When Emily Dickinson wrote “The heart wants what he wants”, he hit the house for many of us. As Dickinson said, human desires and bindings often exceed justification and reasoning. Jiocinema’s latest original, Jo Tera Hai Wo Mera Hai, is based on the same concept. The film tells the story of a man called Mitesh (Amit Sial), who had his heart on Utsav, a magnificent bungalow in Mumbai for years. As a teenager struck with love, he continues to scroll the photos of the villa on his phone, to dream about it, and that does not care to maintain traffic just to get a moment to admire the villa in all its glory.
The only obstacle which hinders his childhood home house is Govinda (Paresh Rawal), the perpetually grumpy owner of Utsav, who spares unwanted visitors and remains with his domestic help at the villa. He is well aware of the magnetism of the place and cannot bear the view of the brokers that hover over him, waiting for him to agree to sell the place. An opinion outside his villa can read as follows “the intruders will be killed”. Govinda, always seen in a khadi kurta with her cloudy hair, is a nut that is difficult to break.
However, when Mitesh’s obsession takes over, he decides to make his way in Govinda’s closely wrapped life. His idea is to follow the old man, to strategically build a relationship with him, to gain his confidence and finally to convince or to con (everything that is better right now) to give the villa.
What follows is a series of comic efforts to carry out this difficult mission. Mitesh is ready to go to any extent for the villa, even if it means facing dangerous criminals or miss her child’s birthday party for this. Being a man of vice, who lies through his teeth, his players and his cheaters, it is not exactly a temporary change in morality for him.
The representation of Sial de Mitesh is impressive and keeps the atmosphere of the film Light. From his expressions and from body language to his comic timing, SIAL accessed this role. He even manages to bring a touch of innocence to Mitesh, which is also a poster of defects.
However, it was Paresh Rawal who stole the show for me. The veteran actor has once again delivered stellar performance, adding to his diverse roles portfolio. The insecure, insecurity and idiosyncrases of his character resonate through the screen. In a scene, he is wary of the intention of Mitesh and nevertheless chooses to ignore him because of the undivided attention that he receives after age.
Unfortunately, however, the scenario gives Rawal and Sial a very limited piece to shine. While the actors took advantage of what was given to them, the film ceases to use them at their full potential. I would have loved the film to explore the solitude of Govinda and touch his memories with his deceased son, which we are constantly talking about in the film.
Jo Tera Hai Wo Mera Hai essentially tries to show the omnipresence of greed through age, class or sex. Even with his comic approach, he managed to establish how greed often leads to digging his own grave. Almost all the characters in the film Harbor Greed for something. For some, it is money and assets, for others, it is lust and the company.
While Jo Tera Hai Woh Mera Hai makes an honest attempt to show the depths of greed, she suffers in an overly simplistic tone that shines on the most severe realities in the world. If he had not sank the representation with sugar and tried to stretch instead, the film would not have felt a delicate story and at bedtime on the immorality of greed.
Raj Trivedi’s film could be a good choice when looking for something light and simplistic. His morality lessons can be suitable for a younger audience, but if you are looking for something with a little more emotional depth, or even simply laughs all beds, we suggest you jump it.
Note: 6/10
