Luv Ranjan has come under a lot of fire for the absolute misogyny in his previous films. Therefore, he decided to make a film covering the woman’s problems. However, this attempt solidified our belief that he neither likes nor knows women. If he did, he would know that Tinni would never act the way she did, and not for the reasons she did. The worst fact of the matter is that Luv Ranjan just didn’t realize how to play to his strengths. The monologue in his movies (not “Tu Jhoothi Main Makkar”) was a pop culture reset. Therefore, Luv Ranjan wrote more of them in TJMM, to the point that there were no dialogues, only monologues.
Also, misogyny is clearly Luv Ranjan’s strength. That is why we preferred the villainous Sweety in “Sonu ke Titu ki Sweety” to Tinni in “Tu Jhoothi Main Makkar,” who is clearly not very bright. TJMM isn’t feminist; it is just safe, by virtue of a script that clearly misses the point. We have a feeling that a crash course in the difference between gender equality and equity will kill Luv Ranjan’s creativity, and we don’t want that because revisiting Kartik Aryan’s monologue is still a guilty pleasure. But we will send this message out into the universe that we don’t mind the misogyny and one-dimensional nature of his villainous women. They are, after all, not the only such characters to exist in the mainstream media, in an industry that is still struggling to look beyond the “glamor” of its actresses. This is how “Tu Jhoothi Main Makkar” plays out.
Spoilers Alert
Why Does Tinni Want A Breakup?
Mickey works as a successful breakup expert when he is not working, again, successfully, in his family’s business. His best friend, Manu, wants him to orchestrate his breakup with his soon-to-be wife, Kinchi. They plan to go ahead with that during their bachelor party. However, it is then that Mickey meets Tinni, who is Kinchi’s best friend, and completely forgets about his mission because he falls in love with her. They both get along like a house on fire, and after multiple monologues from Mickey about how true his love is, they start dating. Back in India, when Tinni goes to meet Mickey’s family for the first time, she wears a kurta (a traditional dress). Mickey gets an earful from his entire family that he shouldn’t have forced her to do so since Tinni is a modern girl. We believe the bigger problem is that the family seems to have an insufferable stereotype of what modernity looks like.
Either way, we also come to know that Tinni’s family, her mother specifically, suffered in her marital life due to the general sexist nature of Indian families. The wariness borne of that plays a role in Tinni’s interactions with Mickey’s family. Though they take an instant liking to Tinni, they are a little overbearing in the way only Indian families can be, and clearly, Tinni has been written as someone who is not bright enough to read that. As their relationship progresses, Tinni and Mickey want to get engaged, and that is when the former contacts the breakup artist, aka Mickey, without knowing his real identity. Mickey doesn’t initially realize it is Tinni, but when the similarity of situations hits him, he uncovers the secret. That leaves him shattered and unable to figure out where he is going wrong. Thus, the game begins with Mickey using every trick in the book to make it look like he is helping Tinni when, in reality, he is trying to find out the reasons for her wanting to leave him.
Finally, during one of the early functions of their wedding, Tinny finally tells the breakup artist that she wants to break up with Mickey because of his family. She doesn’t elaborate, but Mickey is satisfied with that reason. He orchestrates a breakup for Tinni where Mickey leaves her, as Tinni wanted, because he doesn’t want her to pursue her career further. If the misogyny of the portrayal of Tinni not taking the blame for the events is not clear, we cannot explain it further. Time passes, and the two lovebirds struggle to move on with their lives—that is, until Kinchi gets pregnant. Off context, people in this movie have communication problems, and the most entertaining character is that of Mickey’s mother. We can hear her, and only her, monologuing all day.
Do Tinni And Mickey Reconcile In The End?
At Kinchi’s baby shower, whose celebrations resemble a festival, Tinni and Mickey reconnect, and it is clear that the chemistry between them is still intact, along with a lot of their feelings. When Tinni sprains her leg while performing an awful choreography, she is taken care of by Mickey’s family. The next morning, while talking to the oversmart child in the family, she realizes that Mickey is the breakup artist. There was a similarity in what they both spoke, and that is how Tinni was able to connect the dots. Tinni is leaving for London, and she asks to meet Mickey before going. When he comes to her packed-up apartment, she confronts him for hiding everything from her. She confesses that she did not want to live the life of her mother, with in-laws who were clearly hijacking every part of their relationship. Mickey agrees with her but insists that his family is different, and he cannot be without them. Tinni admits that she never told him the truth because she did not want to place him in the position of choosing between her and his family.
Right now, Tinni agrees to stay back if he asks her to, but Mickey doesn’t want her to compromise. We will just say that neither their relationship nor their breakup make any sense to us. Just as Tinni is leaving, she calls Mickey’s mother and asks her not to blame Mickey for their breakup. This phone call sets off another confrontation, which is equal parts fantastical and funny, between the family and Mickey, and they rush to stop Tinni from leaving the country. It is an airport scene, and they manage to catch her just in time, with all of them going down on their knees, asking them to marry into their house. At the end of “Tu Jhoothi Main Makkar,” Tinni agrees to marry Mickey and leads a very happy and progressive family life, one that people can only dream of. A real fairytale comes true!
Final Thoughts
It’s unfair to call “Tu Jhoothi Main Makkar” unwatchable, but it is not well thought out. It could have been so much more if only Luv Ranjan had not tried to do what he clearly couldn’t: write about women outside of the stereotype he has always held in his other endeavors. On another note, there is something to say about Dimple Kapadia stealing all the limelight. Finally, maybe the songs needed a better choreographer and, in some cases, a better setting for what they were. It was a clash of sensibilities that wasted Shraddha Kapoor and Ranbir Kapoor’s dancing talents. “Tu Jhoothi Main Makkar” is alright if you go into it without any expectations. Stick to that rule, and you will be fine.
