Aap Jaisa Koi — A Movie Review

A breezy Netflix Rom-Com I have been waiting for..

Aap Jaise Koi - Film Poster*

I am a 90s kid, I am from the era of Rom-Com. I swoon over the old world nostalgia when it comes to love stories. The ache of wait, the unsure steps, the self doubt, the stolen glances, the lingering stares, the letters unsend, the heartbeats louder than words. Whether you agree with me or not, this old school love still has its charm. That’s why Ms. Madhu Bose ( Fatima Sana Sheikh) falls for a man almost 10 years older than her. Shrirenu Triphti, played by R. Madhvan, is the epitome of that charm. R. Madhvan is a magician. Even at 55, after playing a grumpy married man in Decoupled, he can effortlessly sweep you off your feet. He can be shy, and pull off naivety of an 18 year old with effortless grace. I fell in love with him all over again. Definitely, the music of the film helped. After so long I found songs which are playing in my head, on loop. It made me realise why we have music in our movies. It reaffirms my trust in bollywood songs all over again. As always I loved the sad version more than the love song.

The conflict of the movie is age old patriarchy, the point that film is making is that ki hum liberal ho ke bhi liberal hi nahi pa rahe hain. That we are trying so hard to propagate respect and equality among genders but still struggling to embrace it completely.

So more than patriarchy, it is also a new age conflict where — a man couldn’t believe his luck that he got someone fiery, young and modern in his life. At the same time, he can digest the fact that the woman is doing, fiery, young and modern things, which he himself indulges into, by the way. Fatima Sana Sheikh was perfect for the part — I am a fan since “Raat Rani” from Modern Love : Mumbai. Where the flaw of Radhika Madan is that she is the same kind of fiery across, Fatima can be the version of fiery character required.

All in all R Madhavan and Fatima Sana Shiekh were just the perfect pairing we didn’t know we needed.

For me the film flipped when Kusum Bhabhi, Ayesha Raza — chose to stand up for herself. In that moment, the whole story became about her and everyone else a side character. When she says, and I rephrase “ I want to love you, but I am not able to “ — That moment just tops the whole film for me.

This film also struck a personal chord with me, because I have seen relationships crumble just because a woman wants to have a relationship as per choice. If you ask my mother, she will still insist the age old “ one needs to adjust in a relationship” and my humble counter is “ may be reaching an understanding is also an option — where nobody really needs to change the other, just accept as they are”.