Jalebi(2018) is not a Fairy-tale Love Story #211

Jalebi (2018) is a Hindi romantic drama and an official remake of the Bengali movie “Praktan” (meaning: Ex). Rhea Chakraborty and debutant Varun Mitra play Ayesha and Dev.

Jalebi(2018) Move Plot

Ayesha screamed in her home, decorations scattered from the previous day’s function – likely her engagement that she called off at the last moment. In her late 20s, Ayesha still hadn’t moved on from her first marriage. Her father comforted her and suggested she take a break, but before that she had to attend a book-reading for her new book.

She boarded the train for Mumbai and ended up in a berth opposite a friendly young woman and her 7-year-old daughter. The lady introduced herself and started small talk. She said her house was famous in Delhi—Netaji ki haveli. That name took Ayesha seven years back when she was an aspiring author and spontaneous 21-year-old girl. She and a friend had gone to Delhi to do research for her next project, where she met Dev, a friendly guy from Delhi who had graduated with his PhD and followed his passion of helping tourists explore the city.

Dev was a simple guy who loved his home more than anything. His house was an old one, a heritage. He found happiness in the congested lanes of Delhi—his memories and emotions were deeply rooted there. Ayesha started hanging out with Dev and one day she proposed to him. They married quickly, but this is when the problem began. Ayesha wanted to explore the world with her husband, while Dev wasn’t comfortable leaving his place; it had become part of his identity. They began arguing frequently about it.

Ayesha got pregnant at 21. The pregnancy posed a threat to her career, so she wanted an abortion, but Dev and his mother wouldn’t let her. Unwillingly, Ayesha had to accept it. The hope of a baby was saving the relationship between Ayesha and Dev, until Ayesha experienced a miscarriage that dramatically changed both their lives. Although Ayesha wasn’t mentally ready to be a mother in the beginning, she grew attached to the baby; losing it traumatized and depressed her so much that she couldn’t hold it together anymore and left Dev’s house.

Dev’s mother and sister came later to take Ayesha back home with Dev. Though Ayesha still loved him, Dev was no longer spontaneous as before. The parents planned to send them both to Kashmir (a beautiful place in northern India; Ayesha had wanted to go there when they were newly married). But Ayesha went alone—she didn’t see Dev anywhere. Heartbroken, she thought of never returning to Dev and instead focus on her career.

Aisha’s heart was still in Delhi. No matter what she did, she couldn’t move on from her past. She always wondered why Dev never came to Kashmir and why she never heard from him again—no calls, messages, or emails. Was he having an extra-marital affair at the time? The lady on the train must have been Dev’s second wife and they had a 7-year-old girl—supporting Aisha’s suspicion perfectly. All these years, she’d hoped against hope that Dev would come and embrace her; all her family and friends kept telling her that Dev must have some love affair going on but she never fully believed them.

Dev surprised his wife on her birthday and met Ayesha. She couldn’t contain her emotions anymore. Anguished and betrayed, she yelled at Dev. Finally, he broke the silence and told her the truth: He had gone to Kashmir at the same time; he had been watching her from afar. He was heartbroken too but knew that Ayesha needed freedom to pursue her career. He couldn’t leave his attachment behind and forcing her to return with him would mean sacrificing her career, so he kept his feelings to himself and walked away from her life.
Dev’s wife confessed to Ayesha that Dev wasn’t the biological father of her daughter. Her boyfriend had abandoned her with this child, leaving her helpless. Without questioning her past, Dev married her and accepted them as his family. Ayesha’s heart hadn’t lied to her; he had never stopped loving her. But he valued her dreams more than being together. So, once again, Ayesha and Dev parted ways – this time in peace. To commemorate their love, Ayesha wrote a book and named it Jalebi (Dev used to call her sweetly by that name).

My thoughts on Jalebi

I really enjoyed the movie—the pace of the story was alright. It had some great original songs, which deserves a special mention since nowadays most movies only have remakes, which I don’t like at all. Additionally, there were no commercial or out-of-context item numbers. I saw Rhea for the first time in a movie and she nailed her character as a 21 year old girl perfectly. Varun Mitra also did well in his role and their onscreen chemistry was quite enjoyable to watch. “Pal” is my favorite song from the movie.

Over all I’d rate Jalebi (2018) 7.5 out of 10.

That’s all for today. Checkout my other blogs on entertainment.