Applause Entertainment’s Jab Khuli Kitaab is one of those rare romantic outings where the protagonists are far beyond the age of consent. As a matter of fact, one of the protagonists is in a coma when writer-director Saurabh Shukla’s comely autumnal romance begins.
Just when I thought we would have to watch the still (pun intended) gorgeous Dimple Kapadia, immovable and inert for the entire film, her character Anusuya came awake with a start and a startling revelation: she had cheated on her faithful husband many decades ago.
The timing of Anusuya’s confession is immensely questionable: why would a woman come back to life only to ruin it? However, Anusaya’s unflinching honesty is the crux of the quaint drama. Set in an idyllic hill station where everything seems tranquil and every problem solvable, Jab Khuli Kitaab is an edifying and intimate portrait of a marriage on the rocks, even as the expiry date of the protagonists’ lives approaches.
Why should a couple seek separation only when they are in their prime? If there is no age bar for romance, there should be none for its end also.
While Pankaj Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia rock this rocksteady drama on a marriage on the rocks—we can almost feel their instinctive compatibility—some of the supporting cast is of very poor quality, especially Sameer Soni, who hams his way through the part of the elderly couple’s elder son with genealogical issues.
Manasi Parekh and Aparshakti Khurrana, playing lawyers with a soft corner for one another, are credible, although Khurrana needs to rein in his exuberance. Parekh steals every scene, and not only from Khurrana but from every member of the cast whenever she is around. We should see a lot more of her.
Jab Khuli Kitaab is the sort of frail quietly effective relationship drama that needs to be nurtured. It is not often that we get a film where actors of Pankaj Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia’s stature and age get to shine in an atmosphere conducive to compatibility. Their heartening presence alone makes this a rewarding experience.
