Item: Jawan
Rating: 4
Author: Himesh Mankad

There’s a different kind of excitement in the air while watching the first day first show of a tentpole quintessential Hindi Film. After delivering a historic success with Pathaan, Shah Rukh Khan is back again with another commercial entertainer, the Atlee directed Jawan. With this action-packed saga, the team has promised a big screen experience like never before. Does Jawan live onto all the hype? Let’s find out!

What works for Jawan?

It’s difficult to explain the plot of Jawan in one paragraph as writer and director, Atlee, has packaged the film with so many sub-plots that eventually lead to the finale. Jawan is among those rare well written commercial films of Hindi Cinema, where the mass and elevation moments are stitched to perfection in a well written, tight screenplay. The narrative of Jawan keeps you hooked from the word go and makes you wonder what will happen next.

Director Atlee knows how to build on the emotions and make the audience root for the journey of the leading hero. There is so much happening all through the narrative, that despite the runtime of 2 hours and 38 minutes, the audience is hooked from start to finish. The action blocks happen for a purpose and are backed by strong emotions. The writing is such that the filmmaker has beautifully married the plot with a high point, every few minutes.

Atlee presents Shah Rukh Khan like a demi-god and SRK aces the mass avatar to perfection. The character evolution and elevation of Shah Rukh Khan is something that every hero of Indian Cinema would dream for and that’s the biggest WIN for Atlee. Right from the introduction scene, to the hijack episode, the pre-interval block, the post interval flash back, the robbery episode; in the second half and prolonged climax – Jawan is loaded with whistle-worthy moments. While the story and emotions engage you into the world in the first half, the second half has two of the best mass moments of the film, one of which is the robbery sequence, which makes up for some flaws in the latter half.

Jawan is a lot more than what one can expect – and it’s a rather brave film too as SRK makes strong anti-establishment statements too through the film. The back-stories of all the female cast in SRK’s team – Priyamani, Sanya Malhotra, Sanjeeta Bhattacharya, Leher Khan and Girja Oak among others – is well integrated to amp up the emotional quotient. The scale of Jawan is unlike what one has seen in a film set in India. Every frame has grandeur written over it. The background score by Anirudh enhances the cinema watching experience – he elevates the mass moments and takes them to a different level. The score used for Vikram Rathore just adds on to the aura of the character. It’s a vigilante film done right.

What doesn’t work for Jawan?

Jawan warranted better music as a tentpole entertainer doesn’t really have that one quintessential chartbuster. While Challeya is the best of the lot, a bigger dance number than Zinda Banda with SRK, would have made the film tick mark the box of that one dance number that stands the test of time. Though the film has some strong dialogues in the second half, Sumit Arora could have packed a bigger punch with regards to one-liners.

The makers could have easily chopped the Farrata song in the second half, thereby bringing the run-time down by about 5 minutes. The romantic track of SRK with Nayanthara isn’t convincing as their relationship escalates quickly. The comic undertones towards the end of the climax could have been avoided as the intensity was at its peak in the sequences preceding those in the finale.

While Vijay Sethupathi rises above what’s written on the paper, his character could have been written better, with a stronger conclusion.

Performances of actors in Jawan

Jawan is an out and out Shah Rukh Khan show. Right from the first frame till the last, SRK delivers a performance that would be remembered for a long time. From the display of his heroism and machoism to the emotional sequences, action blocks and the hard-hitting dramatic monologues – He does everything that one expects of a Hindi Film Hero. While a major part of the narrative rides on SRK as Azad, it’s the father, Vikram Rathore, who is a complete show-stealer. Every sequence featuring SRK as Vikram Rathore would be greeted with seetis and taalis from the audience. Nayanthara makes a smashing debut in Hindi. As Narmada, she gets her moments to shine, especially in the first half. She makes all those action sequences look believable and looks convincing in a role that requires her to share a unique dynamic with the leading hero. Vijay Sethupathi as Kaali is a perfect casting of a quintessential antagonist in a feature film. While his character is decently written on the paper, he takes it to another level on screen with the wicked smile and dialogue delivery. Sanya Malhotra, Priyamani, Riddhi Dogra, Sanjeeta Bhattacharya, Girija Oak, Lehar Khan, Aaliyan Qureshi, Eijaz Khan and Sunil Grover do well in their respective parts. Deepika Padukone is impactful in her cameo avatar, and makes her presence felt despite limited screen time. Sanjay Dutt’s appearance at an unexpected juncture is sure to evoke whistles from the masses.

Final Verdict of Jawan

Jawan packs a solid punch with action, drama, emotion and scale packaged to perfection in the screenplay by Atlee. It’s driven by Shah Rukh Khan like never before in a once-in-a-lifetime kind of heroic characters of Azad and Vikram Rathore. The action blocks are backed by emotions combined with a strong story. With plenty of mass moments, Jawan is PEAK COMMERCIAL ENTERTAINER and is headed to be a HISTORIC BLOCKBUSTER. Its vigilante done right, with Shah Rukh Khan’s touch in commercial palate of filmmaking.

Box Office: Jawan to release on 10,000 screens globally; Set to be biggest Shah Rukh Khan release till date