Atlee started his journey as a filmmaker with ‘Raja Rani’ (2013), a romantic comedy featuring Arya, Nayanthara and Nazriya Nazim in principal roles. Though the film was a success, he changed gears and started making mass entertainers, replete with action and emotion, like ‘Theri’, ‘Mersil’ and ‘Bigil’. While all these films were made in Tamil, his new film ‘Jawan’, featuring Shah Rukh Khan in the titular role, is in Hindi. Along with Khan, the film features a bevy of actors including Nayanthara, Vijay Sethupathi, Sanya Malhotra and Priyamani in important roles.
As the film opens, we see a severely injured man (Shah Rukh Khan) being given shelter and treated by a group of villagers based in a village in North East India. Though the man is weak because of his injuries, he saves the villagers from a major militant attack. Soon enough, we realize this mysterious man, who also happens to be a brave warrior, has lost his memory and doesn’t even know who he is. Three decades later, we see this man hijacking a metro train in Mumbai with the help of his ‘girl squad’. As the man gets on a call with officer Narmada (Nayanthara), he expresses his wish to speak to the agricultural minister. Soon, he puts across his demand for Rs. 40,000 crores in front of the government. He wants Kalee Gaikwad (Vijay Sethupathi), one of the biggest arms dealer in the world who puts up a front as a white-collared businessman, to transfer this amount to a particular bank account.
The biggest strength of ‘Jawan’ is that it boasts of a screenplay (Atlee and S. Ramanagirivasan) that moves at a breakneck speed and manages to keep you engrossed from the beginning till the end. While many of the plot points in the film are predictable, the way they unfold is what makes the film tick. The interval block, for instance, would not come as a surprise for those who seen the trailer of the film. However, the way it has been staged and executed is what makes all the difference. The flashback portions, set in the ‘80s, are extremely predictable but one can’t deny the fact that they are laced with strong emotions and of course, solid action pieces.
‘Jawan’ is not without its share of blemishes. The second half drags at certain points and is not as crisp as the first half. Some of the creative liberties, that have been taken, could have been avoided. The vigilante and his team, for instance, end up attacking and firing at several innocent policemen while trying to escape. This reflects poorly on somebody who is trying to fight for justice and protected the ones who have been wronged.
The film is a technically sound product, with every head of the department bringing their best efforts to the fore. Atlee’s direction is first-rate. He does a great job at bringing the massively entertaining screenplay written by S. Ramanagirivasan and him to the fore in a visual form. The dialogues (Sumit Aroraa) are one of the major strengths of the film. The camerawork by G.K. Vishnu is terrific. The editing (Reuben) is razor-sharp. While Anirudh’s songs do not leave a lasting impact, he creates magic with the background score.
While Shah Rukh Khan has delivered several memorable performances over the years, his performance in ‘Jawan’ ranks as one of his best. He displays various emotions effectively and carries off the action sequences very well. Nayanthara has great screen presence and delivers a very confident performance. Vijay Sethupathi lights up every scene he appears in. One just feels his character arc should have been a little broader. Deepika Padukone gets ample scope to perform in her 20-minute role and delivers a very memorable performance. From the vigilante squad, Sanya Malhotra and Lehar Khan get some scope and do well. Sunil Grover, Eijaz Khan and Ridhi Dogra perform well within the limited scope they get. As ACP Madhavan Naik, Sanjay Dutt is alright.
‘Jawan’ is one of the best mass entertainers to have been churned out by the Hindi film industry in the last several years. While the film rides well on Shah Rukh Khan’s able shoulders, it has several other elements as well that make it a well-rounded commercial entertainer.