Bollywood is known for its rather twisted sense of humour. It could take a serious issue and build a colourful comedy around it. It has sort of done so with movies such as Dabangg, and that trend does not appear to stop.
The trailer of an upcoming film titled ‘Jabaria Jodi’ starring Parineeti Chopra and Siddharth Malhotra came out recently. The theme of the film appears to be the issue of forced marriages and groom-kidnappings in northern India. For those unaware, groom-kidnapping, known as ‘Pakadwa Vivaha’ is rampant in north India, and according to reports, around 3400 grooms were kidnapped at gunpoint in Bihar as of 2018. According to police records, the state witnesses around nine ‘gunpoint weddings’ per day. Clearly, abduction for marriage is almost like an established, acceptable trend in Bihar. The NCRB Crime in India Report, 2015 report - which is the most recent official figure available at present - also confirms that while Bihar is far below other States when it comes to abduction of boys below 18 years of age, it stands at the top in the country when it comes to abductions of above 18-year-old males. In fact, the number of abducted males from Bihar in the 18 to 30 age-group category was 1,096 in 2015. The state alone accounted for nearly 17 per cent of the national figure in the category.
This problem stems partly from the even deeper problem of dowry. The abduction of boys for marriage is a direct consequence of social evils like dowry. It is a rearguard action from the bride’s family, which finds itself under great material load while arranging the marriage. Families without wherewithal to arrange a decent dowry resort to desperate measures like abducting a suitable bridegroom for their daughter’s marriageWhat’s more, families of girls are said to deploy family members or friends, or even hire professional criminals for the kidnappings.
That said, this is where the story of the film begins Siddharth Malhotra’s character is a professional criminal who works to kidnap grooms for money. Parineeti somehow falls for him, and resolves to kidnap him in order to get married. As stated before, the film is a comedy, and the trailer is full of all kinds of humour ranging from witty to slapstick.
Now, Siddharth and Parineeti have tried their best to bring that Bihari accent and a kind of rural feel, but somehow their polished urbane demeanour shows on a few occasions. We are not sure that the character of a goon is suitable for Siddharth. Even so, it is hard to decide how to react when Bollywood makes light of such a serious issue.
Scan the QR code to watch the trailer.
