A Flying Jatt ends with the quote, “Everything has an alternative except Mother Earth,” credited to Remo - the same man who directed the 151-minute-long film and still felt the need to quote himself. But then Remo D’Souza has also collected a bunch of professional dancers and made a film called ABCD: Any Body Can Dance. No surprises then that he can turn a guy with Acrophobia (fear of heights) into an “udta jatt”.
Tiger
Shroff is our new superhero and the wind beneath his cape is Waheguru ji and
Mummy ji da aashirwaad. Very sanskaari and typically desi, he wears the costume
his mother has stitched herself, speaks to her over the phone while engaged in
his flying escapades and is particularly respectful of adults as he never
forgets to wish “satsriyakaal” and “Namaste” while crash-landing in crowded
places.
The Frankensteinian monster that he has created, Raka (Nathan Jones) bellows “You give me your waste, I’ll give you my best.” Further, while trying to pacify his mother (Amrita Singh), the flying Jatt exclaims:
Pollution humein jab maarega tab maarega, per ye Malhotra (Menon) humein abhi maar dega!
(Before pollution, Malhotra (Menon) will kill us.)
As you can figure out, pollution and Swachh Bharat feature heavily throughout the narrative. Apart from the concerns about the depleting oxygen levels and the poisonous gasses suffocating homo sapiens, what worries us most is the script which is on ventilator!
Gobsmacked by the sheer ridiculousness of it all, A Flying Jatt
truly is so bad that it’s actually good.
While Jacqueline Fernandez as the superhero’s love interest and Amrita
Singh as his mother only add to the noise pollution; the fervently choreographed
fight scenes and martial art sequences manage to numb us into submission. With
the steady thrumming of “Raj Karega Khaalsa” chant, there is a decent attempt to
engage our interest but we are soon left to fend for ourselves.
A Flying Jatt is child-friendly and is sure to enjoy the undivided attention of those who can readily suspend their disbeliefs, but for the audience with a high IQ, it will be difficult to stomach. I give it 2.5 Quints out of 5.
There is already talk of recycling the film into a franchise. Looks like Tiger Shroff with his blue cape is here to stay, but he will soar high only with the help of a taut script.
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