 "Movie Review: Black-and-white trying to be grey")
Reading the rolling credits for Jai Gangaajal instantly told me that it is a Prakash Jha film through and through - he has written, directed and made his acting debut in this sequel of sorts to the 2003 Gangaajal. Outshining his co-star and lead actor, Priyanka Chopra, Jha literally takes over the screen, perhaps directing himself to act better than he does the rest of the cast. There can possibly be no plot spoilers with Jai Gangaajal. It is a black-and-white storyline masquerading as a grey, layered take on "social issues".
Abha Kumar (Chopra) is posted as the superintendent of police at Bankipur, a village mired in land-grab politics, activism from "foreign-funded NGOs" and politicians who rape and kill at the drop of a hat. Although the movie was made much before the Jawaharlal National University "anti-national" issue, the activist's character is eerily similar to Umar Khalid's - an IIT topper with a PhD from MIT, who now works for the rights of Indian farmers. Manav Kaul, Bollywood's current favourite villain, as Babloo Yadav and Ninad Kamat as his brother, Dabloo Yadav, appear in the film as the absolute bad guys. There's even an effeminate transgender character that is named Munna Mardani in a poorly executed attempt at irony.
Mardani and other characters casually throw the descriptor "napunsak" (impotent) around for anyone who is not "man enough". This is unfortunately in a film that is otherwise not as sexist as Jha's previous attempts. Unlike its predecessor, Jai Gangaajal is mercifully devoid of item numbers and scantily clad eye-candies for its male lead's pleasure. Chopra's character, though not completely fleshed out, is treated with neutrality, which is both refreshing and a tad disappointing. Refreshing because Chopra is freed from the gender burden and disappointing because that very burden is perhaps more real than what Jha believes is true of rural India. The only appearance of discomfiture among the male officers who have to now report to a woman is in the fact that they continue to call her "madam sir".
I will give some credit to Jha for his intent to deal with a complex and relevant issue - that of vigilantism and the stand-off between law enforcement agencies and the country's citizens. Jha attempts to show that the police straddle the worlds of citizen welfare and sycophantic politics. Through Chopra's "good cop" and Jha's own "bad cop" routine, he paints a picture of the police force that is rendered toothless by a crippled judiciary and corrupt bureaucracy. Eventually, justice triumphs all and a rising mobocracy is stemmed by an upstart yet upright Chopra.
But this is not new to Jha either - Gangaajal was also about that. And while the 1980 Bhagalpur blinding incident makes its way into Gangaajal, Jai Gangaajal addressed the issue of farmer suicide. Within the trope of suicides, too, the repeated shots of bodies hanging from the trees are a chilling reminder of the alleged murder and gangrape in Badaun in 2014.
Chopra, with her perfect makeup, surprisingly does not look completely out of place in the rural setting. Her acting does falter in a few scenes, but she largely holds her own. She is also disturbingly good during the fight scenes.
The Salim-Sulaiman composer duo has done a fabulous job with the music, which is both amusing and adds a lighter touch to an otherwise heavy film. Despite the hyperboles and melodramatic dialogues -"Khaki wardi mein baahubali banne ki koshish matt kijiye (do not try to be a superhero in your khaki uniform)" - the film's two-and-a-half-hour run kept me engrossed with the plot. I only lost interest towards the ends, but thankfully the film ended soon enough after that.
