Comedy is serious business and to make moviegoers laugh at the right places is nothing short of a challenge. But not all comedies succeed in their endeavor. For any comic fare to strike a chord, it ought to be scripted well, garnished with rib-tickling moments and most importantly, star actors with an immaculate timing to pull it off.

Unfortunately, JAWANI DIWANI is neither a scriptural gem, nor does it boast of funny moments. In fact, the screenplay is so childish that you often pinch yourself, is this for real? The writing is so sub-standard, so juvenile at times that you often think, how was it okayed in the first place?

JAWANI DIWANI belongs to the same genre as MASTI and KYAA KOOL HAI HUM, since double entendres and a liberal dose of skin show are merged with the main plot. But in the absence of a cohesive script, the best of garnishing fall flat. That's exactly why JAWANI DIWANI fails.

In a nutshell, JAWANI DIWANI tries so hard to make you laugh, but the humor, jokes, gags, punches, light moments... fall like a pack of cards.

Mann [Emraan Hashmi], a wannabe singer, is a hardcore opportunist. He does not hesitate in 'choosing' Radha [Hrishitaa Bhatt] as his love interest for a purely selfish reason: Radha is the daughter of Umesh Jumani [Tiku Talsania], a music company owner.

An agreement for Mann's music album is signed and the marriage with the music baron's daughter is confirmed. It's time to celebrate and Mann heads for Goa with his two friends. But a one-night stand with the Goan beauty Roma [Celina Jaitley] lands him in trouble. He is forced to marry her by the underworld don Chappu Bhai [Mahesh Manjrekar], an admirer of Roma.

Roma respects the sanctity of marriage, but the marriage means a ruined career and shattered dreams for Mann. Only a miracle could get him out of this mess, is what he believes. Roma proves to be one. She frees Mann from the relationship. Mann flies to Mumbai where Radha and a shining career await him. Convincing Radha, who is genuinely in love with him, is not really difficult. But there's a twist in the tale again.

Roma re-enters Mann's life: She is the chosen model and Mann's co-star for his video. While filming the video, Mann realizes his growing concern for Roma. He also realizes his folly of giving up true love for a career. But Roma wouldn't let him give up his career for love. She walks out of Mann's life for the second time.

The marriage between Mann and Radha, scheduled after two months, is now pre-poned to an hour from then since a shocked Radha learns of Roma. Mann decides to surrender himself to fate, but there's a third twist in the tale.

JAWANI DIWANI is archaic in concept [writer: Pradeep Tiwari] and execution [director: Manish Sharma], both. Talking purely from the screenplay point of view, Emraan's character of a man with a roving eye isn't new anymore. Latching on to the first opportunity to make it big in life, Emraan uses Hrishitaa to realize his dreams. But the way he goes about it, without much effort, seems like child's play.

Then Emraan heads for Goa and indulges in a one-night stand with Celina. Haven't they met barely a few minutes ago? Okay, some men are charismatic, but Celina, who is supposed to have a holier than thou image, not only indulges in pre-marital sex, but agrees to marry him the very next morning because the underworld don [Mahesh Manjrekar] insists on it. Is the woman of today pea-brained?

Immediately thereafter, Celina signs the divorce papers because Emraan feels caged in the relationship. So why does she re-enter his life later? Okay, the don plants her in the video, but why doesn't Celina object to it, especially since she herself had signed the divorce papers at the outset? No explanations!

The climax is a complete downer. Hrishitaa's decision to play the sacrificial lamb at the marriage registrar's office is hackneyed and outdated in concept. And all through the film, Manjrekar comes across more as a buffoon than a don.

If the screenplay of JAWANI DIWANI is lousy, the direction is amateurish. The film is meant to be a joyride, but the execution is such, it's difficult to gulp the goings-on after a point. Director Manish Sharma is not only ill-equipped with a shoddy script, but even his vision of cinema is of the 1970s variety. Music is strictly okay, although the placement of songs in the second hour gets on your nerves. Whether or not the situations warrant a song, they do pop up at regular intervals. Cinematography [Rajeev Shrivastava] is alright. Dialogues are witty at places, but the double entendres are crude and indigestible.

Emraan tries hard to infuse life in JAWANI DIWANI, but in vain. The actor is capable of much more, but even a sincere performance from him cannot uplift things. Celina shows improvement in dramatic sequences, but needs to work on emotional ones. Hrishitaa doesn't get much scope. Mahesh Manjrekar just doesn't work. He hams throughout. Tiku Talsania is loud. Shehzad Khan does a takeoff on Anu Malik well.

On the whole, JAWANI DIWANI cuts a sorry picture. At the box-office, a poor show all the way!