El gran pase de magia

Rare occasion when Netflix gets it right.

Simple storyline but tugs the right strings of our heart. Apt casting and special mention for the actor who played Lalli, wish to see more of him.

I could have given it more than 10 if possible. So beautiful and so heart touching movie I have seen in years. The first half may be slow but give it sometime and you will have the biggest smile in the end.

Acting by all the cast is superb. All the characters are lovable. Film has its little twists and turns as well. Film is little long other then that it is a very good movie.

Must watch. This movie is like a song - beautiful and emotion-evoking. I cried at least 2 times while watching the movie. (Maybe more to do with my residual emotions than the movie itself 😂)

Biswapati Sarkar's writing is simply brilliant (fun fact : spotted Biswapati Sarkar in one of the scenes haha).

Everyone's acting in the movie was brilliant. Especially Manoj Joshi.

What I loved about this movie was the fact that it picks up a very relatable person as the protagonist in Jeetu bhaiya. The character is as immature as it can get. This character doesn't understand true meaning of love or magic. The character has good intentions and in his own words "I'm not a bad person". He is taken on a journey where he is taught both love and magic.

The immaturity of this character exists in most of us and people around us. The movie reminds what it means to love someone in most simple way possible. We forget that love is an active choice. We forget that love is difficult. We forget that its not as easy as saying "I love you" or giving gifts on birthday. We forget that love is effort but the rewards of love are beautiful.

This movie also highlights grief and how different people deal with grief.

There were parts of this movie which I didn't like.

1/ Obviously, it gets unrealistic and dramatic at times but its a "love"ly movie. The parts, which to me were unrealistic were how the protagonist changes so easily. I think people don't change so easy without failing hard or trauma. The magic was unrealistic too. So was the unbelievable team playing football.

2/ The movie closes the loop on main love story and the heroine's father. It doesn't close a few loops properly like the protagonist's relationship with his chacha (which I think could have gotten a better closure), the guy with the hand issue etc. Would have loved to see few more loops closing.

The story is set in Neemuch bylanes (a small town in Madhya Pradesh) and revolves around Meenu (Jitendra Kumar), a simpleton who aspires to be a famous magician just like his Guruji Magician Chhabra (Manoj Joshi). Things change for him when he falls head over heels in love with Dr. Disha (Arushi Sharma), who has her own troubled past. However, when Meenu meets Disha's father, he is challenged to win the football game in order to win Disha's hand in marriage. But, the odds aren't in his favour - Disha doesn't reciprocate his feelings, and his team hasn't won a game in years.

Another track follows a flawed team of players who compete in a prestigious inter-colony football tournament, including office workers, shopkeepers, teachers, and regular middle-class people. They all have one thing in common: they don't have the best skills, but play the game with all their hearts. Pradeep Narag (Jaaved Jaaferi), a former player and Meenu's Uncle, coaches them all with the goal of fulfilling his brother's one and only wish by winning the championship. But how far does he really go ? Will Pradeep be able to assemble a team capable of bringing the trophy home ? Will Meenu be able to woo his true love ? All this and more are answered in the film's nearly three-hour runtime.

The writers (Biswapati Sarkar and Sameer Saxena) manage to hold one's attention for most part of the film; however, the pace slackens in the second half and could have benefitted from a tighter edit. Also, the pre-interval run is high on energy, while the post-interval run is high on drama; a better balance could have earned the film some brownie points. The protagonist's circumstances increase the intensity, and one-liners induce humour in the first half. The majority of the second half, however, is spent on the field, where the Neemuch team competes against teams from neighbouring colonies. We don't see them practicing; instead, players and viewers are constantly reminded of how important it is to win this trophy, making it difficult for spectators to become involved in any of the games.

Jitendra Kumar is well-known in the OTT space for his role as Jeetu Bhaiya from 'Kota Factory'. Jeetu nails every mood and nuance of his character seamlessly blending into the small-town milieu. He carries the film on his shoulders confidently but lacks support from the writing department.

Jaaved Jaaferi doesn't do much of the heavy lifting: he plays his part as he is expected to. Arushi Sharma, who made her acting debut in 'Love Aaj Kal 2', portrays her role convincingly in her first OTT appearance. But, the romantic angle between her character Disha and Jitendra's character Meenu falls flat. Meenu's affection for Kulfi, on the other hand, appears to be more genuine.

The film had plenty of room for music because it fits into the romantic genre better than sports drama. The songs are not memorable, with the exception of the title track 'Jaadugiri', which is hummable and appears during the dream sequence in which Meenu first sees Disha.

Even when the film falls flat in some places, it is Jitendra who conceals it with his effortless charm and nuanced acting. It is also refreshing to see Javed, fit and fab in the 60s, acing the coach's role in Jaadugar. The frames of Soumik Mukherjee and Nilotpal Bora's music breathe life into the town of Neemuch.

At the end of Jaadugar, Meenu gets to perform the "real magic" on the football ground, as he resonates with Chhabra's golden words, which are paraphrased from Baazigar - "Asli Jaadugar Dil Behlane Wale Ko Nahi, Dil Jeetne Wale Ko Kehte Hain." Jaadugar strives arduously to win our hearts, but just that it needed a lot more jaadu and a lot less baazi.