Jab Khuli Kitaab is a mild, ‘real life’ comedy-drama, with Kapur and Kapadia as a couple of pensioners whose peace is broken by a startling thing said. It tries to be warm and wise about old age, love, and family, but the way it is made and how fast it goes prevents it from getting to the emotional clarity it wants.
What the Story Is and What It’s About
The story begins like a novel: Gopal – Pankaj Kapur – looks after his wife Anusuya – Dimple Kapadia – who has been in a coma for a long time. Their everyday life in a house in the hills is shown with care, until Anusuya wakes up and tells of a secret from many years ago which throws their relationship and the story itself into chaos.
The secret – Anusuya says she had an affair a long time ago, and that their oldest son may not be Gopal’s – takes the film into unexpected areas. Instead of being one kind of movie, the story goes between a sad love story, a family comedy, and a silly courtroom story, so the film feels tonally strange in important places.
Acting – Kapur and Kapadia are Great
Pankaj Kapur holds the film together with a quiet, often scornful energy which is right for his character’s firm way of looking at things. He shows anger, pain, and a life of quiet giving-in with small, good actions, not big displays of feeling. His acting gives the film its most real emotional moments.
Dimple Kapadia gives sparkle and now and then, over-the-top feeling, as Anusuya. She makes the character someone you feel sorry for, even when the words ask for feeling. Together, Kapur and Kapadia make believable chemistry as a couple who have been married a long time and argue, and their scenes are the emotional centre of the film.
People Who Help and Funny Parts
Aparshakti Khurana gives a lot of much-needed lightheartedness as the serious lawyer who has to deal with a divorce late in life. His quick timing and ‘labrador-energy’ charm keep slow parts going and give the film its most fun moments. His part of the story – like others – could have more to it.
Samir Soni and other actors in smaller parts play roles which move the story on but don’t often get room to be fully shown. A number of side stories – including money problems, the wedding of a son with a disability, and clashes between cultures – feel only given a rough shape, not fully made, which makes the group of actors less strong.
How It Is Made, The Story, and The Director
Director Saurabh Shukla has changed his own play, and the way it is put on stage sometimes shows: the film can feel in parts, with people coming on to make a point about what the film is saying. The story wants to talk about divorce in old age and being able to forgive, but often avoids how hard this is in favour of endings people will like.
Not being sure what tone to use makes important scenes not work. Times which should be very sad are with happy music, and attempts at comedy sometimes lessen how much is at stake emotionally. Adri Thakur’s taking of pictures offers nice pictures of the hill places, while the music and some of the speed of the film don’t stay in the mind.
What It Is – Good Intentions But A Mess
Jab Khuli Kitaab is a nice, easy-to-watch family film which gets to some warm places but does not fully look at its difficult questions. It brings up interesting things – can a marriage end with honour late in life, and how do secrets change long relationships – but it rarely looks at what these things really mean.
This film will be liked by people who enjoy stories driven by the people in them, ‘real life’ stories, and good acting from older, well-known actors. Those who want better writing, a tone which does not change, or a deeper look into what is right and wrong in marriage may find it does not give enough. It is a nice film to watch one afternoon which could have been much more remembered with a tighter focus.
