Film Review: An earnest attempt, War Chhod Na Yaar fails to sustain our interest in a weak second half

Cast:  Sharman Joshi, Soha Ali Khan, Jaaved Jafferi, Dalip Tahil, Mukul Dev
Director: Faraz Haider
Rating: **

What’s it about

A war story that tries to make light of a volatile situation on the LOC, the film sees Soha Ali Khan play a journalist who is sent to cover animosity between the Indian and Pakistani troops at the border. Not knowing what to expect she reaches her destination only to find that most of the soldiers and troops look at the ground reality in a very different way than the rest of the world. Using one liners, some political satire and humour, the film tries to create an atmosphere of camaraderie until the ruling parties of the two nations decide to toe a different line.

What’s hot

Haider uses every day conversation, issues that have been often debated and discussed on late night news hour shows, or often addressed in the kitchen of Indian homes to tell the story of the film. The friendship between the Indo-Pak soldiers seems easy and the characters don’t come off as plastic. Sharman Joshi excels in his role as the army captain while Javed Jafferi, his Pakistani counterpart, shows some real versatility.

What’s not

The film reaches a major road block in the second half where it seems like a headless chicken trying to cross the road.  Most of the conversation gets heavy and Soha’s character tends to get a bit annoying with her becoming a narrator rather than participant in the given scenario. Also one can’t get away from falling in the trap of getting preachy or wanting to send a message when it comes to an Indo-Pak film. Songs drag down the pace of the film instead of adding any entertainment value.

What to do

An earnest attempt, the film fails to sustain our interest in a weak second half.

Never used my father's name to enter film industry : Javed Jaffrey

Noted actor Javed Jaffrey says he has never used his father Jagdeep`s influence to get work.

Javed, son of veteran actor-comedian Jagdeep, is known for donning various hats - that of an actor, dancer, singer, choreographer, VJ, ad filmmaker, among others.

He made his acting debut with `Meri Jung` in 1985 where he made a huge impact in a negative role. He has been part of many hit films like `100 Days`, `Fire`, `Earth`, `Salaam Namaste`, `Singh is Kingg` and `3 Idiots` and others.

"Being the son or daughter of a legendary film personality you get more respect. But I have never used that (my father`s name) as an influence to enter industry. It is not that I got work because of him. My father did not do a film for me or launched me, he wanted us to do things on our own," Javed said.

"Rather I never thought I will enter the film industry, it happened all by chance. Destiny played a part and brought me here in this industry," he said.

Javed has played a variety of roles, from negative to positive, but he has a penchant for comedy.

"I like to play all kind of roles. You can`t do same stuff every time as it becomes boring. Comedy is my soft spot. But I love doing action, thriller, drama and negative (roles). I am not comfortable with sexuality, intimate scenes," he said.

The actor will be seen next in debutante director Faraz Haider`s `War Chhod Na Yaar`.

"I am playing captain Qureshi from the Punjab region of Pakistan. So my tone (language) in the film is Punjabi-Urdu. The film establishes relationship in an interesting way. I had great fun doing this film," he said.

Javed will also be seen alongside Ranbir Kapoor, Rishi and Neetu Kapoor in `Besharam`. The actor has a few scenes with Ranbir and a climax scene with Neetu and Rishi Kapoor.

"We did interact on sets. I am a big fan of Rishiji, he is the best actor. Neetuji is fantastic. Ranbir is a fine actor and he is very focused about his work. They are humble and nice people," he said.

Javed will also be seen in Hrithik Roshan starrer `Bang Bang` and `Jo Bhi Karva Lo` with Arshad Warsi.