After a gap of almost 5 years, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is back. Jazbaa opens with elaborate shots of her jogging and doing planks, which give us a fair idea of the kind of preparation that Ms Rai has gone through to prepare for the role. No longer burdened with weighty issues and light on her feet, she looks lovely, as usual. Visual pleasure has anyway never been an issue with her. But here, her lung power is also put to test and she’s screamed her way through this one. Literally.
Aishwarya plays Anuradha Verma. Her only daughter gets kidnapped and she has to do everything possible to calm the kidnapper down. Life is tough, more so since director Sanjay Gupta has surrounded her with characters who are hard of hearing. This can be the only plausible explanation for the cheekhna and chillana that Madam Rai indulges in. She screams her daughter’s name “Sanaya”, screams for “Yohaan” (Irrfan Khan) and generally moves around with glycerin-filled eyes.
Anuradha Verma is basically a cross between a Harish Salve-type lawyer who can get even the most unlikely of bail applications granted and a tantrum-throwing beauty queen who nonchalantly chucks a policeman’s car keys into the ocean if she so wishes to. Needless to say Aishwarya Rai gets away with most of her histrionics. There are some other bright stars too like Jacky Shroff and Shabana Azmi and Chandan Roy Sanyal but they are more like bystanders doing bit roles. Aishwarya is the Captain of this team but the Man of the Match is clearly none other than Irrfan Khan.
He is super fun to watch and that’s because Irrfan himself seems to be having a helluva time performing on screen. Playing a disgraced cop with his signature wry sense of humour, he rattles off some whistle-worthy dialogues thanks to Kamlesh Pandey and is always ready with quick repartees. Between shots of a grey, cloudy and foreboding Mumbai skyline, Irrfan Khan shows off swagger and style and this is the most filmy he’s ever been. He, who is the master of the understated, has decided to go a little overboard and to brilliant effect. Irrfan breaks doors, smashes windows and ensures we enjoy every minute of his screen time.
Jazbaa is a remake of the Korean film Seven Days. The pacy narrative makes up for the general lack of cohesiveness. While the first half is more of rona-dhona, the Sanjay Gupta brand of action takes place post-interval. It’s largely palatable, with some entertaining bits thrown in and of course a completely paisa-vasool performance by Irrfan Khan. Had the film stayed true to its low IQ, high EQ style it would have definitely worked. But out-of-the-blue, right at the end, it decides to grow a conscience and a number of depressing social statistics are thrust upon us making the entire attempt look superficial and lacking in perspective.
Jazbaa sadly must settle for an average 2.5 QUINTS out of 5. Green-eyed Aishwarya Rai Bachchan runs the risk of turning fully green with envy but this one is worth our while only because of Irrfan Khan.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)