Director :Sohail Khan
Run Time: 145 minutes
Rating: ***
After seeing SRK and Aamir's fans getting exulted, post the grand success of Chennai Express and Dhoom 3 it was Salman's fan brigade which was eagerly waiting for something explosive from the the lee of their superstar. And finally their elongated longing for something rocking has come to an end with the release of Salman's much awaited 'Jai Ho'.
With "Jai Ho", it's not only Salman who has ended his prolonged hiatus from big screen, but at the same time his brother Sohail has also culminated his decade long sabbatical from direction which commenced post the disaster, called "Hello Brother".
Well with "Jai Ho" another thing which somewhere down the line seems to be delitescent is that, after establishing Arbaaz Khan in successful director's league this time, Salman has attempted to bring, Sohail back in the elite league of directors and has quite conveniently succeeded in his this endeavour too.
Anyhow getting back to "Jai Ho", this much awaited movie of, Salman sailing on the board of noble idea i.e. of "Aam Aadmi's" plight beneath it, can be defined as a blended cine-chronicle inspired from southern blockbuster "Staline' and Hollywood movie "Pay It forward".
As the plot of "Jai Ho" takes of it showcases the story of a "Good Samaritan" Jai Agnihotri (Salman Khan), a highly decorated ex-army-men who after getting suspended ( as reported in movie instead of court-marshal) is leading a life of a common man. Jai, who is thoroughly pro-social in his attitude and can go up-till any extent in order to make others life blissful, and at the same time inspires them to unleash their human side by helping three other individuals, in lieu of obligations which they owe to someone else.
Unaware of, what destiny has in its womb, one fine day, Jai finds himself pitted against the a gang of goons backed by a corrupt politician, Dashrath Singh Patil ( Danny Denzongpa). With frames rolling ahead the battle between our incorruptible good Samaritan starts getting even nastier. But it's Jai's elder sister, Geeta ( Tabu), who after the gazing the extent of disaster which may erupt convinces Jai to make peace with, Dashrath Singh Patil and takes him to latter's mansion.
But on realizing that his brothers longanimity and sufferance is not doing any good and is rather garnering a humiliation for him, she along with her brother declares an open war against the antagonists. And on the hind side it's Jai's "Being Human" attitude which starts finding a space for itself in the the masses. So what follows next, does Jai succeeds in outmanoeuvring Dashrath Singh? or, does he succumbs to the widely prevailing corruption? To know, watch this high octane action saga of Salman.
Scripted by A.R. Murugandoss, (just like the the original i.e. "Stalin" which was directed by him) the script of, "Jai Ho" too has got all the condiments required to make it a captivating story-line, which besides impressing the diehard Salman fans may find true admirers in rest of the society too. Primarily it's that perfect blending of pro-social concept "pertaining to the plight of Aam Aadmi" with those high octane actions, which up-till great extent magnifies the over all appeal of the movie.
And as far as cinematic perspective of "Jai Ho" is concerned, then unlike some of Salman's previous cine flicks which in-spite of not having a very appealing story line succeeded only due to Salman's star-power. This one has got an impressive script, where main plot, sub-plots and that superlative dose of action and drama, not only keeps you engrossed in the onscreen proceedings, but at the same time quite conveniently succeeds in keeping viewers attention uni-directed.
Although at times overdose of "3X3 human approach" becomes unbearable and starts looking obtruded, but who cares till the time it's been balanced by an action packed entertaining drama. And yeah, at the same time there is no denying the fact that due to that stupendous dose of action and mighty, Salman, somewhere down the line the main pro-social plot of the movie turns into the sub-plot and whereas action and drama takes the front seat in order to make "Jai Ho"an out and out Salman affair. Unlike many of Salman's "Dabangg styled" movies of "Jai Ho" dialogues are not too loud, overstuffed or excessively eloquent but inspite of that they please you like the one "Aam Aadmi Ek Sota Hua Sher Hai Usse Ungli...."
As far as screenplay of "Jai Ho" is concerned, then screenplay writer, Dileep Shukla has tried to keep it as simple as it could have been. Although at a few points it gets negligibly flimsy and a bit slow, but as stated that, on the whole it's that mighty dose of entertainment which performs the balancing act and nowhere distracts you from the onscreen proceedings.
So a pat on the back for, Dileep Shukla for drawing a neat and tidy yet impressive screenplay. On the editing front even, Ashish Amrute has done a good job and has praise-worthily kept all the relevant details pertaining to the movie intact.
Even the background score of "Jai Ho" is very much in accordance with the bit motif of the movie and adds to its entertainment coefficient.
Coming to the direction and other technical aspects pertaining to "Jai Ho" then all that can be said about it is that, after flunking as director with "Hello Brother" this time Sohail has returned with a bang and has raised the benchmark tremendously. Although it is said that in Salman's movie there are just three USPs and they are "Salman, Salman and Salman", but in "Jai Ho` another gaze grabbing USP which has made its presence feel are those superlative death defying action sequences of A. Arasakumar and Ravi Varma, which not only give viewers an adrenaline rush, but at the same time keep them hooked to the screen with a want for more.
Well if we tallk about the music of "Jai Ho" then this is one such component of the movie which is passable, and even its absence of it wouldn't have impacted the movie in any manner. Be it the lyrics Sameer, Kausar Muneer et al or the music of Sajid-Wajid, everything in the melody department looks too wishy-washy and unwanted.
Finally coming to the performances, then undoubtedly "Jai Ho" without an iota of doubt, is an absolute Salman show. After charming his fans with some of his witty mannerisms in "Dabangg" franchise and "Ready", this time Salman has exhibited an altogether different side of his, where he has not only looked more mature as an actor, but has raised the benchmark for himself too be it action or emotional expressiveness Salman has carried everything with gusto.
There was so much of the hullabaloo when, Daisy was casted opposite Salman, and fans expected her to be a surprise package, but unfortunately smashing all the expectations, she turns out to be perfect example of disastrous-casting, who needs a thorough grooming if she really wants to carve a niche in Bollywood.
Besides, while being under the robe of antagonist Danny Denzongpaa has once again succeeded in leaving his mark. Despite being a central character of the movie Taboo gets a very limited scope to perform, but whatever part this sinewy actress performs, she does it with sheer perfection.
Rest of the supporting cast comprising of Sana Khan (who is seen playing a somewhat negative character), Genelia Deshmukh, Nadira Babbar, Pulkit Samrat, Mohnish Bahl, Mahesh Manjrekar, Aditya Pancholi et al, too perform their respective characters with utmost confidence and thoroughly succeeds in registering their presence despite being in smaller roles. But on character who emerges as an standout performer inspite some of the seasoned actors is lil Naman Jain.
BO potential? well that hardly matters for any of the cine ventures featuring, Salman who has often proved critics lobby wrong by his movies' performances. But as it is customary practice while being in critics chair, so all that can be said about this out and out entertainer of featuring Salman is that, with a simple yet inspiring script at its core and a super impressive and realistic execution "Jai Ho" has got all the favouring elements embedded in it, which can make it one of the biggest BO grosser of 2014.
To sum up, so far it's believed that, it's only because of Salman's star power, that his movies fare well on the BO. But this time with "Jai Ho", which has got a good script at its core, a noble message to sent across, and a superlative entertainment quotient to charm the masses, Salman has proved that he is star of the masses because he deserves to be. So keeping in view all these relevant entertainment coefficients, star power of Salman and earning potency of "Jai Ho", I am going ahead with three stars for "Jai Ho", which will probably emerge as the first bumper opener and BO grosser of 2014.By Ankur Karan Singh, Santa Banta News Network
