Judaai

Recently, my future mother-in-law came to stay at our home for two weeks. It was her first time visiting us as a houseguest since I got engaged (bestowed) to her daughter back on October 28, 2024.

During her stay, she asked me which movie the two of us should watch together. Since she is my future mother-in-law, I specifically picked the movie Judaai (1997), and you’ll see why in a minute!

The movie revolves around three main characters: Kajal, Raj, and Janhvi.

Kajal's father was a greedy man who made her marry Raj, a civil engineer. Her father assumed Raj would take heavy bribes so Kajal could live a lavish lifestyle. However, Raj turned out to be completely honest and refused to accept bribes, even when they were disguised as gifts.

Although Kajal is portrayed as an extremely bad character driven by greed, she actually felt like the most practical person to me at first. I don't think asking for a car to travel, going out to watch a movie once a week, or having a fridge and an air conditioner at home are far-fetched demands. Yet, the film acts like she is completely in the wrong for wanting basic comforts, or honestly, modern necessities of life!

But damn, Kajal eventually sold her own husband to Janhvi for money. Sorry Kajal, even I can't defend you there, lol! She did her husband so dirty, even though she was the most sane person in the room up until that moment. (Her 2 little kids said, mom if you get more money would you sell your kids too? OUCH!)

Now, let me introduce Janhvi. She is shown as a rich, spoiled brat who falls in love with a married man and literally buys him with her wealth. Love really makes people blind, I guess. You do have to tolerate some cringey scenes between Janhvi and Raj, including that classic, awful Bollywood trope where a guy slaps a woman and she instantly falls in love with him. If you can look past that, the rest of the movie is pretty solid.

There are side characters who constantly try to remind you that money isn't the secret to happiness, which is what the whole plot revolves around. The ending was poorly written, but I’d still give it a 95/100. Considering some of the nonsense we see in Bollywood, we are used to ignoring the silly parts and focusing on the core story.

This movie does a good job showing that in a marriage, love isn't the only top priority. I think my future mother-in-law already knew this, but it was a great reminder. We ended up watching it across three separate sittings because she couldn't binge-watch it all in one go. She liked the movie a lot! Since she and I already have a great bond, it turned into a running joke between us that we can always look back on and quote in different situations.

Rating: 95/100