Vikas Vashisht’s Punjabi-language feature Jatt Nuu Chudail Takri (2024), starring Gippy Grewal and Sargun Mehta in the lead roles, is an unremarkable horror-comedy with a light-hearted take on a social issue. Written by Amberdeep Singh, who wrote the blockbuster hit Saunkan Saunkne (2022), also starring Mehta, Jatt Nuu Chudail Takri raises some pertinent questions but tries to squeeze in too many things, resulting in a bit of a muddle.
A self-willed woman who refuses to tow the line, is known by many names in a patriarchal society. ‘Chudail’ or witch is one of them, which denotes a difficult woman of malicious intent. Amberdeep Singh mobilises this unfortunately common epithet in Jatt Nuu Chudail Takri, in an attempt to examine the attitude of men towards women, in particular, that of husbands towards their wives.
Shayatar Singh aka Jalaluddin (Gippy Grewal) observes his three friends (Ravinder Mand, Amrit Amby, Deedar Gill) as they constantly bicker with their wives. Dubbing them as being witches (chudails), he encourages his friends to get a divorce and do away with the quarrelling once and for all. In a burst of alcohol-infused confidence, the friends agree but on the condition that he does not get married and suffer the same fate as them. Just then, Rani (Sargun Mehta) enters his life, and they get married. Jalaluddin finds out that she is actually a genuine witch, who married him to teach him a lesson. Hereafter, he spends all his energy trying to get rid of her.
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When he is temporarily successful, he tries to begin life anew by marrying Jeeti (Roopi Gill), but this only creates more complications for him. The horror comedy aims to be a laugh-a-minute film packed with witty dialogues and general hilarity. While this does happen in parts, the comedy becomes repetitive and starts to sag. Rani displaying her powers as a witch is a bit tiresome, and the scenes where Jeeti is made into a fly and then a goat are just below par attempts at humour. The film also seems to become confused in the middle as it tries to go off into different directions during its lengthy runtime of 155 minutes.
It is evident that Jatt Nuu Chudail Takri is a film that aims to replicate the premise and, by extension, the success of Saunkan Saunkne, which in the second half of the film comes through in the face-off between Rani and Jeeti but without much conviction. Made with a family audience in mind, especially children, the horror comedy has no elements of horror, rather the genre becomes a way to throw in some cool visual effects.
Despite these flaws, Jatt Nuu Chudail Takri manages to do some things well. The visual effects are noteworthy, as is the cinematography by Navneet Misser. The flashback scenes which trace the sins of Jalaluddin’s past life are executed beautifully and one wishes that a more cohesive screenplay could have woven that in seamlessly, especially in Rani’s motivations. The female lead and one of the producers of the film, Sargun Mehta has a pivotal role that has a relatively strong arc but her performance is surprisingly disappointing. As a witch who wishes to teach Jalaluddin a lesson for his thinking, one would think that she would have fun with all her magical powers, but she is so constrained in her performance that she stands around with a grumpy expression in much of the first half, which is especially odd given the spunk with which she usually performs her roles. In comparison, Roopi Gill delivers an overall spirited performance.
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Veteran actors Nirmal Rishi and BN Sharma are absolutely delightful in their roles. The romantic tracks “Parindey” by B Praak and “Dil Nu” by Ammy Virk are beautiful melodies that track the courtship of Jalaluddin with the two women. Jatt Nuu Chudail Takri is a passable yet overall entertaining family film that will draw audiences over the weekend. It remains to be seen if the protracted feature will sustain their interest for long.
Jatt Nuu Chudail Takri movie cast: Gippy Grewal, Sargun Mehta, Roopi Gill, Nirmal Rishi, BN Sharma
Jatt Nuu Chudail Takri movie director: Vikas Vashisht
Jatt Nuu Chudail Takri movie rating: 3 stars
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