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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RAAT AKELI HAI (2020) review

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Raat Akeli Hai (2020) 

Directed by: Honey Trehan

Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Radhika Apte, Aditya Shrivastava, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Padmavati Rao, Nishant Dahiya, Shweta Tripathy, Ila Arun, Shivani Raghuvanshi, Swanand Kirkire & others. 

The patriarch of a wealthy family is brutally murdered on the night of his second wedding. The usual suspects- the family members who appear indifferent and callous, an investigating officer has to crack this intriguing murder mystery while getting attracted and enamoured by the victim’s young wife/widow. 

Good premise? Absolutely yes, and two powerful lead players, alas! The film maker (Trehan) is unable to utilise their talent, even the edgy concept is faltered by unnecessary dramatics. This could’ve been a tantalising suspense thriller and we in India have a paucity of good ones in this genre. The 2.29 hours long drama unfolds mostly in the dark and mostly drifts away from the main plot leaving you puzzled. 

Siddiqui and Apte are always in great form, wish they’d been backed with a better direction. Technically as well the movie is weighed down with loopholes. Two noticeably distinct points would be choice of locations (in UP) and the costumes, both thoroughly authentic and noteworthy. 

More surprising than the ‘murderer’s identity is the mystery about how anyone can go wrong with a good storyline and two exceptionally gifted lead actors. Someone solve that please. ⭐️⭐️

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