First things first, the story
The movie brings out the inefficiencies in our system and gives a clear message that anything can be achieved if the system intends. SRK, as the protagonist and a temporary antagonist, makes a statement that he has tried everything, voted for different people, but nothing has changed and that’s why, he now has to take matters into his own hands. Like in various other depictions, this movie reiterates the fact that often, a person playing a villain was once a hero who was wronged and then forced to avenge, usually by unorthodox means. The movie also gives a social message of judiciously exercising the biggest power given to a common man – the power of a vote.
The captain and his army
Initially, the clean shaved look of Mr Khan was a bit disappointing but then you'll find him changing looks after looks while doing justice to all his characters, whether in their 30s, 40s or 60s. I truly became a fan of his bad-boy look, smoking a cigar and chasing villains on a bike.
SRK and his strike team bear a resemblance to Professor and his gang from Netflix’s much-acclaimed Money Heist where a supercharged team follows a mastermind to give effect to a plan. But more than that, Jawan ticks all the boxes on women empowerment. While it was equally possible and feasible for SRK to think of an all-men team or a team comprising more than one gender for the movie, an all-women team with each person having their own past makes the story more appealing and signifies a stronger cause. It shows that women are equally capable of carrying out all the modern-day tasks like hijacking, ethical hacking and ring fighting. The movie also showcases the power of a mother who took care of raising and giving the best upbringing to her child, even after she would be dead.
Moments that added flavour
Seeing Suchi and Dhriti from Family Man 2 together again sure brought a brief smile to those viewers’ faces who had loved that absolutely fine web series and had hailed the conference room exchange between Srikant and his “minimum guy” manager as the most satisfying moment in an OTT platform ever.
It’s not possible to talk about the movie and not mention Deepika Padukone. Deepika looks as if she was transported straight from Om Shanti Om to Jawan, beautiful and captivating. The chemistry between SRK and Deepika in Jawan gives a quick reminiscence of that between Om Kapoor and Shanti Priya. One can even recognize some of her very similar expressions in both the movies. Needless to say, she’s an ever-charming actor and does justice to any role she decides to play, be it Veronica or Naina or any of those still coming out.
Perhaps, expecting Swades kind of a movie today may just remain a dream, but it is refreshingly nostalgic to see that SRK keeps the classic movie alive by bringing its characters in his new films or using their names (like Mohan Bhargav in Brahmastra or Kaveri Amma in Jawan).
The disappointments
On a personal note, it was excruciatingly painful to see the ever-young Riddhi Dogra playing an old Kaveri Amma here, especially after watching her beautiful appearance in Asur as Nusrat and in TVF Pitchers 2 as Prachi. One shouldn't be blamed if he thinks that the transformation of Kaveri Amma from Swades to Jawan has been inspired by Spider Man's Aunt May who keeps getting younger in each sequel.
Further, most of the songs in the movie are just a tad below pathetic. They almost make no sense, neither in letter (composition) nor in spirit (music). The only good songs were those of the 1960s and similar times that were being played in the background during action scenes, that brought a little humor to the tense moments.
Final Word
Except for the excessive cooling of the movie hall, and the discomfort of sitting alone between couples on my either side, I really enjoyed watching this action packed thriller. After the dual bombing of Oppenheimer and Barbie, the Indian audience has finally got a desi blockbuster and it is exactly what they needed.
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