Why OK Jaanu failed, but OK Kanmani swept us off our feet

OK Jaanu is a remake of the 2015 Mani Ratnam's Tamil film, O Kadhal Kanmani, and tries to capture the essence of modern day relationships. Those who have enjoyed the movie perhaps have not seen the original, featuring popular Malayalam stars Dulquer Salmaan and Nithya Menen.  

 

Shaad Ali directed OK Jaanu and it has been produced by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions and Mani Ratnam’s Madras Talkies. Buzz on OK Jaanu vs OK Kanmani began almost immediately after OK Jaanu began production. Now that the movie has hit the silver screen, we can come out and say - Yes! the original is the best. 

 

 

Here is a comparison of the various aspects of OK Jaanu and O Kadhal Kanmani, which is perhaps why OK Jaanu failed to impress us.

 

The lead actors:

The difference between the two movies principally lies in the way the characters of the lead pair have been conceived. Aditya and Shraddha struggled to recreate the innocence that Dulquer and Nithya had in their movie. The glamour quotient was certainly sky high in the Bollywood version, but sadly some of the authenticity feels lost. 

 

Supporting actors: 
 

OK Jaanu has Naseeruddin Shah and Leela Samson as the old landlord couple. O Kadhal Kanmani had Prakash Raj and Leela Samson. Much like the lead pair, this second pair in the movie also simply had better chemistry in the original. Prakash and Leela won our hearts in the role of the old landlord couple. The sincerity in their characters made their story believable. Though Leela continues her excellent performance in this remake as well, Prakash Raj proves to be more memorable than Naseeruddin Shah. 

 

 

The Dialogues

Director Mani Ratnam originally wrote the dialogues of OK Kanmani. OK Jaanu has the same dialogues - translated word for word. But the change in language has not helped the movie at all. Lines that touch the heart or make us smile in Tamil, do have the same ring in Hindi, whose tone has different sensibilities. A lot of the emotions in the original dialogues were lost. In any case, the lines were hamstrung by the lack of emotions during delivery. This was one of reasons why OK Jaanu was a trolled heavily on social media

 

Too 'mushi mushi' love

OK Jaanu's biggest difference from the original is the overdose of hugs and kisses. The original movie showcased the sizzling chemistry between the lead pair without a single kissing sequence or 'hot song' or any of the usual cliches. Whereas, OK Jaanu, included too many. In many scenes, Aditya and Shraddha's kisses looked out of place and forced, only put there for the glamour factor. 

 

 

the perfect example is the 'Humma Humma' remake in Ok Jaanu. AR Rahman's superhit song from 1995's Bombay is fine, but totally changes the tone of the moment. The Parandhu Sellava number from OK Kanmani takes place when the two friends end up sharing a room at a hotel and realise they might have feelings for each other. It is playful and subdued.  Humma Humma is not only raunchier, but seems to indicate these characters were a lot more interested in lust, than slowly falling in love with each other.

 

 

In conclusion, it is fair to say that OK Jaanu tried its best, but ultimately fell short of telling us the sweet love story we were expecting. And the opinion seems to be shared by the public as well, who have skipped the movie in theatres, leading to dismal collections at the box office.