120. Jai Mummy Di; movie review

JAI MUMMY DI
Cert 12A
103 mins
BBFC advice: Contains moderate sex references, language

Saturday night really wasn't meant for sitting in and watching bad movies on Netflix but I suspect that this is going to be our lives for the next few months while we hopefully avoid Coronavirus.
I advised Mrs W to steer clear of Jai Mummy Di because I had glanced a few reports when it was out at cinemas in January.
Unfortunately, it was every bit as tepid as had been suggested.
Indeed, it was not only unfunny but it was soaked in the cliches which punctuate far too many Indian romantic comedies.
Navjot Gulati's film stars Sunny Singh as Puneet Khanna - a young man who is madly in love but isn't sure he is ready to marry his girlfriend, Saanjh (Sonnalli Seygall).
He has two obstacles to a peaceful life - her headstrong pressure to get what she wants from the relationship but, mainly, the enmity of their respective mothers (Supriya Pathak and Poonam Dhillon).
The latter is the chief source of the movie's comedy with their pair going great lengths to gain the upper hand.
This includes a race to get their children wed but certainly not to each other.
My problems with Jai Mummy Jai were multiple - it is not funny, its acting is stiff and it goes over ground which is as familiar as un unfashionable old jumper.
Puneet is too naive and too doe-eyed for Saanjh who is way too sure of herself.
Meanwhile, the likes of the mothers' battle for supremacy have been seen at cinema scores if not hundreds of times.
Ok, it might be said that I am not a huge fan of romantic comedies but I always open to the exception to the rule.
Unfortunately, this isn't one and my tummy remained untickled.

Reasons to watch: If you are a sucker for romantic comedies
Reasons to avoid: Just isn't very funny

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 4/10

Did you know? Poonam Dhillon first gained fame was when she was crowned Miss Young India 1978 at the age of 16.

The final word. Sonnalli Seygall: "Because I come from Miss India, not many people want to take the risk of casting you in a different way, they like to see you in only glamorous roles. Those things disturb me. With this film, 'Jai Mummy Di', I am doing a different kind of a role. I hope things change." The Week

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