Jawaan (2023)

This is probably the only film of Shah Rukh Khan in leading role I am watching. I don't watch Hindi films, and I am not sure what's the parameters like over there when it comes to onscreen performances. But I suppose SRK has done some heavy lifting here playing dual roles, which you can't tell apart except with what looks like a bit of de-aging involved for the younger character. Heroes of the industry here have, for ages, played older and younger dual roles and I can only think of Sivaji and Kamal pulling it off, performance wise. Rajinikanth is just too much of a bundle of energy to be contained in make-up, though he can keep the characters apart with the amount of kinetic power unleashed.

This is where I gotta do the "speaking of Rajini" bit. SRK does two of the former's gimmicks involving cigar stub - homage? Tribute? Trying to attract the south Indian audience? It also helps that whoever is voicing him in Tamizh sound bit like the late, great Raghuvaran. 

But the two factors that got my bum in the theatre seat are Nayanthara and Vijay Sethupathi. Both didn't disappoint. One, Nayanthara, smitten as I was once, I have also accepted her as a versatile actress, not an award material talent, but certainly way ahead of her peers. Then, there's Vijay Sethupathi who could just be reading of the dictionary and have you entertained. Again, he's not going to headline any nominations awarding performance, but he has more presence than most of the southern Indian actors of his generation combined. He's the type who, like Rajini himself and Sathyaraj, brings something additional to the table.

Director Atlee who used to be Shankar's assistant, is the apple that has not fallen far from the tree, taking with him Shankar's disdain for corrupt authorities, love for the poor and anything else that can be scraped from MGR's cinematic legacy barrel. And off we go again in another pseudo Puratchi Thalaivar crusade with heavy dose of anti-heroism. Heavily sterilised, that is.

It's an entertaining fare with plenty of shootout, now that the industry is gifted with proper props and CGI bypassing the exploding squibs stage for realism. It's amateurish in every possible way, but not bad for an Indian film. 

And, as usual, I have issues with the background score... generic, dull and composer Anirudh (who, nowadays, gets A Musical By credit, baffling...) now steals from Ennio Morricone. That unmistakable theme from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. The nerve! You wanna steal, take from something obscure bro. Talented, yes. Brilliant? No. Original? Pu-leeeze.

This is the sort of film that gets rave review and will quickly be forgotten. But there's one thing I really appreciate, the gals. They are shown to be kick-ass types, including Nayan who is in full action mode, and believable in fight sequences. The girl deserves her own action flick. Meanwhile Vijay Sethupathi just keeps bulldozing ahead like a monstrous rhino ahead if it's heard against the sea of antelopes. The sonovagun is unstoppable.