Ulajh Movie Review: Janhvi Kapoor-Starrer Is Unnecessarily Convoluted & Contrived
Rating: 3/5
Director: Sudhanshu Saria
Cast: Janhvi Kapoor, Gulshan Devaiah, Roshan Mathew, Meiyang Chang, Rajesh Tailang, Adil Hussain, Jitendra Joshi
Storyline:
Hailing from an influential family of diplomats, Suhana Bhatia (Janhvi Kapoor) achieves the milestone of becoming India’s youngest Deputy High Commissioner.
Ridiculed by her peers for her nepotism and privilege, Suhana is determined to prove her mettle. But she falters even before she can properly assume her responsibilities – after getting seduced by the smooth-talking Nakul (Gulshan Devaiah).
Nakul blackmails her into doing dubious things – will Suhana be able to save her and her father’s reputation while doing what’s best for the country?
Watch Ulajh to see how this chaos unravels –
(Also Read: Janhvi Kapoor’s Upcoming Movies)
Ulajh Movie Review:
Janhvi Kapoor brings her A-Game with Ulajh; she is earnest in her performance and growing with every role. The cast is packed with talented actors and Janhvi holds her own reasonably well.
However, the movie’s packaging of a privileged youth battling derision about nepotism is a little too on the nose. While Janhvi does try her best, her character is quite frustrating, unlikeable and entirely too gullible… so much so that it challenges your suspension of disbelief.
Like the name itself suggests, Ulajh suffers from an inconsistent, unnecessarily convoluted and contrived plot. The talented cast is wasted here because of the muddled writing that goes everywhere.
Janhvi Kapoor has ample chemistry with Gulshan Devaiah and their dynamic is all the more intriguing after it turns hostile. In their scenes together, however, Gulshan vastly overpowers Janhvi, doing the majority of the heavy-lifting. Gulshan seamlessly goes from charming to sinister and steals the show in Ulajh.
Roshan Mathew is endearing as the foe-turned-friend and deserved more screentime. His chemistry and sarcastic banter with Janhvi infuse the film with some chuckle-worthy moments. Talking of less screentime – Meiyang Chang is criminally underutilised, and his role is cut short just as it’s getting really good! What a shame.
Seasoned actors like Rajesh Tailang and Adil Hussain play their parts superbly, with gravitas.
