Alia Bhatt’s much-awaited action-thriller flick Jigra has finally hit theaters today worldwide. Also starring The Archies fame Vedang Raina, upon release, the film’s trailer had hit the right note with its blend of high emotions and Alia’s quest to safeguard her brother. Backed by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions, Jigra is co-produced by Alia under her Eternal Sunshine Productions banner. It is her second production after 2022 Netflix hit Darlings. Apoorva Mehta and Somen Mishra are also credited as co-producers.
Directed by Vasan Bala, Jigra showed Bhatt in an all-new avatar doing dangerous stunts. But does the film live up to all the hype? Read the review to find out!
Story: Jigra’s story revolves around orphan siblings Satya (Alia Bhatt) and Ankuar (Vedang Raina), who, after their father’s suicide, have been living with their distant relative since childhood. Ankur, along with his best friend Kabir (Aditya Nanda), go on a business trip to an island named Hanshi Dao, where both get caught in a drug case for which the punishment is death penalty. While Kabir gets away, innocent Ankur, who gets tricked into accepting trafficking drugs, gets a death sentence by electrocution. Now, Alia reaches Hanshi Dao to free her only family, Ankur. Upon reaching the island, she befriends Bhatia (Manoj Pahwa) and ex-cop Muthu (Rahul Ravindran), and together they plan a prison break to escape Ankur. This forms the basic plot of Jigra.
Performances: Alia Bhatt and Vedang Raina’s chemistry as orphaned siblings is what forms the core backbone of the film. Alia, who usually shines in every character she plays, looked dull and delivered a rather boring performance this time. Vedang had a smaller screen time comparatively but has shown improvement and looks absolutely impressive. Alia as a protective sister who can go to any lengths for her brother would make emotional viewers connect to her character.
Manoj Pahwa and Rahul Ravindran, as supporting cast, actually pulled the story along by adding depth to their roles. Pahwa, as usual, dropped some punches that lightened the mood in a rather boring and bland story.
Technical Aspects: Directed Vasan Bala, who is known for his peculiar directing style, has always mesmerized the audience with his work. However, Jigra seems to be his weakest project by far. Music and background work well with the story, but the screenplay doesn’t have any palpitating moments.
Prison escape stories usually have a straight narrative, so it becomes essential to create a strong hook to keep the audiences at the edge of their seats. Cinematographer Swapnil S. Sonawane has done a decent job with displaying the vibrancy of the island culture, which is similar to that of Asian nations. The integration of the colours gives a thrilling appearance to the story, while a few camera angles looked impressive.
Analysis: Jigra, which literally means ‘heart beat’, the film doesn’t really do justice to the word. The characters lack depth as it doesn’t get properly developed. Meanwhile, the performances too fell flat making the story disconnected. The first half is boring, meanwhile the second half of the film picks up pace where a little is delivered.
Verdict: Jigra as a whole fails to entertain. The story is mediocre, and very simplistic. It has no wow factor that would make the viewers interested to sit for a run time of 2 hours 33 minutes. Therefore, the Jigra is disappointing.
Bottom Line: Passable movie
Rating: 2/5
