"Purani Jeans" gets by on the strength of the simplicity in the storytelling. The story of five friends who called themselves the 'Kasauli Cowboys' and who dream of making something of their lives individually and collectively as part of the college group, is so uncluttered and neat, you admire its lack of ambition. It's a pungent premise that doesn't quite peak to the point of poignancy in the proceedings. Still, you come away moist-eyed from some key scenes which are played out with the endearing transparency of the heart worn unpretentiously on the celluloid sleeve.
There's a quality of unstrained sweetness about the characters. Tanuj Virmani, showing a marked improvement since his debut performance last year, is given charge of the proceedings. He's the prized student of the campus who makes it big outside his hometown. He is like Ranbir Kapoor in "Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani", though far less skittish and self-centred in his behaviour. When he's caught with his pants down, it's not his fault. The script urgently needed a dramatic turn.
