Katrina Kaif and Ranbir Kapoor in Jagga Jasoos. Courtesy UTV Motion Pictures
Katrina Kaif and Ranbir Kapoor in Jagga Jasoos. Courtesy UTV Motion Pictures
Katrina Kaif and Ranbir Kapoor in Jagga Jasoos. Courtesy UTV Motion Pictures
Katrina Kaif and Ranbir Kapoor in Jagga Jasoos. Courtesy UTV Motion Pictures

Film review: Kapoor and Kaif entertain and no more in Jagga Jasoos


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Jagga Jasoos
Starring: Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif
Director: Anurag Basu
2 stars

When the first trailers of director Anurag Basu's Jagga Jasoos dropped a few months ago, a lot of noise was made about how the film has been lifted from Tintin comics. And there is some truth in it: there's an intrepid detective with a cute quiff, colourful action sequences involving swooping planes, exploding cars and hijacked trains, one-dimensional, swaggering baddies, and an international arms-smuggling plot. Except that Tintin's faithful sidekick, his dog Snowy, is swapped - disappointingly - for Katrina Kaif, who portrays a bumbling journalist snooping around the gang that's smuggling weapons into India.

Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of this beautifully-filmed adventure caper - after Kaif’s exaggerated attempts at light buffoonery - is the simplistic portrayal of the alleged attempt to overthrow the Communist government in West Bengal, and, later, to support the insurgency in India’s north-eastern states. The issues, referenced in the film through the real-life 1990s case involving an arms drop in a remote Bengal village, are used as a device to add credibility to the movie’s plot, and is buried under gorgeous cinematography and an unashamedly sentimental story about a political activist (called Tutti-Futti, no jokes there) who adopts a little boy.

Which brings us to Jagga Jasoos. The titular character, portrayed by Ranbir Kapoor, also happens to be the hero of a comic-book series, but nowhere in this 180-minute film is any explanation offered for how he became famous. So you have Kaif, furiously peddling the comic books (she obviously gives up journalism for a career in public relations) to eight-year-olds at a book fair, and trying in vain to explain to them history and politics against a backdrop of Jagga's life and adventures. (It must be said that every child in those scenes looks terribly bored, but nowhere as much as the audience watching the film).

Sold as a movie for all the family, Jagga Jasoos will definitely appeal to children, and Kapoor's die-hard fans, which guarantees it a good run at the box office. And it's about time. Kapoor desperately needs a hit after a series of middling films - Besharam (2013), Roy, Bombay Velvet, Tamasha (all 2015), and last year's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, which drew mixed reviews.

Jagga Jasoos could really have been something, only if Basu had paid more attention to the plot. He certainly didn't lack the time, considering that the film was a good three years in the making. The delay was attributed to a rift between the leads, who were dating at the time.

In fact, the last time Kapoor and Basu worked together, it was on the critically-acclaimed Barfi (2012), a sensitive movie that showed off the actor's talent.

Kapoor's light still manages to shine bright in Jagga Jasoos; the role gives him plenty of scope to display his natural flair for gentle comedy - I love the scene in which he sets his quiff with a wooden clothes peg - but someone had the bright idea to make him sing all his lines, while blank-faced Kaif got to mouth hers in regular fashion. The travesty.

The rest of the cast, in particular the indomitable Bengali actor Saswata Chatterjee as Tutti-Futti, do their jobs admirably, supporting the lead pair as they bluster their way through this fantastical, almost-magical film. Oh, and there might be a sequel, if the huge hint in the climax is any indication. If this is to be, hope Jagga gets to have a fun doggy sidekick the next time.

Jagga Jasoos is in cinemas now.

The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre turbo

Power: 181hp

Torque: 230Nm

Transmission: 6-speed automatic

Starting price: Dh79,000

On sale: Now

Queen

Nicki Minaj

(Young Money/Cash Money)

Famous left-handers

- Marie Curie

- Jimi Hendrix

- Leonardo Di Vinci

- David Bowie

- Paul McCartney

- Albert Einstein

- Jack the Ripper

- Barack Obama

- Helen Keller

- Joan of Arc

New schools in Dubai
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO

What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany

Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo

Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic

Power: 242bhp

Torque: 370Nm

Price: Dh136,814

Jetour T1 specs

Engine: 2-litre turbocharged

Power: 254hp

Torque: 390Nm

Price: From Dh126,000

Available: Now

U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES

UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)

  • Saturday 15 January: UAE beat Canada by 49 runs 
  • Thursday 20 January: v England 
  • Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh 

UAE squad:

Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles
Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly,
Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya
Shetty, Kai Smith  

Temple numbers

Expected completion: 2022

Height: 24 meters

Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people

Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people

First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time

First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres  

Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres

Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor 

It Was Just an Accident

Director: Jafar Panahi

Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr

Rating: 4/5

Plan to boost public schools

A major shake-up of government-run schools was rolled out across the country in 2017. Known as the Emirati School Model, it placed more emphasis on maths and science while also adding practical skills to the curriculum.

It was accompanied by the promise of a Dh5 billion investment, over six years, to pay for state-of-the-art infrastructure improvements.

Aspects of the school model will be extended to international private schools, the education minister has previously suggested.

Recent developments have also included the introduction of moral education - which public and private schools both must teach - along with reform of the exams system and tougher teacher licensing requirements.

House-hunting

Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove

  1. Edinburgh, Scotland 
  2. Westminster, London 
  3. Camden, London 
  4. Glasgow, Scotland 
  5. Islington, London 
  6. Kensington and Chelsea, London 
  7. Highlands, Scotland 
  8. Argyll and Bute, Scotland 
  9. Fife, Scotland 
  10. Tower Hamlets, London 

 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
'The%20Alchemist's%20Euphoria'
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Specs

Engine: 51.5kW electric motor

Range: 400km

Power: 134bhp

Torque: 175Nm

Price: From Dh98,800

Available: Now

What drives subscription retailing?

Once the domain of newspaper home deliveries, subscription model retailing has combined with e-commerce to permeate myriad products and services.

The concept has grown tremendously around the world and is forecast to thrive further, according to UnivDatos Market Insights’ report on recent and predicted trends in the sector.

The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.

The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.

UnivDatos cites younger and affluent urbanites as prime subscription targets, with women currently the largest share of end-users.

That’s expected to remain unchanged until 2025, when women will represent a $246.6bn market share, owing to increasing numbers of start-ups targeting women.

Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.

DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin

Director: Shawn Levy

Rating: 3/5

Managing the separation process

  • Choose your nursery carefully in the first place
  • Relax – and hopefully your child will follow suit
  • Inform the staff in advance of your child’s likes and dislikes.
  • If you need some extra time to talk to the teachers, make an appointment a few days in advance, rather than attempting to chat on your child’s first day
  • The longer you stay, the more upset your child will become. As difficult as it is, walk away. Say a proper goodbye and reassure your child that you will be back
  • Be patient. Your child might love it one day and hate it the next
  • Stick at it. Don’t give up after the first day or week. It takes time for children to settle into a new routine.And, finally, don’t feel guilty.