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 from Kaml
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QUBOOL HAI 2.0 : Review

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Directed by: Glen Barreto and Ankush Mohla

Streaming on : zee5 

Cast: Surbhi Jyoti, Karan Singh Grover, Mandira Bedi, Arif Zakaria, Lilette Dubey, Waqar Sheikh, Shalini Kapoor, Saurabh Raj Jain, Ashwin Mushran, Priyal Gor and others. 

There was I believe a TV show by this title that aired on zeetv and was hugely popular. This is a web-series version with a fresh outlook and apparently a new storyline with a larger budget and bigger canvas.  



The story though uninteresting gets a fresh and novel treatment thanks to the directors Glen and Ankush (I remember their forte was the crime and supernatural genre in the 90s), this is more like a Muslim social getting a makeover of crime, national integration and mystery. 

A handsome sharp shooter from India, Assad (Grover) meets a Pakistani runaway bride Zoya (Jyoti) in Siberia and they fall hopelessly in love with each other. Now they are on the run together being chased by Zoya’s rejected groom and his allies. How they land in Zoya’s hometown Islamabad, Pakistan and how the story unfolds with twists and turns and some thrilling revelations that’s what forms part of the ten episodic series. 



The most endearing and impressive part of the series is the principal photography. It’s breathtaking and a sheer delight to your naked eye. Siberia looks sexy and visually stunning. The beautiful castles, roadways , countryside could’ve well been straight out of a fairy tale. That the leading lady looks like a princess from a fairytale is just a bonus. The director duo do a good job in establishing the romance in the first three episodes with the backdrop of visually appealing locations. Fourth episode onwards it turns into a Raazi Style partition drama with romance taking a slight backseat. 



It’s certainly better than the yawn inducing Ekta Kapoor nonsense you are provided on zee5 platform. There are too many illogical and incomprehensible sequences totally bollywoodish style but that’s the Liberty one takes while making a series that combines romantic fantasy with a generous pinch of pseudo patriotism. 



Grover is wooden, his dialogue delivery is robotic but his fans will swoon over his physique and the charm that’s visible only to his loyal followers. Surbhi Jyoti with twinkling eyes and luscious lips performs better than leading Bollywood actresses, she’s expressive and vivacious. Veteran Lilette Dubey almost reprises her Gadar role even acting a scene that’s frame to frame copy of one in Gadar. Jain though cast in a small role looks perfectly cast. 



Not a bad attempt, it’s lavish, looks rich, beautiful, grand and is very high on style and slightly lacking in substance, yet worth a one time watch. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Comments

  1. Reshika18 March 2021 at 06:41

    It would be awesome to see Mr. Khan and Miss Farooqui again. Absolutely love them.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sameer Phal19 March 2021 at 09:33

    Just FYI Surbhi Jyoti without makeup looks really ghastly 😬

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ANUJ19 March 2021 at 11:03

      Hmm 🤨 so she can play the lead in a horror series minus make up 🤣

      Delete

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