This Netflix Rom-Com Is As Fun As A Summer Fling
The Hindi film industry has been going through non-stop transitions ever since COVID. The pandemic halted production and theater attendance, and in the lull, the top tier talent all got married (to each other) and started having families. Alia Bhatt proved in a big way that children are no longer the early ticket to retirement they used to be in Bollywood, maintaining success as a female headliner with the likes of Gangubai Kathiawadi, but her wife-swap with Bollywood’s other power couple, 2023’s Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahaani, felt like one big Karan Johar rip-off of a Sanjay Leela Bhansali dance number.
Aging superstar Shah Rukh Khan made a record showing at the box office that same year, taking the number one and two highest grossing slots with action films that reinvigorated his leading man profile, Jawan and Pathaan, trailed only by the testosterone loaded gore-fest plagued with Daddy issues that was Animal. Sprinkle in a massive move to streamers as the official launch pad for next-gen nepo-babies along with 2024’s box office pivot to horror comedy sequels Stree 2 and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, and it’s official we are, and have been, in a Bollywood drought.
I miss the days of 2018’s Padmaavat and 2016’s Ae Dil Hai Mushkil or Befikre. Big names and bigger productions with music you’d be streaming to get through the work day for months. I’m not being picky or demanding. I’m not asking for a repeat of the back to back bangers we saw in 2015. We’ll never get another Bajrangi Bhaijaan out of Salman Khan, let alone in the same year as Shah Rukh-Kajol reunion Dilwale. Ranveer and Deepika hit their pinnacle in Bajirao Mastani, which doubled as Priyanka Chopra’s brief resurgence in the market, along with ensemble starrer, Dil Dhadakne Do.
At this point, I’d settle for a solid shadow of a Katrina Kaif item number, but alas, those days seem far behind us. So when I need to scratch that desi itch, the one film I keep rewatching is 2023’s Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar. It’s not a 90s or a 00s classic, but I’m not ready to raise the bar that high. Maybe in it’s delayed production, it captured that last glimpse of pre-COVID magic I’m yearning to return to. Either way, it gets the job done and meets the minimum requirements.
Shraddha Kapoor is a seasoned vet alongside a pre-Animal-bulk Ranbir, and doesn’t get overpowered by his performance or let him steal the show. They both know how to deliver an emotional performance, seem to have genuine chemistry, and can carry a series of successful large-scale dance numbers. We get just the right mix of whimsical destination vacation vibes and Indian family hominess that the genre is known for. It checks the boxes that matter most.
The plot may be the source of its staying power, mainly because of its simplicity. There’s no reincarnation, no robots, just good old-fashioned human error to drive the story forward. Mickey is a spoiled entrepreneur running his family’s business, along with a side-hustle orchestrating breakups for cash. He meets Tinni on a co-ed bachelors/bachelorette trip, during which he is supposed to help best friend Manu break off his engagement. Infatuated, he bails on the deal in order to not ruin his chances with Tinni.
Though she’s reluctant to start a fling with Mickey, the two hit it off, and leave Spain ready to continue a more formal relationship together in India. They introduce each other, clumsily, to their families, and life takes on a much different pace. One that gives Tinni cold feet. Not realizing who she is calling, she contacts Mickey in order to orchestrate their own breakup, right as the families are in the middle of organizing their engagement.
The rest of the plot is the dramatic irony of the tug of war between the “liar and con artist” of the title’s translation, and waiting for the cathartic moment they both finally come clean with each other and share their true feelings. It touches on that universal desire to incorporate a significant other into your family, while also trying to maintain enough emotional intimacy and boundaries to protect your identity as a couple.
Thoughtful enough to watch on its own, or as the perfect comedown from anxiety inducing fair like The Handmaid’s Tale or The Last Of Us, Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar should be enough to hold die-hard Bollywood fans like me over until the next mega hit makes it’s debut.