Jabariya Jodi

About the film

Jabariya Jodi (transl. Forced couple) is an Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film starring Sidharth Malhotra and Parineeti Chopra. The story is based upon the tradition of groom kidnapping, prevalent in Bihar. The film is produced by Ekta Kapoor, Shobha Kapoor and Shailesh R Singh, and directed by Prashant Singh. Principal photography began on 10 August 2018 in Lucknow, and the film was theatrically released in India on 9 August 2019.

Plot

In the heart of Bihar, Abhay Singh is a feared yet charming enforcer of pakadwa vivaah, the local practice of abducting grooms and forcing them into marriage without dowry. He works under the influence of his powerful and manipulative father, Hukum Singh, who sees this as a way to deliver justice to dowry-seeking families. Despite being ruthless in his work, Abhay enjoys his local stardom, believing he is doing the right thing.

Babli Yadav, a fierce and independent woman, returns to her hometown after being expelled from school for her rebellious behavior. Confident and outspoken, she does not conform to societal norms and enjoys living life on her own terms. She meets Abhay, and their reunion is filled with nostalgia, flirtation, and unresolved emotions, as they were once childhood sweethearts. Their attraction is evident, but their differing ideologies create conflict.

As Babli's parents pressure her into marriage, she initially plays along but soon decides to take control of her own fate. Meanwhile, Abhay struggles with his own emotions, torn between his father's expectations and his growing feelings for Babli. When Babli learns that Abhay himself is a victim of his father's manipulations—having been denied the freedom to love and choose for himself—she hatches an audacious plan.

Production

The film was conceived by writer Sanjeev K Jha who is from Bihar and is familiar with forced marriage practice in his native state. He was surprised to see the official data that said that more abductions happened in Bihar for the purpose of forced marriage than ransom in recent years. He said in a statement, "We always knew such forced marriages happen, but we didn't know the magnitude of it." It was an eye-opener for him so he created a comic world and a love-story using this bizarre practices.

Filming began on 10 August 2018 in Lucknow, Barabanki and Raebareli. The film wrapped shooting in mid April 2019.

Release

The release date of the film was initially scheduled to be 17 May 2019 but the date had to be pushed back multiple times first to 12 July 2019 and then to 2 August 2019 and finally it released theatrically on 9 August 2019.

Soundtrack

The music of the film is composed by Tanishk Bagchi, Vishal Mishra, Sachet–Parampara, Ramji Gulati and Ashok Masti while lyrics are written by Raj Shekhar, Rashmi Virag, Shabbir Ahmed, Kumaar, Tanishk Bagchi and Siddharth-Garima. Background music scored by Joel Crasto.

Reception

Nandini Ramnath from Scroll.in rated the movie 1.5 stars on 5 and wrote, "Inexplicably convoluted and unforgivably long".

Lakshana N Palat from India Today wrote, "Sidharth Malhotra and Parineeti Chopra film is excruciatingly painful" and rated the movie 1.5 out of 5 stars.

The Times of India's Ronak Kotecha rated the movie 2.5 stars on 5 and wrote, "Jabariya Jodi starts on a promising note, but loses steam along the way. It tries to throw light on serious issues with lighter moments, but gets tangled in a melodramatic and unrealistic narrative that doesn't feel all that jabardust." Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express rated the film one on five stars calling it a confused long drawn mess.

Key details