'Jawan' review: SRK-Nayanthara shine in Atlee's overlong, formulaic action thriller
Atlee's debut Hindi film with the man of the hour, Shah Rukh Khan, is a solid entry into the mass-commercial cinema space, while simultaneously being an out-and-out crowd-pleaser that elevates its lead to a godly status. Meta references, dialogue-baazi, and logic-defying stunts galore, but more than once, Jawan meanders and creaks under its weight, eventually being reduced to a mish-mash of old projects.
Spoilers ahead: 'Jawan' is story of rage, vengeance, social reform
As is Atlee's trademark style, the actioner consistently switches between past and present, jumping timelines and introducing viewers to new characters. Azad (vigilante/bald SRK) is the son of Special Ops officer Vikram Rathore (the older SRK), who was left to die by Kalee, an arms dealer (Vijay Sethupathi). Azad assembles a team of women to exact revenge and simultaneously, bats for social reforms.
Positive: Opening scene sets the stage, cinematography is laudable
The drama's opening shot is one of its best, and also neatly choreographed and executed. It takes us to North-East India, where we meet Rathore for the first time. Expectedly, Khan receives an entry befitting a star of his stature in a masala film. It's meant to inspire awe and reverence—all of which we largely feel without even knowing his name.
Metro hijack sequence is one of the early highlights
One of the scenes that arrives early is the metro hijack sequence, which plays out like a ticking time bomb—the tension and race against time are palpable. It's also the earliest instance when we meet Officer Narmada (Nayanthara), who packs a punch with her personality and no-nonsense attitude. The BGM that reverberates throughout Jawan underlines emotions of rage and an unquenchable thirst for vengeance.
Performances: SRK-Nayanthara steal the show
SRK doesn't miss a beat, altering his voice, gait, and entire personality when he switches gears from one role to the other. Rathore in the flashback scenes is a remarkable standout, and you always want to see more of him. I was also glad to see Nayanthara being introduced as an inimitable police officer, and not some love interest lacking in substance.
In the first part, we remain invested in Rathore's story
Thanks to the environment the film creates and Khan's distinctive performance, for the most part, Rathore's story becomes your own, and you aspire to dig deeper into his past and cheer for him during his crusade for revenge. There are backstories sewn within backstories and most of them have a solid footing and come across as believable as opposed to forced or wooden.
Some nods to other projects hit the right spot
Special mention to the heartfelt nod Jawan gives to The Family Man! It came out of nowhere, but I am not complaining at all. Similarly, it also makes productive use of Sanjay Dutt's brief yet important role, with a meta-reference there, too.
Negatives: Vigilantle track seems like an ode to director Shankar
Coming to the parts about why Jawan failed to completely click with me, the film's biggest undoing is the way it keeps reminding you of multiple projects you have seen earlier, some of them being Atlee's own directorials. Atlee is a protege of ace filmmaker Shankar, so Shankar's stamp of cinema is engraved here—in the vigilante hero and the call for social reform track.
Spoilers: We noticed apparent similarities/inspirations from these projects
If we take SRK out, it feels as if Shankar's template of filmmaking, Atlee's previous two directorials—Bigil and Mersal—were put in a mixer-grinder and ground together. Add to it not one but multiple evident, impossible-to-miss inspirations from Money Heist (Narmada-Azad's marriage, Narmada eventually helping him, and the post-credit scene), and the result is Jawan. Inventiveness is not its strong suit.
Too formulaic and by-the-book, nothing you haven't seen before
Jawan has numerous twists up its sleeve and a meaty part written for Deepika Padukone, but mostly, it picks up a template and stays loyally committed to it—a father-son revenge story, a man turning into women's (and then nation's) messiah overnight, action scenes that drag on forever. Also, the hijacked passengers clapping for Azad took me out completely—the theatrics were melodramatic.
Sethupathi could have been used a lot better
Jawan sags when asked to leverage Sethupathi's acting caliber to maximum impact, and the unfunny jokes he mouths undercut the supposed intimidating presence of his character. Rest of the time, he is mostly reduced to a bundle of tropes that walks on the path of predictability. Atlee also owes us an explanation about the way Nayanthara practically disappeared from most of the second half!
A festival for SRKians, but nothing new on story level
Atlee's collaborations with Thalapathy Vijay have proved his stories are propelled by a superstar, and Jawan, too, sans SRK, would have huffed and puffed more than it already does. If you're an SRK fan, you will cheer at the top of your lungs, but apart from that, it's an old bottle with expired wine that is high in "mass" moments but low in novelty.
