by Bollywood actors Ranbir Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor in a poster for their Hindi film ‘Tu Jhoothi … [+]
Director Luv Ranjan’s latest project Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar it has made a net collection of $10 million in the Indian markets alone within a week of its release. The film had an impressive opening on March 8 and grossed $2.2 million in India alone. It is now the second highest opening Hindi film this year, after Shah Rukh Khan’s film Pathan which had an opening collection of $6.7 million at the Indian box office in the Hindi markets on 25 January.
In the US only, Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar earned $929,817 through Sunday, March 12. Comscore
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The film made a net collection of $1.2 million each on the second and third day in the Indian market. Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar earned just over $2 million on Saturday and Sunday. The collections saw a sharp drop on Monday to $0.7 million and had a similar collection on Tuesday, taking the total to $10 million in India.
Directed by Ranjan, Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar it made a worldwide gross of $2.6 million on its first day of release on March 8. For India, Wednesday (March 7) was an important festival in many states. The country celebrated the Hindu festival of colors, Holion Tuesday and Wednesday (in different regions of the country) and Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar enjoyed extra steps, thanks to the public holiday for the festival.
The film marks the first on-screen collaboration for the leads. Ranjan co-wrote the film with Rahul Mody. Ayananka Bose is the Director of Photography in the film. Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar is a love story revolving around a modern couple and their problems. Ranjan’s previous films have often been accused of propagating misogyny. Pyaar Ka Punchnama and its sequel, as well as Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety blamed the heroines for breaking the hero’s bonds with his friends and causing many other problems in their lives. Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar it doesn’t do that, and yet it fails to hide the misogyny.
In his 2023 film, Luv would have you believe that he has broadened his worldview and decided to include the heroine’s perspective and even keep her on an equal platform with the hero. The first half shows Mickey (the protagonist) as the man who plays with emotions – one of his many jobs is to orchestrate clean and messy breakups with the help of manipulations. He’s ready to jump into a lifelong relationship in a matter of minutes, while Tiny is sensible enough to weigh her options before deciding to go for a ‘timepass’ relationship. He even proposes with some impressive lines – he promises to protect her from herself, perhaps saving her from making rash decisions under social or any other pressure.
All Ranjan heroines (Nushrat Bharucha’s Neha in Pyaar Ka Punchnama or her Ruchika next, or her Sweety Sharma Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety) are all gold diggers and irrational beings who manipulate their way to ensure that their man stays by their side and provides them with all the materialistic comforts of the world. Tinny is the opposite. For the entire first half, the heroine inside Tu Jhoothi Main Makkar he is self-confident, straightforward, operates with absolute clarity, and is not only financially independent, but loathes the idea of relying on someone else for that matter.
Of course, you can also see how the narrative isn’t interested in developing much of Tinny’s life, and when details of her life do come to light, they’re mostly there to take the blame for her mistakes. Right at the beginning of their flirting game, Tinny asks about the small details of Mickey’s businesses, but he doesn’t even bother to ask her about her profession.
Attempts to hide the misogyny only last until the interval inside Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar and we soon realize that Tinny is also the career woman (read “vamp” in the stereotypes of the language of the patriarchal world) who would rather be alone all her life than live with her in-laws. The fact that Mickey offers him a two-way choice to stay with both parents is wrapped up in so much else that you have to realize it’s not the main message.
Before Ranjan completes his story, he makes sure that the heroine is taught the importance of living with the in-laws. If the intentions were not clear enough, Ranjan shows two completely different ways of accommodating a working woman in a joint family, before and after the interval. More than a narrative device or the emotional importance of families, it seems like I’m training the heroine.
