Jawan review: A hard-hitting commercial entertainer that reflects the sorry state of affairs in the country

Through Jawan, director Atlee delivers a hard-hitting film that not only entertains but also attempts to shine a light on the distressing state of affairs in the country.

It looks to highlight a series of problems in different departments — from banking to farming to public health systems to faulty equipment being provided to our jawans.

Without much delay, let’s see what the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer is all about:

Synopsis

A group of six women led by a man who calls himself Vikram Rathore (Shah Rukh Khan) hijacks a metro train in Mumbai and demands that the authorities transfer over ₹40,000 crore to an account number.

However, the minister of agriculture who is summoned by Rathore to the negotiation tells him that the government cannot pay such a huge ransom. To this, the latter says a businessman whose loans the government has waived off will offer to pay the whole ransom himself as his daughter, too, is one of the hostages.

As predicted by Rathore, businessman Kali (Vijay Sethupathi) offers to pay the amount. The money that Vikram Rathore gets as ransom is used to waive off the loans that small farmers across the country have borrowed.

And, this is just the beginning!

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A Robinhood move

Vikram Rathore and his team of six girls embark on a series of unlawful activities with the motive of doing good to the general public.

Each time, Vikram Rathod and his girls target and strike a different department, the man at the receiving end is invariably Kali.

Kali, who has a limited education, believes in waiting for an appropriate time to hit back at Vikram Rathore.

Meanwhile, we learn that Vikram Rathore is actually Azad (Shah Rukh Khan), the jailer of a women’s prison in Mumbai.

Interestingly, Azad ends up getting married to Narmada (Nayanthara), the chief negotiator and the cop who is assigned the task of capturing Vikram Rathore.

Eventually, she manages to find out Vikram Rathore’s true identity. At the same time, Kali, too, decides that “enough is enough” and chooses to finish off Vikram Rathore.

What happens then is worth watching on the silver screen.

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Crisp direction

Atlee cleverly comes up with a plot that touches on almost all the core issues that the common man faces today.

While the first episode is about the issue of over 10,000 poor farmers committing suicide because of being unable to repay farm loans, the next is about the pathetic state of government hospitals and how politicians lie about having provided state-of-the-art infrastructure to such facilities.

The third episode is about the poor quality of arms provided to our armed forces. The fourth is about polluting factories and the final one is about the significance of voting for the right person.

While there are portions that appear cinematic, the core plot is solid and, therefore, one is able to relate to Jawan.

The film not only entertains but also seeks to create awareness about the distressing state of affairs in the country, ending by stressing the need to vote responsibly.

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Performances

The film boasts of some fantastic performances starting with Shah Rukh.

The Bollywood Badshah plays two roles in the film — as father Vikram Rathore and son Azad.

Shah Rukh scores handsomely as the Jawan Vikram Rathore. Sharp and stylish, he delivers a commanding performance even in his aged get-up.

Vijay Sethupathi as Kali impresses us. However, this isn’t Vijay Sethupathi’s best performance as his role offers him limited room to perform.

Nayanthara as Narmada comes up with another solid show. She owns her character and comes up with a realistic performance.

Jawan also has a fine performance coming from Priyamani who, after a long time, gets a meaty role to showcase her acting skills.

The movie also has neat performances from five actresses who play Shah Rukh’s team members.

On the technical front, Anirudh’s background score is fantastic and Vishnu’s visuals are breathtaking and a big plus to the film.

Final take

On the whole, Jawan is a proper commercial entertainer that works because of the important issues it touches upon.

(Views expressed here are personal.)