Back in the eighties, I saw a film called Splash. So the story goes, a mermaid girl appears outside the Statue of Liberty one morning in New York and roams the city sans her tail – it only appears when she’s in water. A young dude finds her, takes her home and of course they fall in love while she tries to adapt to the land-human lifestyle. Cut to Bollywood in 2010 and a similar story seems to have been made by director Milap Zaveri except Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai sees Jacqueline Fernandes in the role of an alien rather than a mermaid. She is joined by Riteish Deshmukh, Vishal Malhotra and Ruslaan Mumtaz. Now I’m guessing, and I may be wrong, but this is intended to be a rom-com (romantic comedy); we’ll see how that goes. For now, read on to see if you’ll be asking Jaane Kahan Se Yeh Movie Aayi Hai or otherwise.
Loser Rajesh Parekh (Riteish Deshmukh) and his loser friend Kaushal (Vishal Malhotra) who pretty much do absolutely nothing when they aren’t busy trying to be Assistant Directors on the movie set. They eventually stumble on a lost girl Tara (Jacqueline Fernandes) who is from a different planet and is on the lookout for love. Cupid listens to her and she is smitten by superhero Desh (Ruslaan Mumtaz). Soon a love triangle forms and confusions surrounds all the characters.
One thing’s for sure; Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai is no Splash. In fact, the film fails to hold the audience’s attention. Eventually though, you stop waiting for the film to happen and the plot to unveil itself because it starts become a slice of stinky cheese. So yes, you smile. And then you realize, this cheesiness is not going to end. That is when Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai starts to stink. As a director the problem with Zaveri is that he tries far too hard. There is no chemistry between Jacqueline and Riteish or Jacqueline and Ruslaan and thus, no love story. The dialogues are overplayed and overheard. And eventually you start questioning if the film is a comedy, a romance or science-fiction. Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai is pretty much a mess.
So what works for the film? The performances make the film somewhat watchable. All of the actors have managed to jut out decent performances. Jacqueline Fernandes does an apt job making Tara the alien pretty believable. And the fact that she looks hot helps mucho. Riteish Deshmukh works better with Vishal Malhotra than Jacqueline. But both lads play really good losers. Ruslaan Mumtaz is good too. I wish he had more scope; he is really an actor to watch out for though.
There is hardly any saving grace in the music too. Now that is sad. Jaane Kahan Se Aayi is simply okay. Really if you’re looking for a fantastical film to watch, you’re better off watching Koi Mil Gaya or Krishh or E.T. even. But honestly, you can avoid Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai.
