Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na follows six friends after college: Jai, Aditi, Shaleen, Jiggy, Rotlu, and "Bombs". The movie begins with the friends besides Jai and Aditi telling the story of those two friends to Jiggy's new girlfriend while they wait at the airport for them to arrive.
Jai and Aditi are the closest friends through five years of college, and they lead the close-knit group. Everyone assumes that they are deeply in love because they act so close and are constantly together, but they swear they are just friends. Both decide that to adjust to being on seperate continents from each other after college, they decide to give each other space and find a good match for each other. Jei gets a girl named Meghna, and they become so infatuated that they leave the rest of the group behind. Meghna puts a rift between Jai and Aditi, and they drift apart because of his relationship. Just as Jai begins to become unhappy with Meghna, Aditi finds herself a guy. With marriage proposals on the way and engagements, it looks like the two would be better off not admitting their feelings at all.
The whole story of their relationship is also intertwined by the story of how Jai becomes a man through the rite of passage that the savage group his Disappeared Dad belonged to. Hilarity Ensues.
It can be watched for free (legally) here
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This movie provides examples of:
- Action Mom: Jai's mother, Savitri, has shades of this.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: It ends up being a bad idea for Aditi. "If I wanted a Nice Guy I would have fallen for you!"
- Arc Words: The title comes from a song from the movie Aa Gale Lagja. And the six friends are always singing it to each other. And the title shows up in nearly every song in some form.
- Berserk Button: Jai practices non-violence unless someone harms Aditi. Despite Sushant having a black belt, Jai knocks him out in three punches.
- Beta Couple: Rotlu and Bombs.
- Betty and Veronica: Aditi and Meghna.
- Bowdlerise: The subtitles translate "saala" in Pappu Can't Dance to... "baby."
- Crazy Jealous Guy: Sushant. He is extremely possessive about the girls he is with, including his ex-girlfriend, and he cannot tolerate it when they move on. He also tends to resort to violence.
- Cowboy: Bhalu and Bagheere. And Jai in the film's climax.
- Crowd Song: "Hai muscular, hai popular, spectacular, he's a bachelor! (He's a bachelor, he's a bachelor!)"
- Also see: Nazrein Milana, Nazrein Churana and Kabhi Kabhi Aditi.
- Everyone Can See It: From the very beginning. The two first refuse to believe it, but mostly they just don't want to ruin a great friendship by making it a romantic relationship.
- Cute Kitten: It's hard to decide who's cuter at the end of Kabhi Kabhi Aditi: Imran Khan or the kitten.
- Expository Hairstyle Change: Aditi's hair changes from curly to straight halfway through the film, when she becomes aware of her crush on Jai.
- Forgotten Birthday: Aditi's birthday is missed for a date with Mehgan— she doesn't take it well.
- Framing Device: The story is framed through the friends telling Mala the story of Jai and Aditi.
- Frothy Mugs of Water: "Give me coke... on the rocks. Make it strong."
- Subverted when other characters are openly shown drinking.
- Gratuitous English
- Hidden Depths: Aditi's younger brother, Amit. He often insults Jai, much to Aditi's chagrin, and is a free spirit who seldom interacts with his family. However, Amit is a gifted artist who can paint on profound themes. He also calls out Aditi for hanging out with Sushant and being in denial of her feelings for Jai. With just one glance, Amit correctly guesses that Sushant is a mean, arrogant, and selfish prick and outright warns his sister. And despite Amit's animosity towards Jai for winning his family's favour, he acknowledges Jai's virtues and admits that he is the perfect match for Aditi.
- Hide Your Lesbians: The director states in the DVD commentary that he intended for Shaleen to be a lesbian, but in the film this is depicted entirely through subtext.
- Instant Expert: Legend has it that horsemanship is an innate trait of every male born in the Rathore clan. Despite having never ridden a horse before, Jai is able to ride all the way to the airport and return.
- Long-Lost Relative: The two Cowboys who make frequent appearances throughout the movie...turn out to be Jai's cousins who used to play with him as a toddler. They use their connections to bail Jai out and lend him one of their horses to rush to the airport.
- Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Picked for Jei purposely by Aditi— she says he needs a "silly, wild and sweet romantic type."
- Momma's Boy: Subverted. Jai's close to his mom, but it's portrayed as a good thing.
- Pacifist: Savitri raised Jai to be one, and often told him that his father, Amar Singh Rathore, abhorred violence and died while mediating a conflict. However, the truth is that Savitri did not want Jai to follow the footsteps of his father, who died in battle. Amar's spirit is appalled by Savitri's upbringing of Jai, but is certain that Jai will complete the clan's Rite of Passage.
- The Pollyanna: Meghna is a deconstruction of this.
- Proud Warrior Race Guy: The Rathore clan from Ranjhore takes masculinity very seriously. Amar Singh is appalled when Savitri intends for their son to remain a pacifist.
- Relationship Upgrade: The entire point of the film.
- Rite of Passage: The Rathore clan of Ranjhore imposes three conditions that a member must fulfill in order to become a real man: 1) Ride a horse, 2) Beat someone up, 3) Go to prison. The conditions can be fulfilled in any order. Jai fulfils all three conditions in one night, which appeases the spirit of his dead father, Amar Singh Rathore.
- Rated M for Manly: Jai's deceased father, Amar Singh Rathore, is hailed as an exemplary man by the Rathore clan in Ranjhore. There are many exploits of him beating up people and hunting dangerous animals with his bare hands. Amar died in a battle against the Pathan family when one of the enemies stabbed him from behind. Amar's spirit is appalled by Jai's pacifist upbringing and dances in joy when Jai completes the clan's Rite of Passage.
- She Is Not My Girlfriend: Aditi and Jei's attitude.
- Shout-Out: The last scene has a person at the airport with a sign saying "Mr. Godot".
- The Social Expert: Amit, surprisingly, despite being The Shut-In. He can accurately assess people's personalities in one glance, and is actually a wise guy, who gives sound advice to Aditi.
- True Companions: In the form of Jai, Aditi, Rotlu, Bombs, Jiggy and Shaleen.
- Tsundere: Aditi sure has her moments. So does Mala.
- Will They or Won't They?: The movie's narrative structure hangs a huge freaking lampshade on it.
- Victorious Childhood Friend: Averted. Jai and Aditi may have been friends for a while, but they met in college.
