From William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet to films like BOBBY, MAINE PYAAR KIYA, QAYAMAT SE QAYAMAT TAK, DILWALE DULHANIYA LE JAYENGE to the recent GOLIYON KI RASLEELA RAMLEELA, romance has been a favourite genre of Bollywood. And attempting a film in similar genre is JIGARIYAAA, the love story of Shaamu and Radha.
Set in the 80s, JIGARIYAA is the story of undying love that struggles to break through the norms of the society. Shaamlal Gupta aka Shaamu (Harshvardhan Deo) is the son of a sweet shop owner (halwai), living in Agra who has a penchant for poetry. While he is working at his father's shop after failing his exams, in what we term as serendipity, Shaam meets the pretty Radhika (Cherry Mardia) who belongs to an affluent family of Pandit Shankar Dayal in Mathura. Destiny brings the two of them closer and they fall in love. The romance blooms amidst majestic historical monuments and rhythmically penned sher-o-shariyi but the two are separated by the orthodox society. When his Radha is taken away to her hometown after her grandmother confronts Shaam's father about their 'affair', a dejected Shaam finds ways to eliminate the distance and despite living in different towns, the two continue their relationship. After their relationship is exposed on Holi in front of Radha's father, Radha is forced into marriage but the two decide to flee and make a life of their own. As the two attempt to fulfill their wish in Mumbai, their dreams are shattered. With strong resistance from families, the social stigma of class and caste system being posed as bondage, will the lovers get a chance to prove their love to the world? 
After his last directorial SIXTEEN, and now with JIGARIYAA, we still believe Raj Purohit has many lessons to learn when it comes to making Bollywood movies. Romance in Indian cinema works but it needs to be devoid of clichés. Raj Purohit gets his script completely wrong by adding all the possible stereotypes. From a mother angrily screaming at her daughter saying, 'babuji ko aane do main unhe bataongi' to the father saying, 'tumhari saagai ho rahi hai kal hi', after Radha's family gets to know about her relationship with Shaam, the film is filled with predictable dialogues. The plot that stretches over a span of approximately 140 minutes seems to be a mix of QAYAMAT SE QAYAMAT TAK to SAATHIYA. 
Adding to the woes are the actors Harshvardhan and Cherry who do not add the needed 'spark' in this romantic drama. Chemistry is the key to all love stories but though Harshvardhan and Cherry give fairly good performances, the love story between the two just doesn't seem to work on screen. Veteran actors like K K Raina, Virendra Saxena and Navni Parihar haven't been given their due and their melodramatic expression and dialogues do not really take the movie forward. However, it is actor Ketan Singh who is the show stealer in an extended cameo. He not only adds a quirky touch to the otherwise slow moving film but also maintains the attention of the audience with his sense of humour.
On the other hand, the only saving grace for the film is the soulful music with songs like 'Ishq Hai' and 'Arziyaan' that portray the 80s romance perfectly along with contemporary touch to it. The song 'Rang Rang De' that depicts the Holi celebration picturized on Harshvardhan and Cherry has a commendable cinematography.
Overall, JIGARIYAA is a love story that lacks the lustre of romance with cliches and an elongated runtime.
