Jazbaa (2015)

English translation: Passion

Director: Sanjay Gupta

Screenplay: Sanjay Gupta, Robin Bhatt (remake of the Korean film Seven Days)

Cast: Aishwarya Rai, Irrfan Khan, Shabana Azmi

Music: Amjad-Nadeem, Arko Pravo Mukherjee, Amar Mohile

Time: 128 minutes

Bottom-line: Good thriller, but with too much drama

Aishwarya Rai returns to the screen after a five-year hiatus with this legal drama, Jazbaa, and that, by itself, is a delight for all the Rai fans. The last time I saw her as an action heroine was in Dhoom 2, and in this film too, she plays a powerful lead role. Anuradha Verma (Rai) is a prominent lawyer with a highly successful career. She is also the single mother of Sanaya (Sara Arjun). One day, in her school, Sanaya gets kidnapped. The captor informs Verma that she must defend a criminal, Niyaaz, accused of rape and murder of a young woman.

 

Rai as Anuradha

All the evidence points to him, and it seems quite clear that Niyaaz is guilty. Verma takes help from the policeman in charge of the case, Yohan (Khan), who is now being accused of corruption. Verma also faces pressure from a politician, whose son is involved in the case, as well as the victim’s mother, Garima (Azmi), for so shamelessly fighting to defend a ruthless criminal. What Verma does to save her daughter, and career, is what the film is about.

The best part of the film is the twist ending. At one point, I felt that there were too many characters being introduced – which made the plot a touch hazy – but in the end the film tied everything up, with a new twist to ponder over. The twist reminds me of an Agatha Christie story, but the way it was executed here was really effective. There is too much drama at times, not to mention the accompanying over-acting! Don’t expect much courtroom drama in the film; the emphasis is more on the mother-daughter relationship.

 

Irrfan Khan as Yohan

That’s one reason why the exchanges between Garima and Verma are interesting to watch. Both are mothers fighting for their daughters, but neither seems to understand the plight of the other (or do they?). Shabana Azmi has done well in acting, using all her experience to play a mature, well-composed role. Irrfan Khan, as always, does what he does best: plays the stylish cop with occasional outbursts of violence and sarcasm, adding yet another movie to his list of excellent supporting performances!

Aishwarya Rai’s performance is commendable most of the way, barring – as I said – the occasional bits of over-acting (with unwanted close-ups and slo-mo shots too). She plays the mother role far better than that of a lawyer, but then, the legal bits of the film aren’t what you should be scrutinising anyway. Watch Amitabh’s Pink if you want a proper courtroom drama. I do appreciate the fact that Sanjay Gupta wrapped up the film in less than 2 hours without any song sequence and such… that itself has become so rare these days!

 

Azmi as Garima

Overall, Jazbaa is a fairly well-made drama, with good bits of acting from everyone. It’s not great, but wait for the end and you might take away a superb twist ending.

My Rating: 3/5