Jawan Story – The Common Man Speaks

Shah Rukh Khan starrer Jawan has been creating an uproar at the box office, not just in India but also worldwide. Directed by Atlee Kumar, the film has found a lot of takers because of the non-stop entertainment it provides in terms of action, stunts, dialogue baazi, style, humour and, of course, performances.

However, it would be unfair to say that Jawan is just a massy entertainer. The film goes much beyond that and that is a major reason why it’s more special than the regular masala entertainers. To put it simply – Jawan is not only SRK’s most political film but also one of the most political films from mainstream Hindi cinema featuring one of the biggest superstars.

(SPOILERS begin)

Jawan unabashedly touches upon quite a few national issues in the course of its runtime. The film portrays the sorry plight of farmers in a hard-hitting manner. It shows that a farmer is literally tortured when he is unable to repay a loan of Rs. 40,000. But, at the same time, wealthy businessmen are allowed to take loans of enormous proportions without any issue.

The film also makes a daring statement on the complete lack of facilities in government-run hospitals and that it only takes a few hours for the scene to change, if there is a political will. There is also an angle about the lack of security for Electronic Voting Machines (EVM). One of the highest points in the film is Khan’s monologue where he urges the people to make the right choice while casting their vote and ensure that the government in power is held accountable.

But the most daring part about Jawan is the sub-plot about a large number of kids dying in a hospital because of lack of oxygen cylinders. This is right out of the real incident that took place in Uttar Pradesh a few years back. The film doesn’t stop at this though. It also shows how an innocent was made a scapegoat and the whole blame is put upon that person. Not many people (leave alone stars) are even willing to speak about this incident. But here is one of the biggest mainstream films with one of the biggest stars providing a sharp critique to that incident.

(SPOILERS end)

It would be putting it mildly to state that SRK has taken a risk by making a film with aforementioned incidents. One shouldn’t forget how actors, especially stars, are targeted for portraying anything that is against the establishment since 2014 onwards. But here, Khan has not only agreed to act in such a film as the main lead but also produce the movie. Hence, if the film would have faced any sort of protest or controversy, he would have been hit financially too after investing a large chunk of money in the film.

SRK made a major comeback this year with Pathaan, which made him regain his stardom. However, Jawan was bankrolled and made when Pathaan was long way away from release. This is another example of the major risk he took at a time when his stardom was majorly hit and when it wasn’t known that Pathaan would eventually become a big hit and his comeback.

Even with Pathaan, the star had taken a risk. He knew before the release of the film that he was being majorly targeted by the supporters and leaders of the ruling party. Yet he came up with a film where he is not only romancing a Pakistani but also an ISI member.

Pathaan faced the biggest boycott Bollywood campaign by the supporters of the ruling party. However, the film turned out to be the highest grossing Hindi movie. Of course, this happened because the movie-going public paid no heed to the boycotters and went for the film in large numbers.

But one must credit SRK for not showing lack of spine by meeting some prominent politicians in front of the media in a display of fake support, so that his film gets a smooth release. In fact, Shah Rukh called up a politician at 2 am after the latter had asked people to boycott the film. On the very next day, the politician said there is no need to boycott Pathaan. Khan also didn’t go the Aamir Khan way by pleading the audience to not boycott his film.

Hence, one cannot deny that it was Pathaan that not only put an end but also demolished the boycott trend. After a major fiasco with Pathaan, one hardly notices any serious calls for boycott for any film on social media.

All this also reminds us how SRK had held his ground against Shiv Sena during the massive controversy surrounding My Name Is Khan in 2010. Yes, there have been times where he has met and shown support to prominent politicians of the current regime. But one can’t take away the spine he has shown on various occasions when anyone else in his place would have melted.

Coming back to Jawan, hopefully, its daring content will encourage more mainstream actors to not shy away from showing a mirror to the current Indian society.

Also read: Jawan review (WITHOUT spoilers): A rare massy political entertainer

Shah Rukh Khan’s comeback this year with Pathaan was full of high-octane action stunts and dialogue baazi, which paved way for various whistle-worthy moments. The same can be said about his latest release Jawan. Yet, his latest outing is way different than Pathaan. In fact, you won’t even think of that film while watching Jawan. In other words, the actor has given two massy action entertainers that are as different as chalk and cheese.

Directed by Atlee Kumar, Jawan has a complex storyline taking place in two different timelines. To put it simply, it tells the story of a strange looking man (Khan) who enters a Mumbai Metro train from a station like any other passenger. A group of girls, played by Priya Mani, Sanya Malhotra, Girija Oak, Sanjeeta Bhattacharya, Lehar Khan and Aaliyah Qureishi, are already present in the train. They too appear like ordinary passengers.

But as soon as the train leaves the station, the man announces that the train is hijacked. The group of girls are from his team. The man frightens the passengers with his antics. A senior cop Narmada (Nayanthara) is given charge of the case as she has handled such hostage situations before. She realizes that the man’s demands are not akin to any other hijacker. Kalee (Vijay Sethupahi), the fourth largest arms dealer in the world, is also forced to get involved in the whole affair.

Jawan is a true blue masala entertainer in every sense. It doesn’t fail to hold your attention even for a moment as it’s full of events and situations that keep you glued to the screen. The narrative is a fine mixture of action sequences, confrontations, humour, emotional moments and dialogue baazi. In fact, this is a rare film of today’s times where a runtime of close to three hours passes away in a jiffy. You won’t even think of checking the time, even during unimpressive songs because they too are taking the story forward.

The interval point deserves a special mention as it’s one of the best first-half ending you will see in a Hindi film. The same excitement is generated in the climax as well (can’t reveal much to avoid spoilers).

But Jawan isn’t limited to being a crowd-pleasing actioner. The film is political in nature with even subtle digs at the establishment. One situation is right out of a real political tragedy in north India, which stuns you and makes you applaud the makers for their daring. And to see a big star like SRK not only agreeing to be a part of such film, both as an actor and producer, is praiseworthy.

As far as Shah Rukh Khan’s performance is concerned, he has never been presented in such a larger-than-life manner before, like Atlee has done here. The film required SRK to show a wide range of his talent while portraying different moods and emotions and he comes up with one of his finest acts.

Vijay Sethupathi, strangely, doesn’t get to emote much in a majority of the period. Thankfully, he comes into his own in the second half and the ending moments. Nayanthara makes a successful Hindi film debut. Thankfully, she wasn’t required to just become a filler, which is the case in most hero-centric masala entertainers. The long list of female cast as the mysterious man’s aides (Priya Mani, Sanya Malhotra, Girija Oak, Sanjeeta Bhattacharya, Lehar Khan and Aaliyah Qureishi) do well in whatever was required of them.

Sunil Grover and Ridhi Dogra are likeable too, although they don’t get to do much. Deepika Padukone was said to play a cameo but she has an important role, which she performs well. Sanjay Dutt’s cameo is hilarious.

Jawan also impresses you in terms of the technical aspects like action stunts (a major strong point), camerawork, background score and editing.

Also read: Kennedy review: Anurag Kashyap’s political cum crime drama is impressive

The movie, however, isn’t a smooth ride. It is common knowledge that such films require you to keep logic at bay. But even after doing that, some situations, action sequences and character behavior are too far-fetched. More importantly, after a point in the second half, the proceedings also become complicated and, at times, questionable as well. If not the logic part, they could have taken care of this aspect during the scripting stage itself.

Overall: Jawan is an exciting masala entertainer with a daring political touch.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5