Jack & Dil Movie Review: A Haphazard Mystery Tale With A Bad Script

Conceptually, it is romantic and comedic without ever being formulaic. The plot is clumsy and characters superficial with cardboard thin arcs. Jack (Amit Sadh) is an aspiring writer who is fond of thrillers. His girlfriend Lara (Evelyn Sharma), a model, has left him a couple of months earlier because he puked on her. Since he is lonely and single, Jack intends to keep a pet. So, without a penny in his pocket, he lands up at the residence of a businessman Mr. Waalia (Arbaaz Khan), to buy his Pug, but ends up with a mutually agreeable bargain, which is, Jack would get the Pug and some money, if he would spy on Mr. Waalia's wife Shilpa (Sonal Chauhan), whom he suspects of infidelity.

The plot packed with frivolity, meanders without any inciting or sticky moments and the expositions are strictly verbose. The scenes are ridiculously comic and amateurish, be it when Jack obliges Waalia and trails Shilpa in a daft investigation or when realisation dawns on Waalia and he follows her to the cafe. As for the performances, the actors with no exceptions, are an extension of themselves and are stringently perfunctory, the Pug included. Arbaaz Khan's role as the uptight business tycoon is never given the opportunity to grow and develop as the story progresses, leaving him look like a misfit in this insipid tale of monotonous love, followed by competition and jealousy. 

While the background score is foot tapping, the song which has lyrics, "mera ishq so strong ho raha hai" stands tall and the item number is an aberration in the narrative.The look and feel of every frame is bright and glossy and the locales are astutely captured. The visuals are seamlessly layered with sound by Editor Mukesh Thakur. 

Sachin Karande an FTII graduate has earlier made two films Payback and Vikalp which were received very well and received rave reviews.  Dialogue is by Sanjeev Dutta of Barfi,Yaariyan,Heropanti fame. DOP-Duleep Regmi, Editor – Mukesh Thakur,Art Direction by Bhagshree & Satish, Background Music – Parivesh Singh and Executive Producer –Yogesh Singh

Amit Sadh