Juno is a very unusual movie for the Indian audience. It talks about a subject which was briefly dealt in its desi version in Kya Kehna (in case you don’t remember, it was Preity Zinta’s first movie where she gets pregnant as a college-going girl, courtesy Saif Ali Khan). Juno the movie is about a 16-year-old girl named Juno, who is named so after her father’s fascination for Roman and Greek Gods. Juno the protagonist struggles with an unplanned pregnancy after her one-night sexual encounter with her high-school friend.

Juno is a very sensitive and light-hearted film, and keeps the audience involved till the end. The performances are very natural. The character of Juno is portrayed effortlessly by 20-year-old Ellen Page, who I have seen for the first time on screen. Even the support cast is excellent. The most familiar face is that of Jennifer Garner, who plays the parent who eventually adopts Juno’s child. Juno’s parents are shown as concerned parents who stand by their child even after she discloses her pregnancy to them. Though they are shocked they plan to go ahead with the delivery.

However, the winner of the movie is Ellen Page who effortlessly plays the character of a teenage girl, having to confront the staring eyes of her friends, colleagues and even her boyfriend’s mother. When she discovers she is 3 weeks pregnant, she opts for an abortion like any girl of her age would do. She changes her mind when she comes across a woman with a placard outside the abortion clinic who says that an unborn child has a heart and finger nails. The thoughtful 16-year-old is emotionally touched by that and plans to go ahead with the delivery. She looks for a couple in a newspaper called Pennysaver who could adopt the child after he/she is born. She finds this wealthy couple who yearn for a child. They also commit that they would compensate all kinds of medical expenses.

Thereafter, it is a story that has its own brand of humor and heartfelt moments. Juno is shown making good friends with the man who would adopt her child later, and how she shares common interests like rock music with him. It also brings to light the matter of bad marriage that the man is having with his wife. Once Juno discovers that, she is disrupted and hurt. It is at this moment that she talks to her dad, who gives her consultation with words of wisdom.

The film will make you laugh throughout, and will just hold you from crying when you think it is going to enter that mode, which keeps the movie light yet with a tone that succinctly conveys a few important messages. Juno is a celebration of pregnancy (the joys and thrills of it), it gives you a tunnel vision of how family can stay as one despite differences, and convinces you that love is unconditional.

All in all, Juno is a film that cuts across all age groups, and its brand of subtle humor is what comes along once in a 2-3 years. A must watch this spring!