“Yeh jo human body hain na, iske bardasht karne ka ek limit hote hain.”
–Jimmy (2008)
A dead girl has been found. The police investigator Rahul Dev tells Jimmy: “ladki ki mutthi main paayi gaaye hain tumhare baal”. As we all know, when a girl’s dead body is unearthed that too with a man’s “baal” in her hand and with his driving license right next to her, the case seems to be pretty clear and shut. The final nail in the coffin is when Jimmy, an automotive engineer (Matlab Simulink guru) during day and DJ (Dancing Joker) at night, confesses to the heinous crime with a “khoon kiya hain maine” that echoes for effect.
The final nail did I say?
Wrong !
The real drama is only just beginning.
Cause in “Jimmy”, by far the year’s best “zero level” movie till now, nothing is as it seems.
As the audience navigates through its twisted and very sophisticated plot, almost every other scene seems to throw up yet another new conundrum.
Why for instance does Jimmy confess to wearing two socks on the same foot?
Why does the breakfast of a man obviously struggling with his weight (i.e. Jimmy) consist of a pile of white bread and two eggs?
What kind of dystopic world is it where Shakti Kapoor is a police inspector? [Sidelight: Shakti’s character is introduced with the camera focusing on him scratching his buttocks?
Why does everyone in the movie think aloud and “introduce themselves” to the camera as they make their first appearance?
Why does a father say to his son: “Yeh thappad ko mat bhoolna mere bete. Tere maan ne bhi mujhe aisi thappad mari thi”?
How come the police investigator, Rahul Dev, is always present in the shadows listening everytime anyone says anything of importance?
Why is it that for a movie that takes place supposedly in the present time, all the prices are those prevailing during the 80s? (A murder accomplice is bribed the princely sum of two lacs !)
Does Jimmy swing both ways like Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct?
Why, when an evil man is trying to smother Jimmy by putting a plastic bag on his face, is Jimmy seen holding on to the bag around his neck while being punched, as if somehow the director has told Mimoh, playing Jimmy, to hold the bag in its place lest it come off?
Why does the evil man wear overcoats and cowboy boots?
Why does the murderer get Shakespearan and yell “Am I a rejected person?”
Can Jimmy control the laws of Physics, like his dad can?
And most importantly, why was this movie ever made?
Let me answer the last question and leave you to find the answers for the rest yourself.
“Jimmy”, named after the iconic song “Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy Aaja Aaja” from Prabhuji’s leela “Disco Dancer”, is the launch vehicle for Mithun-da’s son Mimoh Chakraborty or as we call him around here Baby Prabhu.
A bit of history. Mimoh, named after Michael Jackson and Mohammed Ali (there is a tribute to Michael Jackson in “Jimmy” —-no there was no children involved but Jimmy grooves to a song to the tune of Billy Jean)was in his own words, studying astrophysics, planning to get into NASA (possibly as a rocket ballast) and struggling with his 120 Kg weight, when he got bitten by the acting bug, went to the US and trained under the greatest cinematic shaolins.
And now with “Jimmy” he is here to show us what he has learnt. And to answer the question: does Mimoh have it in him to become the next cinematic demi-God?
I can say, with pride, that he does.
First the dancing—the most important arrow in the quiver of a serious actor.
Forget Hrittik.
Forget Shakira.
Mimoh can move.
Whether it be the breaks, the Jackson jhatkas, the robot or the “intestine” move (here Jimmy moves his body sinuously as if it is the large intestine forcing a lump of digested food through to the orifice of ejection), Jimmy’s dance is Godly—-it is almost like watching the dance of Shiva with Mimoh’s feet giving off cosmic background radiation.
Of course due credit must be given to Bappa Lahiri, son of Bappi Lahiri for giving Mimoh amazing music to dance to.
Just like Mithun-da and Bappi Lahiri changed the course of India in the 80s, their sons get together to make history once again with Bappa showing he is a chip of the old block by ripping off the refrain from Eminem’s “Shake that ass for me” for the song “Boomshanker Bolo”.Equally amazing is the song “Marhabba” which when sung by the chubby-cheeked Mimoh sounds like “Morobba”, which in Bengali (Mimoh’s mother tongue) means jelly.
Then of course there is the physique. Now we are all well aware that Mimoh has been panned for being “fat”. Let me assure that Mimoh is not fat. He is, as Eric Cartman of South Park would say, big-boned. What makes him look corpulent is that he has does have a fat baby face (as well as voice) on a well-developed physique. Blame it on his mother Yogeeta Bali whose face (and perhaps metabolism) Mimoh has inherited. As Mimoh, in a tribute to his mother (a tribute sure to bring tears to the eye of all mothers).
I’ve very broad shoulders. I’ve inherited these big bones and the muscular look from my beautiful mother.
Now you cannot hold the “muscular look” against him—can you?
And finally the acting. A graduate from the New York Film Academy, Mimoh is a living testament as to how useful a 3 month crash course in the US can be. What many do not know is that he was accompanied in his US sojourn by Mithun-da who cooked for him and cleaned his apartment so that Mimoh can gain the maximum benefit
from his education. And the investment that has been made into Mimoh’s histrionic abilities has paid off, many times over as amply demonstrated by his performance in Jimmy which lesser reviewers (many of whom have no Amrika background in movies) have called wooden, amateurish and infantile.
These people have not only nitpicked about Mimoh’s performance but also commented negatively on the movie “Jimmy” in general calling it a cheap rehash of all the hoary old Hindi movie cliches arranged one after another—the poor man loving the rich girl, the evil partner trying to marry his “aiyaash” spolit brat to the rich girl, the all-suffering mother, dialogs like “mere saans aap ke paas gidvi hain” (“saans” [breath] and not saas [mother-in-law]) etc etc. Of course these people do not understand the concept of a “tribute to the 80s” and, like Kangsa Mama and Pontius Pilate, fail to recognize divinity even when it is right in front of their face.
So ignore these reviewers and other assorted fools who know not what they do or say.
Do the right thing.
See “Jimmy”.
And believe.
The Greatbong Blog & Podcast 
woww.. so u finally managed to get hold of a copy.
Who is the female lead?
Just missed the first comment .. and an ipod nano 😀
Hey where did you get hold of Jimmy ?? is it online ??
noooooooo………….
this cannot be happening….
U Bongs really don’t recognize the talent of ur own people. GB wrote a very sarcastic column about Moon Moon Sen, but in fact Moon Moon Sen is a very good actress who never got proper opportunities. She acted in a Telugu film named ‘Sirivennela’ along with another bong Sarvadaman Banerjee (yeah, that Krishna in Krishna serial) and won rave reviews for her acting and that film even got best film award by AP State govt. Even Mithun needed Bollywood to get recognition. Konkona Sen is also another example. There is something severely wrong with Bengal. May be u have become just like South Indians who are only interested in watching imported North Indian heroines and ignore all the talent in their own region.
“…planning to get into NASA (probably as rocket ballast)”… was truly priceless, if a mite obvious. Not being a major follower of Mithun da or even Mimoh, I have to say I feel like an expert on the guys by the time I finish reading your blogs on them.
Jesus dude why the hell would you watch a movie like “Jimmy”.
@ Scripps: Jesus dude, what could be a better watch? i can’t seem to get hold of a copy of it myself. this post just heightens the anticipation.
@GB: Good review but lacks the intensity of a Prabhuji’s movie review. I think Jimmy deserves more!
This is a good one….wonder what Mimoh would say to all the criticism….probably just: “Screw you guys, I am going home.”(Eric Cartman)
The best was DJ (Dancing Joker) 😀 . Oh I forgot the “Equally amazing is the song “Marhabba” which when sung by the chubby-cheeked Mimoh sounds like “Morobba”, which in Bengali (Mimoh’s mother tongue) means jelly.”
Let me check if I can get the torrent from the bay or somewhere else…
Hmmm……not motivating enough for me. 😛
Lacks intensity as Vishal has pointed out. Baby Parbhu has not been feted with the same honors which you bestow on his Dad
f@&$ing classic….awesome stuff! let’s just say movie reviews are totally your forte…you’ve got your groove back!!
GB:
Now can’t wait for your review of Don Muthu Swami. I hope you know about it…
“here Jimmy moves his body sinuously as if it is the large intestine forcing a lump of digested food through to the orifice of ejection”
OH MY G O D ( as janice would say for those who don’t know janice-its himesh reshamiya when he was a girl and acted in FRIENDS)
I got to see it// arnab da u have done a great service to humanity.. only u can be the mediator(daalal-which also happens to be prabhu’s 1993 blockbaastar)[*note to myself- Oh I am getting good at this..check out my comment in Moon square saga for clarification]between prabhuji and his family and us homo sapiens ..
Arnab da as we speak.. there has been another sighting of prabhu in a film by none other than sakti da(samanta ie, while the other specie was busy scratching his butt)its called DON MUTHU SWAMI.. It promises the world to Prabhu’s Bhaktvrindas..
mithun was(is) a fearless visionary, who pushed the boundaries of entertainment, its scope and what one can achieve with sheer grit and determination. its always difficult for the offspring of such a legend to make a mark, especially in the same area of work (think rohan gavaskar)
however, it is heart warming to see the fine young man has displayed ability to take the mantle forward. hail jimmy!
dada..fatafati!!!
soburey mewa foley..apnar lekha jimmyr review tar proman
Erm….where can I watch this epic movie?
“I practiced a lot. Locked myself in a room and danced all day and night. When I showed my steps to Mithun, he said ‘Mimoh, you are horrible’ and my heart broke. I thought I should just give up all my dreams of becoming a star.
Then he taught me how to dance. He wanted me to be an actor. So he never really pushed me to be an assistant director or anything. He wanted me to learn acting. And that is what I have done.”
I wonder why they didn’t make a sequel for the greatest story ever told(no, not that one, disco dancer)?. After a 20 year hiatus, Jimmy(Prabhuji) puts on his Shiny white boots to take a young protege(Mimo) under his wings to train him for the next Disco dancing competition. Only problem, Jimmy has oodles of talent(along with fat) but does not have discipline to be the best. Jimmy trains the Protege along the lines of 36 champers of shaolin(only for dancing in this case). In the climax, Jimmy to prove that he still has all the moves, Goes for a face off with Hritik roshan(Sp. appearance) who plays son of sam(karan razdan) and as usual with any movie in recent times, Amitabh bacchan plays the judge of the competetion.
“Jimmy writes s-functions faster than mex can compile”
– old jungle saying
GB, finally! Thanks for putting in the effort of getting hold of the movie. The review was good, but I felt not up to the highest standards that we have come to expect from you. BTW, is it just me or has anyone else noticed that Mimoh has the face of Yogita Bali with the body of Johny Liver?
Rocket Ballast…XD
Jimmy jimmy jimmy ……aaja aaja aaja 🙂
great post
oh! so he is big-boned like my pal cartman. he should wear a cap and hide his awful hair too. these sons are not a patch on their daddies, sadly.
The promos were enough proof that Jimmy needs to be avoided. Looks to me that you watched the movie just to write this sarcastic piece.
“Does Jimmy swing both ways like Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct?”
Dude! You scarred all the memories of the BI scene I had for life! 😦
sounds like a winner.lol.Brilliant review.Made my day.Again.
Looks like you finally got back your groove ….. awesome post 🙂
i believe….
For once, I agree with Kishore. We love to pull our brethren down. Maybe we like eating crabs too much.:)
aha! loved it… i’ll see the film…GB once again you manage to sell… 🙂
@Kishor and @Anirban Mitra,
In my opinion, a constructive criticism based on logic and facts eventually pays more than a blind eulogies. It is simply not true that most Bengali artists are hailed great only after they have been recognized by Bollywood/ South. Konkona Sen , Moon moon sen, Mithun certainly do not fall in this category, rather the contrary.
Even the south Indians are extremely loyal to Rajnikanth (& late Rajkumar) inspite of the criticisms.
However there should be some space for personal opinion too, I do think that most people who appreciate Aaguntuk won’t appreciate Baba keno Chakor( I do not implicitly claim any superior-inferior hierarchy)….
Yes, Jimmy was an interesting experience honored a lot of lost Bollywood traditions keeping the framework of Bachchan’s Majboor as a base.
“Arnab da as we speak.. there has been another sighting of prabhu in a film by none other than sakti da(samanta ie, while the other specie was busy scratching his butt)its called DON MUTHU SWAMI.. It promises the world to Prabhu’s Bhaktvrindas..”
Nahin!!!!!!!! The venerable Sakti da has not lost all his marbles in his old age (buro boyeshey bhimroti). He’s only lost some of them. He isn’t directing the film – he’s merely presenting it. The film’s directed by his son, who apparently thinks nothing of cynically exploiting his father’s name for peddling films like Don Muthu Swami.
I read your blog very sincerely and it is very attractive
From the article http://www.buzz18.com/interviews/movies/i-cant-watch-my-parents-romancing/45571/1
” All girls in school used to tie me rakhis. So I concentrated on my studies.”
This is so hilarious 🙂
@EVERYONE – Please donot even bring Agantuk(or any reference to the GREAT Ray) into this – even in a good natured manner- or into any other bollywood review.It just touches a raw nerve in me even to see him mentioned in the same breath as these chootiyas.
Just to respond to Kishor’s comment – I saw the telugu movie he is talking about.Moon Moon did an above avg job so did Banerjee..noone really recognises them as ‘legends’ in any sense of the word.
Awesome man :)) Always a good read. hehe 🙂
mithun=dhritarashtra
Excellent review – when you are not cursing a movie pyretically, your humour lashes out much better. Try to avoid posting reviews of films which you feel only the need to castigate – they are unworthwhile for your humour anyway – thus you can spare your readers lengthy berating. In contrast, this one is a gem.
GB,
Had to point this one out
http://www.rediff.com/movies/2008/jun/03look.htm
Njoy! 🙂
One bong giving leverage to another bong??
simulink guru…very funny!!
And I finally witnessed Prabhu-Putr’s debut miracle! Must say he has inherited Prabhuji’s dancing skills, but whose voice has he inherited??! And Im amazed at how his hair stays to one side through every single shot in the film….
Tears ran down my cheeks when Mimoh, in a mess he doesnt know how to get out of, kneels in front of the rocking chair his deceased father used to rock on and seeks strength!
This movie has everything….action, emotion, thrills, romance, dance, morals, betrayal….in short everything that made Prabhuji’s movies what they are!
Aise Prabhu Putr ki Jai Ho!
Simply brill review.
guess Jimmy is a classic and Mimoh a star in making ! 😛
I think ur just biased….Jimmy is one of the best movies i have ever seen…its got action, drama, violence, and sex..what else does anyone wish for, if not all these? Jimmy is the ‘to watch out for’.
I think this is actually the blog of Mithunda under the disguise of a name ie. GreatBong. Even the photo on the top right corner of the homepage of this blog resembles Mimoh to a great extent.
Jimmy is cult film & has a fan following. Please read the sole review on Mouthshut.com by me.
http://www.mouthshut.com/review/Jimmy-145093-1.html