Alia Bhatt’s high-octane rescue mission fizzles out like a wet firecracker!

Remember Mahesh Bhatt’s Gumrah (1993)?

Yes, the action-packed thriller where Sridevi gets falsely implicated in a drugs case and languishes in a Hong Kong jail until Sanjay Dutt saves her…

This week’s Bollywood offering Jigra is basically Gumrah but high on steroids!!

In a gender reversal, Alia Bhatt follows in the footsteps of Sanju Baba and travels to a fictional Southeast Asian nation to save her younger brother (Vedang Raina), who has been sentenced to death for illegal drug possession.

The plot may sound promising, but Jigra’s execution becomes highly unrealistic, especially in the second half where Alia Baby simply goes on a killing spree in a maximum security prison. Worse, the supporting characters who help her in this prison break plan are poorly written and seem too casual and silly to pull off…

In comparison, Mahesh Bhatt had given his characters the right emotional quotient and solid intent in Gumrah. Just like the prison guards Kunika and Bob Christo were evil personified here, against the head warden (Vivek Gomber), who makes you doubt whether he is bad or ugly or just doing his duty. However, it’s not the actor’s fault, but the text’s fault!!

Alia as a ‘Jigra’ wali avenger may please her fans but somewhere I found her lost and uninterested in the matter. She probably did a favor as a mentor to Karan Johar, who was in the mood to make a modernized remake of his father’s home production Gumrah. Vedang Raina is impressive but should choose better roles in Bollywood.

I had loved and enjoyed Vasan Bala’s previous two directorials: Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota (2019) and Monica O My Darling (2022). Jigra made me depressed and quite loud!! I want to watch Gumrah again now. Oh Bhatt Saahab of the 90s, I miss you!!

Reviews on some key aspects*:
1. Acting: 3/5
2nd direction: 2/5
3. Music: 2/5
4. Story, script and dialogue: 1.5/5
5. Camera: 3.5/5
6. Editing: 2.5/5
7. Costume Design: 2/5
8. Special Effects and VFX: 3/5
9. Action: 3/5
10. Production quality: 3/5

#SNRating for #Jigra: 2 out of 5 stars.

-Sumeet Nadkarni

* – The film’s overall rating is not a simple average of all ratings on key aspects, but a weighted average of ratings, giving more weight to some crucial aspects (such as direction, acting, story and screenplay, etc.) than others.

#Jigra #ActionThriller #HindiMovie #Bollywood #AliaBhatt #VedangRaina #VasanBala #MaheshBhatt #Gumrah #BollywoodReview #BollywoodNews #Filmreview #TheatricalRelease #OTTRelease #Netflix #SNRatings

#SNRatings barometer:
1 star = bad
1 & 1/2 star = Below average/avoidable
2 stars = average
2 & 1/2 stars = Above Average/Risk
3 stars = Good enough/Tolerable
3 1/2 stars = Definitely worth a look
4 stars = Very good
5 stars = Masterpiece/Excellent.

SNRatings 2024.