 "A remake of Korean film Seven Days (2007), Jazbaa has advantage of a strong and gripping script")
A remake of Korean film Seven Days (2007), Jazbaa has the advantage of a strong and gripping script. Sadly, the potential of a compelling storyline is squandered by lackluster direction. The film does not offer logic for some of the most pivotal parts of the story. For instance, the audience is told that Anuradha Verma (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) is a reputed lawyer who has never lost a case in her life. However, when the fact is to be established, it turns out that she wins her cases by pointing out the obvious in the loudest way possible. There is no proof of her wit, presence of mind or legal acumen in the entire scene.
Jazbaa has been marketed as Rai Bachchan’s comeback film and the amount of screen time she occupies justifies the positioning. However, instead of just offering her screen time, Gupta would have done better by giving her character some depth. Rai Bachchan’s portrayal of the hotshot lawyer trying to save her daughter’s life comes across as screechy and over-the-top rather than compassionate and determined. In the scenes where the mandate seems to be more than just looking frantic and screaming and waving hands, Rai Bachchan delivers with the grace and poignancy of a mother desperate to save her daughter from doom. Considering that she anchors the film from start to end, one would expect more layers to the character. She carries the responsibility the best she could, though.
The film also succeeds in doing something one would now come to think of as impossible — show Irrfan Khan in an unflattering light for his acting. While he, like Rai Bachchan, seems to have tried his best to make the most of what is given to him, some scenes are simply too exaggerated and the dialogues cheesy. In fact, Khan’s understated delivery of some of these dialogues is what salvages many scenes. The Kaante-esque slow-motion walk, exaggerated angles and action, and bad lighting, however, don’t help his performance.
As with Rai Bachchan, Khan too has his moments of brilliance on the screen, most of which are dialogue-driven. Playing a decorated policeman who has been found guilty of corruption and is facing an inquiry, Khan brings out the grit and despondency of his character effortlessly. He brings credibility to the dry humour that the script has to offer and the audience can empathise with the decisions he makes. Romance is where he scores yet again, just like in Piku earlier this year.
Kudos also to the supporting cast of Shabana Azmi, Jackie Shroff and Abhimanyu Singh — all of them deliver the goods with efficiency. Azmi, as the grieving mother of a rape and murder victim, Shroff, as the politician who will go to any lengths to protect his public image, and Singh, as the goon with morals, are convincing.
Chandan Roy Sanyal as Miyaaz Shaikh, the convict Rai Bachchan is supposed to defend to save her daughter, comes across as maniacal and unstable. Whether he is supposed to be perceived this way is unclear as the film fails to establish this.
All-in-all, the film fails to impress the way it promises, simply because the direction fails to hit the mark. Had the director spent more time on building the foundation in the first half and less on putting the green filter and slow-motion sequences, it would have made a world of difference.
