Some plots are so outrageous; you just have to roll with it. “You see, we brought dinosaurs back from extinction, but then we lost control of the project…” “A robot from the future travels back in time to kill the future mother of the present-day anti-robot movement leader …” “So there’s this thing called ‘The Purge’ …” These are plots you kinda just have to let be, because pretending reality plays a role here is silly. And today we have one of those in the Hindi film Jawan.
So there’s this women’s prison in India. And the warden is a young, hunky, singing and dancing machine, right? Oh, and he also likes to cosplay. And from time-to-time, he -get this- likes to spring some his female inmates and, once disguised, they all commit ridiculous crimes in the name of justice. Then the women sneak back into prison.
And then they all have a bitchin’ dance number in the prison yard to celebrate … hmm … incarceration? Well, that’s a new one for me.
Warden Azad (Shah Rukh Khan) is introduced to us as a terrorist taking down a crowded subway. Abetting this crime are six hot female commandos who double as prisoners in Mumbai’s most progressive correctional institution. Ooooo, this looks bad, especially when they shoot somebody, but, it turns out that the monopoly money demanded is all going to help Indian farmers on the verge of bankruptcy. Wow, that’s quite a redistribution of wealth at gunpoint. [Psst … don’t tell Republicans; they’ll side with the bankers.]
On the case is Agent Narmada (Nayanthara), head of the specialized military team, Force One. She’s been assigned to the case; will she figure out that Warden Azad is behind the terrorism before or after she falls in love with him? How about when she figures out Azad is actually a noted ex-commando?
How about more singing & dancing?
This is the first Hindi film by Tamil writer/director Atlee. Atlee, Ramanagirivasan, Nayanthara. What is this, a Brazilian soccer team?
Jawan means soldier … which might better apply to Khan’s dual role as ex-commando Captain Vikram Rathore, Azad’s
father. Thanks to some bad-guy defeating in the past, Vikram fell out of a plane without a parachute. He received a nasty bump on the head which leaves him without a memory, but he still likes to thwart evil while dressed as a mummy.
There’s a lot of things about India I do not understand.
Overall, Bollywood has come a long way. We aren’t so far removed from the days when a Bollywood movie was three hours of “WTF?!” Those are the days when you needed an Intermission just to discuss what the Hell happened in the first half of the film. Now? Well, there’s still the fact that we have a mummy hero who doubles as his own son, a terrorist warden goody-goody. But all that seems manageable. The plot is fun and so is the action, and I do love a film in which the heroes put down their firearms to sing about life. It just makes sense. My biggest fault with Bollywood now is the complete lack of subtlety. Does evil have to be Trump-level before we root for the hero? That’s kinda the ask here. Bollywood, you can dial it back a bit? Bad guys like to sing and dance, too.
Aside from that, Jawan was a fun watch.
There once was a warden from Mumbai
Who took his prisoners out on the sly
They committed some sin
To societal chagrin
And then everybody danced and got high
Not Rated, 169 Minutes
Director: Atlee
Writer: Sumit Arora, Atlee, Ramanagirivasan
Genre: Beating the prison blues
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Social Justice Warriors
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Prison guards, tycoons
