Jazbaa (2015) Review!!

Synopsis – A criminal lawyer must race against time to free her abducted daughter with the help of a corrupt policeman.

My Take – So the ‘once upon a time’ top most leading lady of Bollywood aka Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is making a comeback into movies after a hiatus of five years! Her last release was unfairly panned brilliant 2010 drama Guzaarish (one of the few films I actually liked her in). Sure it may seem like the right time for an actress to make a comeback as Bollywood is finally churning out well written women centric films in the recent years (films like Kahaani, English Vinglish, Queen, Mardaani to name a few) which is really heartening and encouraging (in the sense of change). But teaming up (& co producing) with a director who has made a career out of shamelessly ripping off other films a good idea? Yes, I am talking about director Sanjay Gupta here! For those who didn’t know, his films – Zinda (2006), Musafir (2004), Kaante (2002), Jung (2000) & Khauff (2000) are shameless ripoffs! So is this film watchable? Somewhat yes, but mostly no! A remake of the 2007 South Korean film Seven Days (well of course), Sanjay Gupta‘s film, is a stylish thriller, but sadly, its soulless! Though not without its share of moments & a supporting cast that willingly delivers, this visually nonstriking film, lacks depth. Unlike Seven Days, the film seems stuck somewhere between being, a realistic gritty drama, and an over the top commercial entertainer. Plus adding in over the top cheesy dialogues & melodrama to the mix doesn’t help the film either. The film begins tepidly & remains dull for its most of its first-hour, but it gathers tremendous momentum in its second-hour. The pace is fast & the visual appeal holds. But, Gupta‘s adapted screenplay appeals in bits & pieces. The protagonist’s struggle to win back her daughter, with many twists & turns, sometimes add interest, but are predictable otherwise.

The corny dialogue, however, seem too filmy for a thriller such as this. Technically, this role on paper does seem like a role for an actress to shine in, but unfortunately Mrs Bachchan with her dead pan eyes & unbearable screams proves otherwise. The story follows Anuradha Verma (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan), a single mother & prominent lawyer, who has yet to lose a case. During a school function, her daughter is abducted. In order to set her daughter free, Anuradha is instructed to defend the case of a convicted rapist / murderer (Chandan Roy Sanyal) from death penalty. Anuradha has only few days before his trial ends. Anuradha’s cop friend Yohan (Irrfan Khan), a suspended policeman, finds out about the abduction and decides to help her. Anuradha has to race against time to save her daughter & defend against all odds. The movie begins with a bang depicting the events that changes Anuradha’s life from an independent lawyer to a struggling mother trying best to keep her daughter alive against all odds. Plus the introduction of Irrfan Khan as cop is welcomed with punching dialogues and humor. However, it is the 2nd half which goes haywire and you feel the impact is missing. Director Sanjay Gupta tries hard but falls flat on face with his direction as he places too much focus on the melodrama and emotions that might be difficult to digest. Take a city, add bombastic dialog s, add lots of green, and you get a Sanjay Gupta Film. Throwing green and more green at you just because it’s your signature style does not work anymore. Apart from those delivered by Khan, all the dialog s are preposterous. Do you think you would scream “Where are you?” to a kidnapper who has just abducted your baby? Mr. Gupta does. The screenplay is a hot mess. Trying to slip in few songs between a thriller film is the lowest thing Gupta has done for this film. There’s even an unnecessary hip hop song by Baadshah somewhere which had great similarities with his number in Khoobsurat. The courtroom sequences are nicely carved jokes here, where the judge is sleeping and the advocates themselves reaching a verdict, even making few educated guesses in front of him; oh the unintentional humor! There’s also a touch of activism, for crying’ out loud. But all that is fine for a commercial entertainer, but where the film fails is that films twists don’t really ever leave you stunned, and the films climax twist is a joke (in comparison to how it was handled in the original Korean film). But a lot of the ground is made up by the good supporting cast, and the films razor sharp edit & its racy narration.

Yes! the film never bores, its very enjoyable for the most part, in the ‘it so bad its good’ kind of way. After showing the audience that she is fit and fine to come back to the screen by running through Marine Drive, Bachchan starts portraying the roles of a criminal lawyer, a marathon sprinter, a helicopter mom, and a Gold medalist screamer. Boy, she can scream anywhere, anytime, and at anybody. Mrs. Bachchan‘s performance is particularly cringe-worthy as she moves here and there with a dead stare in her eyes and a lion’s roar for a throat. Reacting throughout the film like you hate everybody is not the appropriate type of characterization that one adds into a story whose climax is more apparent than the actors’ ages. The protagonist plays a lawyer who only defends known, guilty offenders because, she claims, “those who are not guilty cannot afford her.” Thankfully we have Irrfan Khan, who in his 2nd release in 2 weeks is awesome (as if that was a surprise)! Despite being given the most filmy lines, the fantastic actor has a ball playing the cop. Shabana Azmi is quite effective, while Chandan Roy Sanyal hams it up as the convict. Atul Kulkarni is first-rate, as always. Siddhanth Kapoor & Jackie Shroff are wasted. Honestly, I had no humongous hopes for this film, but considering the material this one is based on I was expecting a watchable taut speedy thriller, well it sure is watchable but I ended up getting melodramatic lesson on motherhood (I am being sarcastic here). On the whole, ‘Jazbaa‘ is an over the top, very melodramatic, cheesy yet watchable thriller mainly due to the presence of Irrfan Khan! I am all for woman-centric films, but churning out rubbish in the name of thrills and hiring an actress with a huge fandom and telling an ordinary story will be received the same way how other recent films are received in Bollywood, irrespective of the genre. Watch this if you are a fan of Aishwarya or Irrfan, otherwise skip it!