Jaane Jaan (2023) Review!!

Synopsis – Maya (Kareena Kapoor Khan), Naren (Jaideep Ahlawat) and Karan (Vijay Varma) navigate through a web of emotions and unforeseen circumstances as they cover up and uncover clues to outwit each other.

My Take – With films like Kahaani (2012) and Badlaa (2019) standing high in his filmography, over the years writer-director Sujoy Ghosh has well proven his penchant for handling mind-bending mysteries.

And though his latest, a Netflix release, has been adapted from Japanese writer Keigo Higashino’s bestselling 2005 crime novel, The Devotion of Suspect X, that has already spawned three international film adaptations along with the Tamil language ‘Kolaigaran’ (2019), it is as good a fresh presentation for anyone.

Popularized mainly as Kareena Kapoor Khan‘s digital debut, here, director Ghosh creates a fascinating and intriguing world for us to delve into, revel in, question and be shocked in the end. With fine assistance provided by its elegant dialogues and first-rate performances, particularly that of Jaideep Ahlawat, this moody drama moves us at keen sense of pace to enhance the mystery.

It doesn’t fit the mold of an adrenaline-fueled, high-speed thrillers we have come to expect, instead, it takes its time to weave its tale and indulge us in a setting where the location itself plays an important character.

Yes, the narrative occasionally loses its tight grip on the screenplay, but the compelling performances hold your attention during these moments. If you have an affinity for the kind of cinema that exudes a melancholic, enigmatic, and contemplative atmosphere, this one will surely strike a chord.

Set in the small town of Kalimpong, West Bengal, the story follows Naren Vyas (Jaideep Ahlawat), a lonely balding, blemish-faced genius high school math teacher who has been pinning for some time for his neighbor, Maya D’Souza (Kareena Kapoor Khan), a single mother who runs a local food joint, a place which he visits every day to pick up lunch.

Usually watching her from a distance, Naren is always unable to gather the strength to ask her out, that is until an incident forcibly ties him to Maya and her 13-year-old daughter, Tara (Naisha Khanna).

Upon suddenly being visited by her ex-husband, Ajit (Saurabh Sachdeva), a corrupt Mumbai based sub-inspector, Maya and Tara in an effort to save themselves from his physical abuse ended up killing him. But despite being in an irreparable situation, the teacher jumps in to help cover up, provided they stick to his plan and instructions.

However, matters complicate soon enough with the arrival of Karan Anand (Vijay Varma), an Inspector, who not only happens to be a college mate of Naren, but has arrived in town particularly to find Ajit and has slowly begun zeroing on Maya, convinced that she has something to do with his disappearance.

What follows is a genre-bending police procedural that dissects the minds of three characters rather than play out like a standard whodunit. The film skillfully crafts an intricate web of suspicion and intrigue, drawing the viewers into the puzzling world of the investigation. Like a good thriller, its initial segment keeps us invested and guessing. Screenwriter Ghosh along with Raj Vasant drops crucial reveals at opportune moments, shifting our loyalties and viewpoints.

Consciously and Intelligently watering down the conventional crime drama tropes, the film explores the debilitating isolation of a man lost in his own world as well as the pitfalls in the way of a woman determined to put her troubled past behind her. Multiple dualism from the protector-predator, victim-perpetrator, to friend-foe and genius-oddball, all becoming central to the twisted plot.

Stylistically shot by director Ghosh like his previous films, the city of Kalimpong also becomes a character in itself. He relies heavily on muted color schemes and subtle camera movements to convey a sense of omnipresent dread. The film is much less concerned with shocking us with twists than it is in exploring the ramifications of its biggest twist, which are much more engrossing than if the story had been a simple whodunit.

Yes, the film has a few loopholes. There are scenes that are essential to the plot line in the bigger picture, but then there are scenes that are just fillers, and they do fill the time well but don’t justify an extended time of getting to the point. While the big reveal was indeed good fun and unpredictable, the other factors ‘but then what happened to that?’, ‘What about that?’ remains unanswered and a little convenient. But what mainly keeps us glued are the performances.

Kareena Kapoor Khan conveys a wide gamut of emotions in a performance marked by remarkable restraint. It is impossible to not feel for her in scenes when she is being vulnerable, scared and crying. Vijay Varma has to work the hardest because his policeman is bereft of the layers that the single mother and the math teacher have, lifts the character well above the ordinary by imparting to it the subtlest of behavioral nuances. It is such a relief to see him in a fun yet charming but ‘normal’ role after all his viciousness in the projects earlier. The fact that he has a linear role itself is the biggest achievement, and he delivers.

However, despite Varma and Kapoor Khan being fabulous as ever, it is Jaideep Ahlawat who ends up being the show-stealer. The complexities of his character, the mystique attached to it, the big reveal in the end and everything else, Ahlawat reminds us why he is one of the finest actors to have graced the Hindi film industry.

In supporting roles, Naisha Khanna, Saurabh Sachdeva, Karama Takapa, and Lin Laishram are effective enough. On the whole, ‘Jaane Jaan’ is a decent murder mystery uplifted by the lead trio’s superb performances.