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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The King without a Kingdom !

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Raees [2017]

The undisputed King of Bollywood Shah Rukh Khan has his first major release of this year Raees which is more like a lot of hype which fizzles out into the thin air.

Dir: Rahul Dholakia

Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Mahira Khan, Mohammed Zeshaan Ayub, Narendra Jha, Atul Kulkarni, Uday Tikekar, Suparna Jha, Luvleen Misra, Sheeba Chaddha.

Based in a town Fatehpura in Gujarat the movie Raees chronicles the life and times of the doomed Gangster / Mafia Raees (Shah Rukh Khan) who gets acquainted with the crime world at an early age in his childhood itself. After he grows up his friends turn into foes and a righteous professional Cop ( Siddiqui) is hot on the trail to nab Raees. The movie is more about the tribulations, challenges and major wrath faced by the protagonist Raees.

The Director who has an award winning art film like Parzania (2007) to boast of has nothing new to offer here. Raees is more like revisiting the 90s vendetta films which Sunjay Dutt & Jackie Shroff were famous for, the dialogues/ action/ romance everything looks dated and could easily fit into a 90s potboiler drama. The movie's biggest weak point is the haphazard characterisation. None of the character profiles ( except perhaps Siddiqui's) make any impact, most of the times it is difficult to comprehend what exactly the Director is trying to convey.

Shah Rukh Khan plays his titular role with vengeance to say the least, with 25 years of Bollywood experience to boast of he needs to move out of the comfort zone at this stature. There is nothing novel in his overall depiction of the act. In comparison Siddiqui is far more impressive, his dialogue delivery in particular is notable.

Mahira Khan is wasted in a brief and half baked role as Raees's wife, instead of signing a talented & sensitive actor like her, the Director could have signed any wannabe starlet instead. Among the supporting cast nobody makes any impact, Uday Tikekar's communal politician act is far too clichéd and Kulkarni is miscast as a Mafia Don. Sizzling Sunny Leone exudes the required zing & sex appeal in her Item Song.

Story / Screenplay / Music / Action and Editing all are extremely weak. The only strong technical aspect is the well written Dialogues which are praiseworthy. Whether you are a die hard Shah Rukh Khan or not, this outdated drama definitely deserves to be missed.

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