Koi
Review
Rediff
Rating:
