A sentence about this film can be said, ‘It started with a lot of hope, but the end did not last’. In fact, the anticipation that the film creates in the audience right from the start vanishes after fifteen minutes of the interval. Director Vasan Bala’s ‘Jigra’ turns into a very generic action movie after fifteen minutes of intermission, unable to avoid the alluring touch of creating absurd surprises and superhuman characters. Towards the end, which makes the audience tired. As a result, the picture cannot take place in the vaults of their memories.
An island in Malaysia called ‘Hansi Daote’, where Ankur (Bedang Raina) and his younger cousin have gone to study. Unfortunately, Ankur is found guilty of drug possession. But he knew nothing about this. Ankur was sentenced to death under the strict legal system of that country. The police there took him to a high-security jail. Helpless innocent Ankur was sitting in that jail counting the days to die. Ankur’s aunt Satya (Alia Bhatt) believes that her brother is innocent; he cannot die, even though it is impossible to get out of this horrible prison.
He goes to that country and tries hard to free his brother. At one point, Satya meets former police officer Muthu (Rahul Rabindran) and retired gangster Bhatia (Manoj Pahwa). Their sons are also being punished for various crimes and are waiting for death in that jail. Satya convinces Bhatia and Muthu to free them from jail. For that, the three of them come up with a terrible plan. Will that plan succeed? Will the shoots really get out of jail? Or will Satya’s inhuman efforts fail? The answer to this question must be seen in the film hall.
Director Vasan Bala’s film ‘Jigra’ begins with a perfect blend of logic and technology. Strong screenplay on one hand and skillful cinematography on the other keep the story of the film moving forward smoothly. The film proceeds to tell the story in a certain rhythm and creates wonderful scenes and interesting drama so that the audience cannot be indifferent. Leaving aside the last forty minutes of the film, it must be said that ‘Jigra’ has seen a successful execution of a powerful screenplay.
How to bring various small incidents in front of the audience in a dramatic twist can be learned from this film. The scenes of criminals being put in jail, Ankur visiting Satya in jail, Satya and Ankur touching fingers through a small gap, Ankur getting punished in jail, or Satya and Muthu’s fight are some memorable scenes.
The superb work of cinematography has taken this film to another level; special credit goes to cinematographer Swapnil Sonawane. The way he keeps the filming to a certain level deserves praise, even though there are rough patches at various places. Although the ambient music in the film is quite good, it seems that it needed a little more control in some places.
The actors have done a good job in the various roles of the film. Especially Manoj Pahwa as Bhatia and Rahul Rabindran as Muthu are impeccable. These two actors manage to keep the film moving with their acting skills, but the best credit for ‘Jigra’ goes to Alia. His amazing performance is the lifeblood of this film. It’s hard to believe the way he has portrayed every moment of the screenplay on screen. It is not an easy task to skillfully present every emotion of a loving sister to the audience; Alia has done that difficult task with ease in this film.
Despite so many notable aspects, director Vasan Bala’s ‘Jigra’ cannot enter the list of outstanding films. In movies where the outcome is predictable, the screenplay plays a major role. Screenplay took that role in this film too. The genius Karikuri of logic and intellect was moving the film’s story forward at an interesting pace. But, after a break, that sense of logic and that intelligence gradually started disappearing. The forced action scenes towards the end and the attempt to make Alia superhuman make the film very quickly descend into mediocrity.
However, the film could certainly have reached a logical conclusion based on the plot. In that case, the film could have had an interesting ending. But the question of why the director deviated from that brilliant idea and ended the film as a simple action film remains unknown.
Source: anandabazar
