Review: Jadoo

But the plot of Jadoo is based on real-life events and writer/director Amit (Resistance) Gupta ensures the plot bounces along in a nicely plausible fashion. Amara Karan is the bride who longs for her father and uncle to settle their differences. The wonderful Harish Patel, inveterate scene-stealer and always good value, plays her excitable father. Yorkshire actor Kulvinder Ghir is the wary uncle. Packed with good performances and more than a touch of bitterness as old grudges bubble to the surface, Jadoo considers the universality of family spats and how a series of unfortunate disagreements can lead to long-held differences. Karan, small and fragile but with a soul of steely resolve as the determined Shalini, is rapidly emerging as one of our most talented and watchable stars. Gupta’s script manages to avoid clichés and stereotypes, she provides the heart of a comedy/drama that is accessible and frequently laugh-out-loud funny. Gupta manages to make feuding brothers Raja (Patel) and Jagi (Ghir) believable characters – two men cut from the same cloth whose culinary expertise is matched by their stubbornness. But family and food draws them together. Fans of Anglo/Asian comedies may see Jadoo as a response to the likes of East is East but it deserves more than such lazy comparisons. It stands on its own merits and augurs well for more from Amit Gupta, clearly a filmmaker to watch.