The story is simple and sweet in keeping with most comedies.  But the dialogues for the film convey so many old Indian cinema morals, that you will often catch the stars improvising their lines to cover up each time something does not make sense in this era.  Witness how the movie starts off with the computer graphic laden video of the title song, only to quickly become old-worldly in the very first scene of the narrative.  (Mukherjee obviously did not direct the video for the title song.)

Anil Kapoor is hilarious in the role of Shankar.   The character gives Kapoor the opportunity to hone his comedic talent so much so that an expert comedienne like Juhi Chawla is often relegated to the sidelines.  The supporting cast is competent, but we have seen everyone perform these kind of characters in their earlier movies.

Mukherjee would have benefitted from watching the style of contemporary directors like Ramgopal Varma, Mani Ratnam, Mansoor Khan and even David Dhawan.  He boringly strings his scenes together by using an unending barrage of fade-in, fade-out effects.  Such editing may work well in live stage performances or once or twice in a movie, but not in a never-ending fashion throughout the movie.

Other than the title song, the songs of the movie are also too simple for their own good.  Right off the bat, let me say that "Dear O Dear" is one of the worst tune and lyric combinations you will ever hear, and the video does nothing to better one's opinions.  Juhi looks gorgeous in those sarees and shalwar-kameezes, but what is the point if the videos are just going to perpetuate the Hindi film stereotype of the hero and heroine running after one another through a tree forest.  Grow up.  And for heaven's sake, do something novel people.   Luckily, the cinematography is an eye-filler when the songs become too boring to watch.

One cannot but help feel depressed after having had high expectations of Jhooth Bole Kauwa Kaate.  The film proves that only Yash Chopra and Subhash Ghai have been able to keep up with the taste of the masses and classes over the last three decades.  As society changes over time, the progress should also be reflected in its cinema.  (One can at least argue that the positive changes in the world should be reflected in films, if nothing else.)   Simplicity will work in the twenty-first century, but only simplicity which reflects what is simple for that era.  In the seventies, JBKK would have been a mega-hit.  In the nineties, Jhooth Bole Kauwa Kaate is a watchable movie.  It may be enjoyed for time-pass purposes once.  More than that, you would have to be a Hrishikesh Mukherjee or 1970s' devotee to enjoy it.