Na Jaane Kaun aa Gaya, Review: Who, indeed?

Na Jaane Kaun aa Gaya, Review: Who, indeed?

Looks like the makers of this film have taken their title literally and seriously. Translated, it reads, “Wonder who has come/arrived” At the end of 113 minutes, audiences are none the wiser about who has come.

Shot in picture postcard perfect Uttarakhand, it captures the scenic beauty of the mountainous northern state quite nicely. Even the houses and cafes are a welcoming and serene. There are many angles that the cinematographer uses to justify the choice of the locations and the support from the Chief Minister and the government of Uttarakhand, which gives incentives up to ₹3 crore for Hindi films (30% of state expenditure), alongside single-window clearance, 50% guest house discounts, and extra 5% incentives for shooting in new, lesser-known hilly locations. In a paradox, the best view is visible when the lead actor is standing on a cliff, contemplating suicide, by jumping to certain death.

Using a voice-over, the film tries to define and glorify love, and then bring you back to terra firma, admitting practical manifestations of l’amour et la vie. A man and woman are getting married. The man seems to be curt, while the woman is gushing about the wedding reception arrangements. Next there is car crash, off screen. The man, Kaushal, is called to the morgue to identify the body of a woman who died when her car crashed into a truck. Yes, it is Tina, his wife. He is distraught.

The couple have a daughter named Ruchita, who is about 5 years old. As the single parent, Kaushal is a complete misfit. He is not accustomed to household chores and cooking, having been a corporate sales-person, who spent most of his time at work. While moping, he unlocks Tina’s phone and finds messages that he interprets as conversations between lovers. Identifying one such man, he heads to his place of work and bashes his head. That lands him in lock-up. Soon, another man arrives at the police station and bails him out.

Kaushal does not know this man, and asks him his name, which is Veer. Veer says that they have met once or twice and that he had provided the catering at Ruchita’s birthday. Veer takes him to his own home and offers him a drink, though Kaushal is a teetotaller. There is very little conversation, most of it in one-liners. Tina’s sister arrives at Kaushal’s house and notices that he is inept at raising Ruchita. She declares that she will move into a house near Ruchita’s school and keep Ruchita with her. Mixing with the children from that neighbourhood, Ruchita will be happy.

Veer runs a Café, called Ca se Café (Ca is for Café), managed by a woman called Kusum, and also takes care of a group of orphans. Kaushal is now convinced that Tina was sleeping with Veer, and heads for the Café, to teach him a lesson. Strangely, the two become sort of friends. They have drinks together, though Kaushal used to be a teetotaller, talk about things like marriage, commitment, monogamy and polygamy. Slowly, flashbacks tell us about how Kaushal and Tina, who is Bengali, met, how she became an intern under him at the tea company where he was Sales Director, how Kaushal fell in love with her, their marriage, Tina’s growing alienation from Kaushal, her passion for sketching and her growing attraction towards Veer.

Except for Tina’s sister, we do not see any relations of Kaushal or Veer anywhere. Kaushal is well to-do, but does not appoint a nanny or a housemaid after Tina’s death. We see one housemaid sweeping the floor, in one shot, and Veer telling her to skip it that day, and that is it. When one of his female staff offers Kaushal sympathy, he immediately seduces her. Later, he also picks up street-walkers in his car. Veer, on the other hand, lets fate bring him close to the two women whom he finally sleeps with. 

Na Jaane Kaun aa Gaya has a wafer-thin plot, co-written by director Vikas Arora and Amal Singh, with tons of definitions, opinions, interpretations and philosophising, most of which is either rhetoric or inane. As director, Arora revels in cutting shots as soon as a person asks a question of another, and the other, in a mid-close shot, is about to answer. This is trade-mark Hollywood, but has been imported and grafted into Indian films as a necessary tool, perhaps in the hope that the audience will be kept guessing and enjoy the suspense. It works, sometimes, but not when it is the order of the day. Arora’s pacing of the film is painfully slow nd dragging, with important details not revealed merely because the person who should have ferreted out the information does not bother to ask, and, instead, merely sulks. A lot of the dialogue is unintentionally funny, though there is no comic relief in the film at all. Tina’s talent is described as painting, while almost all her ‘painting’ shots show her sketching with a pencil. Besides Kaushal’s workaholic nature, there is no other reason offered for Tina going astray. And whatever happened to Tina's sister and her plans to take Ruchita away with her? Kaushal, although the protagonist, is a person who draws little or no sympathy or empathy from the viewer, while Tina and Veer are much more acceptable. Very often, Kaushal and Veer just move away or give blank stares, instead of speaking, and when they do speak, it is after a noticeable gap of time.

With as many as 32 big and small screen appearances to his credit, Jatin Sarna, as Kaushal, fails to come to grips with this one, though a large part of the blame must go to the writers and director. At 35, Madhurima Roy (Tina) is gifted with a face and figure that could belong to a much younger woman. Playing a bubbly social media influencer, she emotes well too. But it is Pranay Pachauri (Shershaah, Metro in Dino), who impresses most, as Veer. Some of the dull scenes are enlivened by his intrinsic performance. In an otherwise futile narrative, the music of Devendra Ahirwar and Kartik Kush stands out, with singers Rekha Bhardwaj, Leena Bose, Amit Mishra and Dev Negi in their element. Cinematographers Pappu Singh Rajput and Shanu Singh Rajput capture the elements in pleasing colours and lighting. As editor, director Vikas Arora has been indulgent and subjective, dawdling and sluggish.

Personifying the auditoria where the film is being shown, one could possibly hear the theatre saying, “Na Jaane Kaun aa Gaya?”, every time a filmgoer took his seat.

Rating: * ½ 

Trailer: https://youtu.be/658e7vktcJo