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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Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives(2020): Review

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Directed by: Uttam Domale 
Featuring: Bhavana Pandey, Neelam Kothari, Maheep Sandhu and Seema Khan 

No points for guessing the various western shows and series that have inspired this melancholic series based on the window dressed lives of four “Bollywood wives”! 



Created by Karan Johar under the banner Dharmatic productions he also chips in as an agony aunt in two episodes. We follow the four women through their daily lives where they’re dealing with children issues, teen temperament, escalating moods, household chores blah blah blah. We realise they’re such bad actors (except Neelam) as they look disoriented and expressionless while emoting and mouthing their scripted dialogues. Even Aunt KJo can’t help them with his glamourising presence. 



Did we actually need a series like this which shamelessly displays vulgar show of filthy wealth and masked glamour? Nope we did not. There could’ve been a lot more better conceptualised humour and staged drama, what we see is a bland and frigid representation of their boring yawn inducing lifestyle. Only Neelam (a former star from the 80s) looks the part and acts with dignity and class. The rest are like desperate wannabe celebrities, and you seriously wonder how they can afford to live in such posh and elite apartments when their husbands are out of work for years. 



Like KJo during his cameo very sarcastically mentions why would anyone be interested in the lives of jobless menopausal women? Excuse me, women ain’t judged only basis their job profile or sexual status, come out of that stereotyped shell for good. There are many cameos mostly by Johar’s loyalists including an irritatingly nauseating Jahnavi speaking with an inaudible fake La Di Dah accent, urgh!! 



The only saving grace is one episode dedicated to the Doha tour which makes worth a watch, ignore the ladies and bask in the sunny glory of the beautiful desert land, never knew Doha had such amazing and picturesque beauty to offer. ⭐️



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