'Jodi kintu tobuo', your next favourite deshi rom-com

On the night of her engagement, Preety receives a text from her fiancé Abir. By the time she reads the text, Abir has already fled from the event.

Mostly every commercial romantic comedy holds a pleasing love story, some twists and plots, witty dialogues, and a 'happily ever after' climax. 

Watch the trailer of 'Jodi kintu tobuo' here 

However, award-winning director Shihab Shaheen's 'Jodi kintu tobuo' is a new addition to this genre with some colourful interesting bits and a new urban setting. 

Abir, a university student, falls in love with Preety at first glance. After some wooing, Preety finally agrees to be in a relationship with him.  

Popular actors Nusraat Faria and Ziaul Faruq Apurba played the roles of Preety and Abir. 

Five years into their relationship, Abir is trying to establish his start-up while Preety's parents are planning to marry her off. 

Abir is reluctant to marry as he feels the marriage would ruin the charm of their relationship. 

This movie aptly showcases what commitment actually means for urban youths these days. 

When Abir hesitates to commit to marriage, Preety's father, a retired Army Brigadier, played by veteran actor Tariq Anam Khan, is prompted to marry her off with Rehan. 

And after a minor accident, some dissent and confusion, Abir ends up at Preety's home wearing shorts!  

Writer and Director Shihab Shaheen broke away from the mainstream plot where an angry father humiliates the hero while caging his daughter inside the room. 

Instead, here, the slightly comical father agrees to accept Abir on Preety's lamentation.  

The careful transition of sequences in the first half deals with both the arrangements of a big, fat, Dhakaite wedding, and the looming insecurities of the male protagonist Abir. 

The joyous excitement of a wedding parallel with increasing tension grabs the audience's attention in no time. 

Regardless of his love towards Preety, Abir finds himself trapped between meeting family expectations and managing financial constraints. 

He flees his wedding at the pinnacle of the moment, embarrassing the families, and baffling Preety with his betrayal. 

An angry Preety decides to marry Rehan to keep her father's honour intact. 

Abir escapes to Cox's Bazar and although he tries hard to justify his running away, he eventually feels guilty. 

Having a change of mind, he decides to return to Preety and crash her wedding with Rehan. 

The second half of the movie is a bit hurried and it felt as if the director somehow missed the comfortable rhythm of the first half. 

Yet viewers get to witness a colourful Dhakaite wedding in the second half.  

Abir repeatedly trying to convince Preety or Preety going through all the 'Jodi kintu tobuo' confusions makes the movie dramatic and also a bit predictable. 

Through a destination wedding at Cox's Bazar, this movie showcases almost every ritual of a traditional Bangla wedding. 

For the urban-based cinephiles, this movie surely brings a sigh of relief. 

Other than shooting on the floors of BFDC, this movie was also shot in Dhaka and Cox's Bazar.

It widely shows an urban Dhakaite lifestyle, non-cinematic household conversations, and the use of spontaneous English accent. 

Viewers will appreciate the eye-catching overhead long shots of Cox's Bazar at the beginning.  

With his vast emotive ranges, Apurba has portrayed the determination and insecurities of Abir well. 

Nusraat Faria, at the same time, has brought together all the pieces of the urban raised Preety's self-esteem and her emotions towards Abir. 

During this lockdown, streaming movies or series have become a global popular culture. 

While lying bored on our couches or browsing through our laptops randomly, we often think of which mind-blowing thriller or pleasing rom-com we can watch next.

Zee5, the largest OTT platform for South Asian content, brought 'Jodi kintu tobuo' on April 1 for their Bangladeshi audiences. 

Like other Bangladeshi originals on Zee5, this rom-com genre movie is also free for Bangladeshi viewers. 

If you miss attending a wedding ceremony, you could watch 'Jodi kintu tobuo' which has all the elements to become the 'Bangladeshi wedding of the year'. 

The author is a contributor at The Business Standard