Juna Furniture Review - Flabbergasting Idea Of Father's Revenge Hurt By Overloud Compositions

Juna Furniture Review: As Mahesh Manjrekar shared in an interview, it's true that many senior citizens are called Juna Furniture (old furniture) nowadays. Their problems and their silent cries deserve to be heard, and they deserve justice. Manjarekar's Juna Furniture demands that justice, but in a not-so-convincing way. The idea is overwhelming and flabbergasting, but the initial storytelling falters at many places. That overloud execution, childish courtroom hearings, and that big twist followed by a messy storyline don't help either. The film attempts to explore the real problems of senior citizens but gets overdriven by its revenge drama and social movement more than the actual context of the film. Moreover, it forgets to mention the word "Juna Furniture"—even once.The film is about an old couple who are longing to meet and talk to their son, whom they have grown up to be an IAS officer. All their sacrifices are forgiven, and the son is more happy with his new father, i.e., his father-in-law, who is too rich. One day, the mother is not feeling well and is taken to the hospital. The father tries to call his son for financial help but can't reach him because the son is busy at a party. His negligence causes his mother's death, and then the father decides to drag the son to court. Mr. Pathak alleges that his son killed his wife, and a long courtroom drama begins. The case instantly catches the media's and public's eyes, and Mr. Pathak becomes a public hero in no time. He fights for compensation money, which he has spent on his son's education and other hobbies. Rs. 4,72,86,100. Remember that number. Will he win it? Don't worry, that isn't all. There is a big twist in the ending that turns the film upside down, but you better watch out for that in the film.Juna Furniture touches on a very good concept and talks about a very powerful topic. However, the screenplay and presentation aren't worthy enough. Rather, they are too bad. The film has many overloud segments, from the main protagonist's arguments to even the media's remarks. It seems like a low-budget and low-grade film most of the time. The twist in the last quarter has shock value, but the drama that happens after that isn't really convincing at all. It's messy and terribly disordered. I was expecting that fella, the son, to take a stand, but he was a silent puppet throughout the film. Come on, man, he is an IAS officer. I expect him to be smart, intelligent, intellectual, and, furthermore, a man who can make quick and right decisions. I mean, that's what IAS officers do. He was flabbergasted by an old man, an accountant. How?!! Or was that a severe image of antagonism? There are many more things like this, but I can't discuss them since this review has to be spoiler-free. I'd have to mention those scenes to explain what was wrong with them, but unfortunately, I can't do that. But let me tell you, the film has some super-fictional and unrealistic things coming out of predictable old dramas that no one can justify.Speaking of performances, Mahesh Manjrekar is seen throughout the film, but he has shown so many varieties that I couldn't believe he was the same man. In one scene, he is a strong man. In the next scene, we have him as a man with an elephant's memory, and then in the third one, he seems like an old man trying to be a little messy with his speech. Bhushan Pradhan plays a sophisticated villain here, and you can't expect anything else but a mute fella with no courage, no brain, and mostly no dialogue. Medha Manjrekar is decent in her well-written role of a supporting wife, whereas Anusha Dandekar sounds irritating with her broken Marathi. Upendra Limaye's gangster is lovable, but too out of line. Sachin Khedekar makes a perfect judge, even though the ideology of the character falls short. Shivaji Satam, Sameer Dharmadhikari, Girish Oak, and other supporting cast members aren't anything great either.Juna Furniture has a couple of emotional songs towards the end that align well with the situations. I wasn't expecting Devak Kalji remake to sound so good at that moment, but it did. The dialogues are somewhat scattered, but they do make some sense. It's just the layout and the way they are said that hurt their impact. The cinematography, production design, and editing are subpar. It's time to acknowledge the fact that Mahesh Manjrekar isn't the same director anymore who made Astitva, Vaastav, Kaksparsh, and Natsamrat. The downfall is horrible, but true. He has done a great injustice to this socially challenging subject of Juna Furniture with his outdated storytelling and bad direction. The same script deserved a better screenplay and direction, and then, I guess, it would have become a "Social Movement." Yet, some emotional segments and speeches work on the sentimental side to overcome the rest of the faults in the film.