Friday 9 October 2015

Jazbaa :: Movie Review

                                  Image result for 3.5 stars out of 5  

Jazbaa helmed by Sanjay Gupta which is the comeback vehicle of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is a fast-paced, taut thriller peppered with some outstanding dialogues, excellent performances and a formidable climax. Sanjay Gupta, a name to reckon with when it comes to making sleek, stylish movies is back with his latest outing Jazbaa. Like his previous flicks, the one aspect that stands out in Jazbaa is that it offers a catch-you-unaware story to Indian cine-goers. In the past, Gupta borrowed stories from the West. This time, for Jazbaa, he looks at the East for inspiration. Based on acclaimed director Won Shin-yeon 's Korean crime thriller Seven Days (2007) starring Yunjin Kim and Park Hee-Soon, what sets apart Jazbaa from films of its ilk is its interesting premise. Besides a story that is indeed a novel experience for Indian moviegoers, Jazbaa is embellished with several twists and turns in the tale that come as a complete shocker. For those who haven't watched the original Korean flick, Jazbaa will take you by complete surprise. The best part about Jazbaa is its unrelenting pace and power which keeps you on edge of your seats. It's not that Jazbaa is flawless; a couple of over melodramatic scenes are there that don't gel well with the flow of narrative but still Jazbaa has more pluses than minuses. The fast paced narrative of the movie also ably brushes upon couple of social relevant issues during the course of its run-time;  Jazbaa talks about loopholes in our Judiciary and how some criminals take advantage of that and walk out free without getting convicted when aided by smart lawyers. It also talks about that even in today's world how morality of young independent women is questioned after they go through trauma of rape. It also talks about the issue of female foeticide through the movie's female protagonist who got separated from her husband only because he wanted her to abort the baby girl in her womb as he wanted a male child. But, all these issues don't sound heavy or preachy in the film as they have been cleverly interlaced in the narrative by Sanjay Gupta. The fast paced narrative, unexpected twists in the storyline and some deadly punchlines dotted with wry humor that are mouthed by Irrfan Khan make Jazbaa, a delightful watch.       

STORY & SCREENPLAY (SPOILERS AHEAD)      ::               The screenplay of the movie has been penned down by Sanjay Gupta along with Robin Bhatt where as the dialogues of the movie have been written by Kamlesh Pandey. The U.S.P. of this film is its fast paced, taut screenplay with lot of unexpected twists and turns. A special mention of Kamlesh Pandey for his well written dialogues which are a combination of feisty as well as punchlines laced with wry humor. And, when you have Irrfan Khan delivering them on-screen, it acts as an icing on the cake. The film begins with a take on Anuradha Verma (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) who is one of the leading criminal lawyers in Mumbai and a single mother to her daughter Sanaaya (Sara Arjun). She has a best friend in the form of Inspector Yohaan (Irrfan Khan) who has been dismissed from the service on corruption charges. Anuradha's life is turned upside down when one fine day her daughter is kidnapped from her school. The kidnappers instead of asking for a ransom money, want Anuradha to fight the case of a drug peddler Nayaaz (Chandan Roy Sanyal) and get him free from the clutches of law. Nayaaz has been convicted of raping and murdering Sia (Priya Banerjee), daughter of a college professor Garima (Shabana Azmi). Left with no other option, Anuradha takes up Nayaaz's case and starts collecting evidence to get him free. She takes up Yohaan's help in gathering information about the case. Initially, she doesn't tell Yohaan about the kidnapping of Sanaaya as the kidnappers are keeping a tab on all her activities but later on she confides everything to Yohaan. Despite being dismissed from service, Yohaan gets into Sanaaya's kidnapping case and begins his own investigation. Yohaan & Anuradha come to know that a prominent politician (Jackie Shroff) and his son (Siddhant Kapoor) are also connected with the case and Siddhant was present in the room when Sia was murdered. Who are the kidnappers, what is their motive behind getting Niyaaz walk out of the prison, Will Anuradha be able to get Niyaaz walk away scot-free, Will Yohaan & Anuradha be able to get Sanaaya back is what forms the rest of the story.   

STARCAST                                                         ::                          It's difficult to think of anyone other than Aishwarya Rai Bachchan for the role of female protagonist in the movie. Aish is simply stupendous in the film and has ably displayed myriad number of emotions in the movie, making her character look so believable. Whether be it as the grieving mother who is going through the trauma of her missing daughter or the poised, confident lawyer defending her clients in the court....Aish has portrayed her character with equal amount of finesse. There couldn't have been a better comeback film for her as Jazbaa offers her chance to portray gamut of emotions and Oh Boy! Aish doesn't let the opportunity slip away from her. Irrfan Khan is seen in a truly young angry man avatar in this movie and as expected he excels in it. With his impeccable performance in the movie, Irrfan truly captures your heart and imagination. On top of it, he gets to mouth some real good liners which he does with aplomb. Sample this ; Main Tumhara wo baap hoon, jiske baare mein tumhari amma ne tumhein nahin bataya. & Mohabbat hai isi liye jane de raha hoon, zid hoti to baahon mein hoti. In his own impeccable style, Irrfan has lent several clap trap moments to the film. Shabana Azmi has lent exceptional gravitas to this movie with her acting prowess. Shabana has enacted the character of Garima Chaudhary with shrill theatricality which enlivens the progress of the film. Chandan Roy Sanyal has played the part of film's principle antagonist with sheer brilliance. With his apt body language & dialogue delivery, Chandan has literally lived the part. Chandan is one of those brilliant actors who deserve to be seen more frequently on-screen in more meatier roles. Though it is her first outing in Bollywood yet Priya Banerjee has come out real impressive in Jazbaa. Priya has essayed the character of Sia, a young independent,outgoing & creative girl who has lived a restless life, firstly after separation of her parents and than demise of her father with right amount of confidence, attitude and conviction.  Jackie Shroff & Atul Kulkarni manage to impress during their brief stint on-screen. Amongst ensemble starcast, noticeable performances have been delivered by Abhimanyu Singh, Siddhant Kappor, Kaizaad Kotwal & Sara Arjun.              
 
TECHNICAL FINESSE                                            ::     Technical finesse has always been the forte of Sanjay Gupta while helming his movies and he has stood his ground firmly with Jazbaa too. The musical soundtrack of the movie that has been composed by Arko, Amjad-Nadeem along with Badshah packs quite a punch with its varied numbers. The background music of the movie has been composed by Amar Mohile who has done an outstanding job as the apt BGM provides a further propulsion to the visual commentary of the movie. The cinematographer of the movie is Sameer Arya who has captured different locales of Mumbai with aplomb. Sameer's camera roams the city restlessly. Sameer Arya has captured the emerging skyline of the city as well as its underbelly with equal finesse. The long shots of city waking from an uneasy slumber every morning merge into microscopic view of the movie's traumatized protagonist. Also, Sameer's usage of apt color palette as per the narrative is praiseworthy. A special mention of Wasiq Khan (Production Designer) & Subodh Srivastava (Costume Designer) for their effective contributions in their respective fields. The movie has been edited by Bunty Nagi who has kept the run-time of movie to 122 minutes. The editing of the movie is taut enough to hold the attention of audience throughout the movie, never giving you a dull moment to go out for loo break. There's no denying the fact that as a director, Sanjay Gupta is one of the most stylish filmmakers in the Indian film fraternity presently. As a writer-director, Sanjay Gupta has hit the right chords with Jazbaa. With his adroit direction, Sanjay Gupta has not only managed to extract the best out of his cast & crew but also manages to keep you hooked unto the screen till the very end. The best part is that Sanjay sticks to one chosen line and keeps the proceedings on a tight rein all through the movie's run-time. 

CONCLUSION                                                            ::         Jazbaa is a stylized, whodunit fast paced thriller peppered with wry humor and some towering performances making it a descent one time watch.

ROHIT SHARMA. 
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