Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Sanya Malhotra, Vijay Sethupathi, Priyamani, Nayanthara, Sanjay Dutt, Sunil Grover, and others
Director: Atlee
Language: Hindi, Tamil, Telugu
Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spoiler Alert!
Jawan Movie Review: The film opens with a wounded Shah Rukh Khan found by the locals in a river. They treat him and help him survive. The solid opening accompanied by strong cinematography sets the tone of the film. In another scene, locals are attacked by goons and this is when Jawan wakes up from a coma and saves them. He becomes God for them. You get to see SRK’s first look here.
Cut to another scene, we are introduced to Jawan’s gang of girls — Sanya Malhotra, Priyamani, Aaliyah Qureishi, Sanjeeta Bhattacharya, Lehar Khan, and Girija Oak. They hijack a metro and kidnap a billionaire tycoon’s daughter. The gang refers to SRK as chief. By this time we have not been told who SRK is and why he is trying to bring a change in the world. This is when we are introduced to Nayanthara playing a cop called Narmada. She tries to negotiate with Jawan and he tells her that she should call the agricultural minister while he is listening to ‘Bekarara Kar Ke…’. He demands 40 thousand crore from him. Wondering why he kidnapped the girl? Well, she is the daughter of a corrupt businessman Kalee Gaikwad, played by Vijay Sethupathi, who ends up paying them. When Alya blames him for being a thief, he tells her how her father is the reason behind the suicide of many farmers. He narrates a story where his father was stripped naked and beaten for loan. He had to commit suicide.
This is when your heart will melt and you would also want revenge. His daughter kills the goon and ends up in jail.
Let me take a moment to mention how Raja Kumari’s hard-hitting song builds the mood of the film.
Shah Rukh Khan’s power and love for him is visible when the entire hall starts clapping and hooting for him when all the hostages help him to escape.
He transfers all the money to the poor farmer’s accounts. Before leaving, he tells Alya to tell her father that he is Vikram Rathod.
We now see SRK as a jailer called Azad and the girls are the prisoners arrested for various crimes.
You’ll be confused by now but excited to know what’s happening and what’s there in store for you.
The songs are spot on and SRK proves that no one can take his place. We are also introduced to a girl, Narmada’s daughter, looking for a groom for her mother.
Azad and Narmada get married but she gets to know about him. While she is confronting him, Kalee Gaikwad’s gang attacks and captures them.
This is when we are introduced to the duplicate. Who is he?
Remember the famous dialogue from the trailer – ‘Bete ko Hath Lagane se pehele baap se baat kar…’
He is the real Vikram Rathod – Azad’s father. This is when you’ll get to know. The back story of him and Azad.
Meanwhile, Narmada becomes an agent and tries to know where Azad is. However, she later gets to know that Irani, her confidant, played by Sunil Grover is working for Kalee.
This is also when we are introduced to Deepika Padukone, who is playing Aishwarya – Vijay Rathod’s wife. Vijay is on a rescue mission and this is when their guns stop working. He somehow manages to rescue the captured soldiers and truck drivers from the terrorists but demands to terminate the arms contract with Kalee Gaikwad. Kalee becomes his enemy and kills him, at least that’s what he believes. Aishwarya kills Kalee’s men who were forcing her to sign papers saying Vikram Rathod is a traitor. She lands in jail and is given the death penalty, however, she is pregnant and is given five years to take care of the child. Before her death sentence, Aishwarya asks Azad to promise her to take care of the women of the jail and to prove that his father was not a Deshdrohi. He is doing exactly the same.
The climax when both Vikram Rathod and Azad come on screen is the highlight. Another, pleasant surprise is Sanjay Dutt’s role.
What didn’t work for me:
The only thing I didn’t appreciate was using a dwarf for comic relief. We are way past that cinema where a dwarf or a fat woman can be used for comic relief.
Verdict:
The film opens with a wounded Shah Rukh Khan found by the locals in a river. They treat him and help him survive. The solid opening accompanied by strong cinematography sets the tone of the film. In another scene, locals are attacked by goons and this is when Jawan wakes up from a coma and saves them. He becomes God for them. You get to see SRK’s first look here.