Aap Jaisa Koi Review: The story lags behind in trying to be like you, a failed attempt to show patriarchal issues

News Topical, Digital Desk : Earlier, issues like rich-poor, caste, high-low status between the hero and heroine were raised in youth love stories. Now the interest of filmmakers has increased in mature love stories, but burning topics are being raised in them too. In Aap Jaisa Koi, along with the search for love, the issue of giving equal status and respect to women and giving them a second chance in life has been raised.

For this, two different environments have been taken as the basis. One character belongs to Jamshedpur, where there is a conservative thinking of restricting women to household chores. Their dreams have no importance. On the other hand, a family is from Kolkata, where women can take their own decisions.

What is the story of 'Aap Jaisa Koi'?

The story is that 42-year-old Srirenu Tripathi (R Madhavan), a Sanskrit teacher in Jamshedpur, is unmarried. He is eager to get married. He keeps meeting many girls through matrimonial sites, but nothing works out. His friend (Namit Das) advises him to go on a dating app. After that, he gets a wedding invitation from the family of Madhu Bose (Fatima Sana Shaikh), a French teacher from Kolkata. Both of them start meeting each other and start liking each other. During the engagement, something suddenly happens, which changes Srirenu's attitude towards Madhu. From there, their relationship cracks.

Social issues seem to be imposed

In this film released on Netflix, director Vivek Soni has tried to raise some relevant issues through 'Aap Jaisa Koi'. His effort is commendable. However, he has missed the mark in its presentation. Issues challenging the patriarchal society should seem natural in the story, not imposed. Here, it seems imposed.

In the beginning, Shri Renu and Madhu's meetings and conversations seem very pleasant. Then the reason for conflict in the film becomes sex chatting apps. From there, there is a conflict between Shri Renu's narrow-mindedness and Madhu's outspoken and modern thinking. However, this conflict does not seem tense and strong. Shri Renu easily accepts that after a certain age, no girl can be a virgin, but a girl's carefree talking on the app is not tolerable.

A mix of old movie stories?

Not only this, despite being a Sanskrit teacher, his usefulness is not seen anywhere in the film. This aspect also bothers. In true sense, the story written by writers Radhika Anand and Jehan Handa seems to be a mixture of the films 'Mrs' and 'Raki Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani'. Like Mrs, here a family does not respect the aspirations and ambitions of women. For them women are limited to the kitchen. On the other hand, the other family does not believe in the age limits and likes to breathe in the open air. This freedom of theirs is not liked by the conservative family. But there is no conflict between the two families.

The pair of Fatima and Madhavan has come together on screen for the first time. Both are experienced actors, but their chemistry does not work when they come together. Both have different age and background, but that has not been reflected properly in the characters.

The author could not do justice

However, the film has experienced actors in character roles, who play an important role in giving credibility to the story. Namit Das adds a touch of humor in between. Manish Chaudhary has imbibed the patriarchal thinking very easily. Ayesha Raza is completely effective in her role. However, the writer has not been able to do justice to her character.

The film presents some important issues in a meaningful way in bits and pieces. However, it fails to be an effective way to break the harsh reality of a patriarchal society.

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