Jigra review: Alia Bhatt pulls out all the stops to save Vedang Raina in this top-notch actioner!
Jigra
Jigra is a high on emotion drama about a sister's attempt to save her brother from even a slightest scratch on his body!
Whenever one thinks of Alia Bhatt, the first thing that comes to mind is her versatility as an actress which has surprised many… time and again! Her gleaming filmography mirrors the ‘versatile mettle’ that she is made up of! This week’s release Jigra seems to be yet another shot in the same direction. Will it hit the bull’s eye or does it miss the target, let's analyse.
The film starts off with the introduction of Satyabama Anand aka Satya (Alia Bhatt) and a typical day in her life as a hotel manager. She has a brother Ankur (Vedang Raina) who makes a great presentation to their ‘bade papa’ (Akashdeep Sehgal), who, in turn, gets super impressed and sends him with his son Kabir Mehtani abroad for their presentation before the investors.
When the two young men reach abroad, while Ankur is totally focused on his work, Kabir celebrates and enjoys in bars. While doing so, he lands up picking a packet of drugs from a nightclub. And while returning back, a random girl hurts Kabir’s ego very badly, which leads him to chase her down… only to be caught by the police for speeding.
And when the cops check his car, Kabir is found in possession of the banned substance, which leads him and Ankur to jail. Since Kabir is the son of a richman Mehtani, his lawyer tells him to confess to the cops that it was Ankur who was having drugs with him and because of fear, he had put that into his pocket. This confession of Kabir proves very dear to Kabir, who gets imprisoned by the jail authorities and gets sentenced to death by electrocution.
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Back home, when Satya gets to know about the fate of her darling brother, hell breaks loose and she does everything possible to go to foreign shore and rescue her brother Ankur. Does she become successful in doing so or does Ankur meet the fate of death by the jailors and what happens after that is what forms the rest of the film.
Full credits to the film’s director Vasan Bala for giving Alia Bhatt a platform whereby she could prove that she is quite capable of doing anything and everything. In simple words, she can achieve any impossible task like the back of her hand.
Here, we would like to make a mention of the superstar Rajnikanth, who can do anything in the world (on screen that is). But the fact also remains that such mannerisms and style has always been his forte and mainstay. On the other hand, there is Alia Bhatt, who has always been associated with absolutely meaningful cinema. And to make her do an out and out action film only justifies the tag of being a ‘lady superstar’.
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Barring a handful of places, there are hardly any moments wherein the attention of the audience gets distracted. The second half sees Alia Bhatt as a superwoman who cannot take no for an answer! Right from masterminding the jail break to knowing the ins and outs of a foreign country, she aces everything!
The film’s director Vasan Bala, who had earlier directed the Rajkummar Rao starrer Monica, O My Darling, seems to have been super impressed with Alia Bhatt and her abilities as an actress. No wonder then, he seemingly wanted to give her a role that she has never done before- a superwoman, who is still a human!
While there may be any who must be wondering as to what happens to Kabir and his influential family. The answer is, on her way back to save her brother, Alia Bhatt bombs the entire empire (so is shown). But she is fearlessly roaming around in the same foreign country, where Kabir’s father has great contacts! The film’s narrative falters at a few places, which eventually fails to establish a convincing storyline. But, Alia Bhatt more than makes up for all that!
Besides the film’s direction and the screenplay, full marks to the cinematography of Jigra, that is absolutely top-notch. There are a few scenes in the film (mostly in the second half) that simply take the breath away.
The film’s music is good. A couple of tracks from the film are already a chartbuster. It’s the film’s background music that not just takes the cake, but the entire bakery! The background music gets synchronised and blends seamlessly within the film’s narrative.
As for the performances, no prizes for guessing that the film is indeed an Alia Bhatt show all the way. Be it her (over) protectiveness or her anger, or her controlling of her anger and frustration… This young lady has been there, done that in the film, except for singing romantic tracks as there is no male lead in the film. Do not miss her lunch scene while inside the charter flight!
Then, there is Vedang Raina, who shines in whatever screen time that he gets. After making an impressive debut in The Archies and now Jigra, this young man is definitely a name and face to watch out for in the times to come. There are actors like Rahul Ravindran, who does an earnest job in the film and the ever-dependable Manoj Pahwa, who carries the film with his obvious mannerisms! Besides that, there are hardly any actors who leave a lasting impression.
All in all, Jigra can be seen at least once for the ‘general audiences’, but is a ‘must watch’ for all the die-hard fans of Alia Bhatt! The film should manage to sail through in the couple of weeks to come before the arrival of two giants – Singham Again and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3.
While on one hand, Jigra has a lesser number of screens, on the other hand, it is being released with the Rajkummar Rao, Triptii Dimri starrer Vidya Vicky Ka Who Waala Video, makes it challenging for the film! Here’s hoping the superwoman Alia that she is, will be able to manage to get in the audiences to the theatres!