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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ONE HIT WONDERS#3

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In the third series of one hit / film wonders we look at the rise and fall of five actors, some forgotten by cinephiles. 



Rahul Roy
He is the most revered and referred actor in this category along with his predecessor Kumar Gaurav. Roy achieved super success with his debut musical Aashiqui(1991) but never really repeated that one film success ever again. He even tried an author backed role in Junoon(1992) which flopped. His Majhdhar(1996) had a tv release. His only other notable claim to fame is winning the big boss season one in 2007.



Rohan Kapoor 
Son of veteran playback singer Mahendra Kapoor, Rohan debuted with the Yash Chopra musical Faasle(1985) followed by the sleeper hit Love 86(1986) but found no takers for his chocolate boy looks. He was soon relegated to C grade horror fare like Wohi Bhayanak Raat(1989) and vanished from acting field to concentrate on musical concerts. 



Hemant Birje
Remembered till date for his muscular debut in Tarzan(1985) a surprise box office hit, audience liked his wooden expression which was perfect for the role. Problematically he continued that expression in subsequent films and viewers realised it was his standard look thereby pushing him into B-Grade Ramsay category where acting wasn’t a criteria. 



Anil Dhawan 
A veteran one hit wonder whose lead role in Chetna(1971) made him an overnight sensation, most other lead roles couldn’t cut ice with the audience and he had to dwindle down to playing supporting roles in big films like Nagin(1976) and Saajan Ki Saheli(1981). Years later he was seen in a mature but impressive role in AndhaDhun (2018). 



Som Dutt 
Sunil Dutt’s ambitious younger brother couldn’t climb the ladder of success at-least in Bollywood. Big brother made a special movie Mann Ka Meet(1969) highlighting Som’s acting histrionics but the audience was more flattered with the other debutant Vinod Khanna in the movie. Inspite of generous influence in the Bollywood circles Som’s career never really took off. 

To be continued....

All pictures courtesy- Google Images. 

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