Director: Prakash Jha

Producers: Prakash Jha Productions, A A Films and Play Entertainment

Writer: Prakash Jha

Cast: Priyanka Chopra, Prakash Jha, Manav Kaul, Kiran Karmarkar, Murli Sharma, Ninad Kamat, Vega Tamotia

Music: Salim-Sulaiman

Genre: Drama

Rating: * * ½

Review By: Keyur Seta

After Raajneeti, filmmaker Prakash Jha hasn’t been able to show his class in the films that followed – Aarakshan, Chakravyuh and Satyagrah. His latest outing, Jai Gangaajal, thankfully, turns out to be better than these three films. However, it suffers from some strange issues. The biggest one being the confusion over the main protagonist.

Jai Gangaajal takes place in the small town, Bankipur, which is a lawless land. So much so that the cops have become hand-in-gloves with the evil politicians of the town – minister Ramakant Chowdhary (Kiran Karmarkar) and his protégé MLA Babloo Pandey (Manav Kaul). But there are also some like inspector B N Singh (Prakash Jha), who are forced to side with them against their will and conscience.

After the Superintendent of Police (SP) of Bankipur becomes too much for the bad guys, he is replaced by the idealist and honest Abha Mathur (Priyanka Chopra). Chowdhary and Pandey are sure that a woman SP won’t pose any harm, but they are soon proved wrong. However, will she alone be able to make a difference in the long run?

Plusses:

– Jai Gangaajal is an engaging affair. Jha’s faced-paced script coupled with some interesting and witty dialogues keep you gripped. The first half, especially, is enjoyable.

– Jha’s in-and-out knowledge and understanding of politics is seen once again.

– Action sequences featuring Priyanka Chopra are impressive and exciting. It is heartening to see her beat the hell out of the bad guys. She succeeds in providing yet another powerful act.

– Salim-Sulaiman’s songs, all of which are played in the background, add more life to the action sequences. Other technicalities like cinematography and background score too fall in the positive category.

– Jha pleasantly surprises by his mature acting skills, making us wonder why he didn’t go in front of the camera all these years. However, at times, mostly during the action sequences, he appears uncomfortable.

– The film also has fine performances from Rahul Bhat (as the social worker), Kiran Karmarkar, Murli Sharma and Ninad Kamat. But, despite the fact that her character ends soon, Vega Tamotia manages to impress and gives a clear message that she deserves to be seen more.

– But Manav Kaul, the antagonist, is the best thing to have happened to Jai Gangaajal. He is outstandingly brilliant as the ruthlessly corrupt Babloo Pandey. After CityLights and Wazir, he once again forces other filmmakers to make note of himself and how!

Minuses:

– The story of an honest police officer rising against the baddies is badly done-to-death in Hindi cinema. In this case, the confrontational sequences between both the parties too are something that we have been witnessing since decades.

– But more surprisingly, the basic plot of Jai Gangaajal is eerily similar to its prequel, Gangaajal. In fact, a couple of sequences and even a few dialogues are straight out of that film.

– The duration of 2 hours and 38 minutes is too long for such a storyline.

– The climax is truly abrupt. It is difficult to believe that film actually ended this way.

– But the most troubling aspect is that Jha gets more importance than Priyanka. As surprising as it may sound, his character gets to carry out more heroic deeds than Abha Mathur. This clearly amounts to making a fool of the audience by highlighting Priyanka as the main lead in the promotional material. This will not go down well with her fans.

Overall: Jai Gangaajal is an average fare despite an impressive first half. The film is for those who enjoy political dramas. Going by the content and the not-so-positive opening collections, its box-office prospects don’t appear bright.