Film Review: Jab Khuli Kitaab is Akin to a Textbook On Classy Filmmaking

What happens when your wife of 50 years wakes up after two years in a coma, against expectations of recovery, and you have served her with selfless love in that long phase? Among the earliest things she mentions to you is what is burdening her conscience—a single slip of an extramarital fling 48 years ago, then just two years into marriage, with the confession that the affectionate couple’s first-born is not yours!

This is the story of Gopal (Pankaj Kapur) and his steadfastly loving wife, Anusuya (Dimple Kapadia) and their bond. Their family comprises Param (Samir Soni), the eldest who is the consequence of that fling, daughter Sujata (Devyani Ratanpal) and Chandan a.k.a. Dholu (Abuli Mamaji), who lives with the couple and has Down’s Syndrome. The rest are based in Delhi and Gujarat respectively, and not in Uttarakhand, where the couple lives.

When Anusuya recovers and confesses to Gopal, the family is in residence as they do not expect her to recover, as per the medical view. They are kept in the dark about what happened, but Gopal is completely unsettled. Ego and anger overrule his better self and against all common sense, he decides to divorce his wife of 50 years, though she has been devoted to him since.

He consults a divorce lawyer, R.K. Negi (Aparshakti Khurana), who is aghast when Gopal tells him that he wishes to end his marriage but will continue to live with his wife as there is no one else to look after her! The judge, Asha (Manasi Parekh) is equally flabbergasted at this unique case and insists that the wife be present to endorse the divorce. Anusuya admits that she is being forced to sign the documents and the judge, for whom Negi has a (very) soft corner despite her being married, awards them the usual trial period for possible reconciliation.

By now, Gopal is bitter even towards Param, who is wealthy and has a Parsi wife, Farnaaz (Nauheed Cyrusi) and kids. Param cannot understand his father’s sudden dislike for him. Sujata is happily married to a Gujarati, Jignesh (Sunil Palwal).

Things further go into a spin when Gopal tries to find his wife’s one-time paramour, who was his employee, online. Param and Sujata decide to have a grand celebration for their parents’ 50^th wedding anniversary. A court notice reaches Jignesh due to a procedural gaffe from a bank that had issued him a whopping loan that has been now repaid, which Gopal again was not informed about. What’s more, Dholu gets a proposal from the parents of another Parsi girl who also has Down’s Syndrome, Gulcher (Natasha).

What (all) happens next?

Writer-director Saurabh Shukla (on whose play the film is based) spins a heart-tugging saga of betrayal, relationships, love and trust, and the mischief that blind ego can perpetrate on a man’s psyche when he should know better. Shukla imbues the film with endless warmth and intensity, and highlights the duality of human nature and also its fragility. The delicacy of the situations shown are absolutely delightful in their relatable tenor. The film has multiple highs in its sequences and topping the list are two sequences: Anusuya beseeching Gopal not to divorce her and swearing on her faithfulness, and the sequence between them when they are out for a walk.

The dialogues are a solid highlight and the performances lift the story enormously. The ‘(wo-)man of the match’ award goes decisively for the mammoth rendition of Anusuya to Dimple Kapadia. This will effortlessly rank among the top three post-Bobby performances of this magnificent artiste. The tiny nuances in expressions, gestures and body language deserve nothing less than multiple acting awards! She too becomes a textbook—on the art and craft of acting!

Pankaj Kapur, as expected, is consummate and shows his human weakness and confusion splendidly. Aparshakti Khurana is impeccable as R.K. Negi and brings in some subtle humor as well into this saga, while Manasi Parekh is a delight. Devyani Ratanpal, Sunil Palwal and Nauheed Cyrusi are good, while Samir Soni as Param is adequate.

I liked Abuli Mamaji and Natasha for their cute quotients and the grandkids are completely natural.

Saurabh Shukla zooms as a director with this film and I will not be surprised if he becomes someone sought-after for writing and helming a film. Jab Khuli Kitaab is a fab textbook on classy filmmaking.

Rating: ****

Z5 presents Applause Entertainment’s & Shoestrap Films’ Jab Khuli Kitaab Produced by: Deepak Segal, Sameer Nair, Naren Kumar, Saurabh Shukla & Mahesh Korade Written & Directed by: Saurabh Shukla Music: Ritajaya Banerjee Starring: Dimple Kapadia, Pankaj Kapur, Samir Soni, Nauheed Cyrusi, Aparshakti Khurana, Manasi Parekh, Sunil Palwal, Abuli Mamaji, Devyani Ratanpal, Natasha, Himanshu Pathak, Sudarshan Juyal & others