Jawani Zindabad (2019)

The film opens with Abhishek Patil (Abhishek Sathe) trying to find Nandini (Ketaki Narayan). Nandini, who has left for her mother's home, tries to committee suicide but her mother (Madhu Kambikar) prevents her from doing it. Why? In flashback, various things unfold- how Abhishek and Nandini meet and how they fall in love etc. One day, their life takes an unexpected turn when Nandini's mother tries to kill her by pushing her in river. This unfolds a serious aspect of Nandini's life in front of Abhishek who stands by her despite her problems and supports her wholeheartedly. Ketaki Narayan, who was recently seen in Girlz, is effortless in front of the camera and holds your attention. Abhishek tries to match her prowess, but lack of expressions stops him short of that. Madhu Kambikar presents various shades of her character perfectly while Yatin Karyekar and Asawari Joshi are sincere. Though the build-up is slow, the suspense behind why Nandini's mother tries to kill her keep you glued to your seats for a while. The dialogues are cliched and the director's effort of using flashback as a tool of interest falls flat. It could've worked too, but the script is sketchy and there's no flow to the story. Jawani Zindabad ends on a happy note for the characters, but not so much for the audience.