Rotlu, Bombs, Jiggy . . . and the Rat’s Meow . . . What’s this? It’s the fun yet ridiculous names of the main characters in Abbas Tyrewala’s directorial debut Jaane Tu . . . Ya Jaane Na. Like a burst of fresh air in what seems to be a stagnant state at the box office, Jaane Tu . . . reaches audience members in a light hearted, easy breezy way.

From the Van Gogh-esque style opening credits, I sensed that the approach to this film would be different -- now whether or not it was a good different, I wasn’t sure. The film starts off in storytelling mode where a group of friends begin telling a story to one of the group member’s potential girlfriend while waiting for the arrival of a delayed flight at Mumbai International. I immediately started to think, “Oh no, is this a remake of Hollywood’s Forget Paris? Which was remade into Chalte Chalte? Is Bollywood in such a creative drought, that they would make a remake . . . of a remake?”

Thank goodness to my surprise the story is about a group of close-knit friends heading toward the end of their college days. In the midst of the friend circle are ‘Jai’ (a.k.a Rats, newcomer Imran Khan), and ‘Aditi’ (a.k.a Meow, Genelia D’Souza). These two are always the center of attention in the group, as well as being the apples of each other’s eye. If the hot tempered, over dramatic Aditi is sad, the cool, calm collected Jai is right there to sing, dance or do whatever he needs to do to make her smile; if she calls him in the middle of the night and tells him she needs him for the smallest thing, he kisses his mom (Ratna Pathak Shah) on the cheek and heads off into the night to be by Aditi’s side. This goes on for awhile and just when the audience gets used to this little romantic story, we come to realize that these two lovebirds aren’t really in love at all . . . they are just best friends who are as thick as thieves but do not see each other in a romantic sense . . . or do they?

The first half of the film is spent showing off the wonderful talent that is within this cast, and I feel this is what truly makes the film work. Although the story is nothing new to celluloid, it is the way it has been portrayed and the comfortable feeling you get when watching the characters interact with one other that makes it special. The music by A.R. Rahman is light and bubbly and although I really enjoyed the jazzy styling of Tu Bole, Main Boolon, I still can’t figure out why Pappu can’t dance . . . that saala.

What works in the film? Pretty much the whole first half; the second half gets hit with the curse of after interval, where audience goers realize that a good forty five minutes could have been done away with (when will Bollywood get with the times and start to trim down movie lengths?). The end of the film was pretty predictable and resembles a lot of the airport scene in Love Actually, but when dealing with such a weightless story line, that problem can slide.

Over the top yet wonderful cameos by Naseerudin Shah and the brothers Khan (Arbaaz and Sohail) were a plus, and though he may get skimmed over is most other critic reviews, the breakout performance to me in the film was from Pratik Babbar, who is the son of actor Raj Babbar and the late Smita Patil. Babbar’s role as Aditi’s little brother ‘Amit’ might have been a small part in the film, but his performance sure did pack a punch. Imran Khan and Genelia D’Souza show they have staying power and Abbas Tyrewala proves that a writer can transition into a director’s chair quite seamlessly.

All in all Jaane Tu . . . Ya Jaane Na is a great summer flick that most audiences will enjoy. Drive out to your theater and check this one out.

To see or not to see folks . . . I’ll let you know at the next premiere

Final Rating: * * * ½