Jhankar Beats made it to the cinemas without much fanfare, boasting of a fresh and fairly off beat cast with seemingly little to offer except being an ode to R. D Burman. Following on the heals of Dil Vil Pyar Vyar which also proved to be a tribute to “the Boss” as he is lovingly referred to in this film, Jhankar Beats is a far superior film and throws up an everyday story with great aplomb and tremendous wit.
The film revolves around two brothers essentially, Deep (Sanjay Suri) and Rishi (Rahul Bose). Both are obsessed with “the Boss” and aspire to make the grade as musicians by winning the music competition “ Jhankaar Beats”. Having failed for two years running, they continue in their quest for recognition whilst they carry on their normal lives.

Deep and Rishi are work for an advertising company but music is their passion especially that of the boss. their spare time is spent practising their songs which has obviously caused some havoc in their lives. Deep’s wife Shanti (Juhi) is pregnant and is supportive of her husband. However, Rishi’s wife Nicki (Rinke Khanna) clearly resents his obsessiveness and both are teetering on the edge of a divorce. Joining the two brothers is Neel (Shayan Munshi) who turns out to their Boss at the Ad Agency who in turn is trying to woo Preeti (Riya sen) rather unsuccessfully.

The films deals with the travails of this threesome and the rather humorous way in which they go about not only trying to put their lives together but also with the added amusement of a “condom campaign” which features as a central part of the film.

Sujoy Ghosh makes an excellent debut by making a film which oozes charm and freshness but without the gushiness and the prefab sweetness of the Karan Johars or the Sooraj Barjatyas. The film has the feel of Dil Chahta Hai and the blend of modern with our fascination for cinema, here shown by the brother’s “Sholay” dialogues and the fascination with R.D Burman’s tunes touches just the right chord. especially for all of us who have grown up listening to Piya tu ab to aaja and “dialogues like “tumhara naam kya hai basanti”. Ghosh keeps the film moving at a good pace and infuses it with a wit which is rarely seen in bollywood cinema. The dialogues written by him are also excellent although much of them are in English and may prove to work against the film in the smaller centres in India. The film is referred to as in Hinglish!

All the characters are very real. Juhi Chawla is heavily pregnant through out the film and is wonderfully natural. Sanjay Suri is an actor who has never got his due from bollywood and turns out another balanced and excellent performance. . Rahul Bose complements suri with a perfect performance. Rinke Khanna has a smaller role but is reasonable. Shayan Munshi displays a certain charm. His segment is the one which is most “bollywoodish” but the director manages to keep this to a minimum and Munshi does a decent job. Riya Sen’ is the fly in the ointment, brash, loud and quite an atrocious actress. Fortunately, she does not have much of a role.
The music of the film is different with a sound of R. D. Burman but barring one song, not revamping his classics as was done in dil vil pyar vyar.

On the whole, I do think that this is what cinema should aspire for. A feast of film, not just for R.D Burman fans but for anyone who has the sense to see it. Very highly recommended.