#JawanReview: Jawan Offers Much More Than It Promised

The biggest blockbuster of 2023 is here. Jawan got released today we watched #JawanFirstDayFirstShow. 2023 has been a good year for the box office as it has already seen successful movies like Pathaan, Gadar-2, Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani, OMG-2 etc. Jawan is surely going to beat all of these.

Honestly speaking our expectation from the movie was to be an action entertainer like Pathaan but we are sweetly surprised by the fact that it offered much more than its trailer promised. In addition to the killer looks of Shah Rukh Khan in dual role along with Nayanthara and excellent action scenes this movie rides on solid social messaging all the way. It gives you a feel of a mini Money Heist combined with some Indian movies like Naseeruddin Shah’s “A Wednesday” or Irfan Khan’s Madari.

The Plot

The plot of the movie starts with the first scenes of Shah Rukh Khan lying injured in some part of Nepal and then waking up all wrapped up looking to save the villagers. The whole theatre erupts with loud noise and you can feel goosebumps in this scene.

The movie then moves forward by 30 years and we see a scene of Shah Rukh Khan along with 6 girls hijacking a metro rail in Mumbai. The Nayanthara comes as a cop who negotiates with Shah Rukh Khan. In the Money Heist style, they plan the hijack and escape but the ransom they asked was not the money. They ask for the money of a businessman (Vijay Sethupathi) whose 40000 Crores lones we written off by the government and distribute this money in the accounts of all the farmers who have taken loans from the banks. Vijay Sethupathi is also a big arms manufacturer. Just before the interval, we see two Shah Rukh Khan and the audience’s reaction at the interval is “What the hell just we saw?”. The entire movie revolves around the Two Shah Rukh Khan, Nayanthara, the 6 girls with Shah Rukh Khan during the train hijack, and Vijay Sethupathi. You need to watch to know all the details and we don’t want to give much spoilers.

Written and directed by Atlee

Those who don’t know Atlee Kumar is a famous South Indian director who is considered very talented and has already given many hits. In Jawan also he his craft can also be seen. He has threaded the long star cast in such a fine way. Along with Shah Rukh Khan as Vikram Rathore and Azad, Nayanthara as Narmada Rai every actor and actress has a role to play in the movie. Even in a small cameo role, Deepika Padukone is not just for screen charm, she also has a story in the movie. Atlee has been able to do justice to every actor in the movie.

Although the second half of the movie is not as tight as it could have been due to 2 unwanted songs and a slightly simple climax, we have to give it to Atlee for incorporating so many social messages in the action drama. Through this movie, he has raised the issue of how big corporates enjoy the big loans and the government waives their loans using technical terms like write-offs but at the same time farmers are forced to commit suicide due to the humiliation they have to get when they are unable to pay the loan of even few thousands. After this, he picks up the issue of the poor condition of government hospitals in India and he shows the situation that happened in Allahabad where several children suffering from Japanese Encephalitis had died due to the unavailability of oxygen cylinders, and the blame was put on the doctor who tried to save them. The movie also touches on issues like the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, toxins released by factories, and the importance of electing the right people in the elections by questioning them about development-related issues not based on religion or caste. All these messages were delivered in the movie without sounding preachy.

Overall Atlee does a fine job.

Acting

This is not the best performance of Shah Rukh Khan but Atlee has made sure that when Shah Rukh is on screen people don’t forget about the acting. His looks are so amazing and the closeup and slow-mo shots are just perfect. You will get to hear loud cheers from the viewers at least 7-8 times during the whole movie.

Nayanthara is surely going to become the crush of millions in the Hindi belt as this was her first Hindi movie. Even in south India, she was not known for action roles but in the 1st half, she plays parallel to Shah Rukh in terms of screen presence. She also looks like a Diva who everyone would want to marry. He action scenes and her looks are perfect. Although, she could have been utilized more and in a better way in the 2nd half of the movie. She dominates the first half but suddenly almost disappears in the 2nd half.

The show-stopper performance in the movie Jawan has been given by Vijaya Sethupathi. He is going to be nominated for every award in the category of “Best Actor in a Negative Role”. Acting-wise he delivers the best performance, and despite playing a negative role, you will fall in love with him. His acting skills are next level and gladly he doesn’t disappoint.

All the other actors like Deepika Padukone as Aishwarya Rathore, Priyamani as Lakshmi, Sanya Malhotra as Dr. Eeram Sunil Grover as Irani, Riddhi Dogra as Kaveri, Sanjeeta Bhattacharya as Helena, Girija Oak as Ishkra, Lehar Khan as Kalki, Eijaz Khan as Manish Gaikwad, Kaalie’s brother and Sunil Grover has their role to play and they have done justice to their roles. You will not have any complaints from anyone.

An Anirudh Ravichander Musical (Sadly Dissapoints)

This has to be one of the worst works of Anirudh. He is known for giving the best background score and at least one super hit song in his movies but Anirudh doesn’t impress in Jawan. In the background screen, you get the Anirudh feeling only a few times when the old Shah Rukh Khan appears on the screen other than that he doesn’t impress in the movie. If you have to watch the best work of Anirudh then watch Vikram of Kamal Haasan. Anirudh’s background score will blow your mind. Even in the Beast Mode, his work was excellent. Listen to his music in Vikram and Beast Mode below:

Jawan – The Verdict

Jawan is no doubt one of the best movies of this year you can go and watch with your full family and everyone will come out happy. We highly recommend this movie.

Our Rating: 🔥🔥🔥🔥 (4/5)