JAWAAN (2023) : review

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And finally the much hyped, much awaited Jawaan saw light of the day ! Big stars, big budget( humongous budget actually), big music composer, everything super large. But does it meet the expectations of the average viewer? No it goes not. Read on.  A decorated jawan locks horns with a criminal called Kaali, this is in 1986 ( the year movies like Aakhri Raasta released, just for reference). Kaali gets him eliminated and send the pregnant wife to jail. The baby born in jail grows up to become the hero (look alike of the father) and decides to avenge the misdeeds done to his innocent patriotic parents. Well, isn’t it a masaaledaar full on Bollywood- Tollywood drama subject ?  And then the director Atlee also borrows ideas and references from various retro movies, some idea from Sholay (1975) as the hero assembled a gang of jailed Qaidis in order to form a team to nab the villain, then there’s an entire episode borrowed from Dhartiputra (1993), and the basic theme is copy pasted ...
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Yeh movie hai badi mushkil

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Ae Dil Hai Mushkil  (2016)

The self proclaimed King of Romance sagas Karan Johar returns with a mixed bag of emotions and laughter with a movie infused with loads of saccharine sweet romance titled "Ae Dil hai mushkil"

Directed by : Karan Johar

Cast : Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma

The ultimate King of Sugar candy floss romantic family sagas Sir KJo transports the viewers to London where we are introduced to two star crossed lovers who are unable to accept each other's feelings to reciprocate. The two buddies Ayaan(Kapoor) and Alizeh  (Sharma) share a platonic bond until an ex flame enters the scene and Alizeh is hooked, booked and married off. The lovers reunite after two years but things ain't the same and tragedy strikes.

Johar infuses the film Ae dil hai Mushkil with an overload of Forced humour and sugar sweet romance in the first half. The lead pair is made to imitate vintage bollywood dances in the plush locations of Paris. The second half is a complete down slide with too many tear jerker sequences and extended poetic emotional dialogues.

There is absolutely nothing novel about this romantic saga. Johar has relied on age old bollywood norms borrowed from several Yash Chopra films. The music by Pritam is a saving grace with the title song sung by Arijit Singh striking your heart like cupid's arrow. "Bulleya" and "Break up" songs are also pleasant to listen to.

Ranbir Kapoor dominates the film with an earnest sincere and impressive performance, in some over dramatic scenes any other actor would have gone over board but Kapoor appears restrained and under control. Anushka Sharma is great in the first half but loses momentum in the second half where her character demands histrionics which she can't deliver. Fawad Khan and Imran Abbas are wasted in miniscule roles which can be played by junior artists. The beautiful Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in a bold role of a rich high society Divorceè has precious little to contribute except looking like a Mannequin placed in an elite mall. It is Lisa Haydon in a small role who performs with aplomb deserving more accolades than the others.

The only "different" kind of a subject Johar has chosen in his 18 year old career has been My Name is Khan [2010]. Otherwise he has played it safe sticking to tried and tested formulae of love,lies and betrayal. In Ae Dil Hai Mushkil the Director relies completely on emotions pouring out like a cyclone. None of the emotional scenes touch a chord, instead they evoke laughter as the dialogues are too filmy. The side tracks involving Fawad Khan and later Rai Bachchan do not have any great significant impact on the main plot.

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is at best an old wine in a new bottle which has no intoxicating effect on the audience. Lack of a strong script and screenplay badly affects the final product. Overall an half baked unimpressive Diwali Release by the otherwise reliable Dharma Productions.

1. Direction :2.5 /5
2. Music :3.5/5
3. Story, Screenplay and Dialogue :2/5
4. Cinematography :3/5
5. Production Quality :3/5

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