'Jaat' review: Sunny Deol's film is tedious and outdated
What's the story
Gopichandh Malineni's Jaat, starring Sunny Deol and Randeep Hooda, is like every mass masala film ever.
Suspension of disbelief, excessively slow-motion scenes, and ear-splitting background music are staples of such films, but the writing must also be engaging—something sorely amiss in this dumpster fire.
While Jaat would have probably been a cinematic marvel in the late '80s, it's out of place in 2025.
Premise
Deol plans to wipe out evil in 'Jaat'
There isn't much to write about the story, considering everything was already revealed in the trailer.
The film revolves around Baldev (Deol), who chances upon a destitute village ruled by the dreaded kingpin, Ranatunga (Hooda).
Ranatunga loots people, splices heads when anyone revolts, and keeps everyone under his thumb.
When Baldev realizes this, he turns the villagers' messiah and saves everyone.
Color me surprised.
#1
You can easily predict the entire storyline
Jaat is a tedious, exhausting, headache-inducing affair, and it took all my strength not to abandon it mid-way!
With a bland and cliché-laden story, the film has nothing new or entertaining to offer.
Nearly all of the first half goes by in establishing Deol's loud, over-the-top character.
The post-intermission?
You guessed it. It's devoted to Ranatunga-Baldev's overstretched, predictable combat.
#2
Nearly all scenes are too loud and overcooked
Every scene has a palpable ambition to impress, astonish, do something extraordinary, and shock viewers for the sake of it.
The result? No scene is allowed to breathe and proceed naturally.
Each sequence is burdened and bloated, and the dialogues are extremely loud and, in places, even stilted.
Such techniques may have worked decades ago, but shouldn't cinema progress with the changing times?
#3
The repulsive violence takes you out of the film
An aspect that particularly riled me up is the incessant, unending, shockingly macabre violence in Jaat (the film is certified U/A).
Sickening, nauseating scenes of rape, murder, beheading are repeatedly displayed, and while you're still trying to digest the gore you just saw, a far worse scene comes along.
Eventually, I lost count of the heads strewn on-screen during this 153-minute-long movie.
#4
It's a man's world through and through
Unsurprisingly, the female characters only exist to peddle the stories of men.
The film presents Saiyami Kher as a dedicated police officer, only to decimate her character within minutes.
Subsequently, she, along with her female colleagues, is shown as a damsel in distress, waiting for a savior (Baldev, of course).
Regina Cassandra gets some notable scenes, but she, too, is largely wasted.
#5
Viineet Kumar Siingh doesn't get much to do, either
After the monstrous hit Chhaava and the critically acclaimed Superboys of Malegaon, this isn't the follow-up Viineet Kumar Siingh would have wanted (or deserves).
Separately, with in-your-face imagery (Ranatunga is equated to Ravana and Baldev to Lord Rama), a lack of nuance, and a cookie-cutter storyline, Jaat truly tests your patience at every step.
Apart from Deol-Hooda's performances, there's nothing praiseworthy here.
Verdict
Skip this and re-watch Deol's old films; 1.5/5 stars
Jaat is wayward, its violent scenes are extremely revolting, and while stories require violent imagery sometimes, here, it seems purely gratuitous.
With better writing, the film could've been at least watchable, but it's stuck in the era gone by and dives head-first into the ground.
Beyond the usual elements of fan service, Jaat has absolutely no ground to stand on.
1.5/5 stars.