Mar 05, 2016 01:28 PM
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Despite giving some disappointing films in the past, the name Prakash Jha still evokes interest. After all, even his worst films have something that excites and makes one curious to see the film. But with his each passing film, this quality is slowly getting diminished and with Jai GangaaJal, it gets affected even more. It’s not a bad film outright. It has it’s moments but it’s based on a beaten to death idea, the execution is okay and many scenes are on the lines of the first part, Gangaajal.
The story of the movie: Abha Mathur(Priyanka Chopra) is assigned the charge of the Bankipur district. The MLA from Lakhisarai Babloo Pandey(Manav Kaul) is powerful and menacing who has no fear of law or police. He also has the support of minister Ramakant Chowdhary(Kiran Karmarkar) which make things easy for him. Babloo’s brother Dabloo Pandey(Ninad Kamat) too has a free run in the area and is openly threatening and even attacking those who are not ready to give away their lands for his power project. The trust in police is no longer there but Abha comes in and tries to change the situation for the better. However, she faces opposition from her own department, including from B N Singh(Prakash Jha). However, B N Singh soon realizes that he’s on the wrong side and decides to help Abha in her quest for justice and peace.
Jai GangaaJal starts on a musical note and this aspect continues throughout the film. The action and chase sequences are complimented with songs which give a nice touch to the film but only to an extent. Abha Mathur’s entry is thanda and some of the beginning scenes are a recreation of the iconic scenes of Gangaajal. Remember Ajay Devgn being harassed at the nakabandi and later Ajay addressing officers under his control? These are highly memorable scenes but the recreated scenes in Jai GangaaJal fall flat completely. It’s only when Abha assaults Moti Pehelwan in public that one gets interested in the film. But again, Prakash Jha messed it up as he showed so many key scenes in the trailers. So one already knows what’s going to happen next when Abha is chasing Moti or what lies in store for Sunita(Vega Tamotia) or how B N Singh is going to react when Dabloo humiliates him in public. Lessons learnt: Never ever see the trailer of a Prakash Jha film!
Moreover, the second half has unconvincing moments and cinematic liberty in the end that takes the charm away. The film ends all of a sudden, leaving several unanswered questions. On the positive side, the film has some great moments and deals with relatable issues of land mafia, farmer suicides etc. A crucial development in the second half comes up all of a sudden that takes the film to another level for some time.
Priyanka Chopra is damn good as SP Abha Mathur and gets her share of punches, kicks and dialogue baazi. She has given her best in ensuring her act doesn’t look unreal. But somehow it doesn’t create the same kind of impact that Rani Mukerji created in Mardaani or Tabu in Drishyam. Somewhere, the writing is also to blame. Prakash Jha makes a smashing debut as the actor and it might not be wrong to say that he has done a better job than Priyanka! The manner in which that his silences also speaks a lot is seen to be believed! Manav Kaul is efficient as the villain and leaves a huge mark in some scenes. Ninad Kamat has a powerful role and steals the thunder from fellow villain Manav. Vega Tamotia impresses in her small role despite her urban upbringing in real life. Slumdog Millionaire actor Ayush Mahesh Khedekar(Nagesh) delivers a very fine performance. Murali Sharma(Munna Mardani) is quite nice in the role of an effeminate person. Kiran Karmarkar is okay. Rahul Bhat(Pawan Raghav) has a great screen presence but hardly contributes anything to the film. Shakti Kumar(DSP Prabhu Narayan), Jagat Singh Solanki(as Amreek Tiwari) and Ankush Bali(Moti Pehelwan) deliver fine performances.
Salim-Sulaiman’s music is okay and won’t be remembered after a few weeks. But the songs give a nice touch to the film. Tetua is the best of the lot followed by Binu Baadar, Maya Thagni, Dheere Dheere and Ghanghor Ghana Ghan. Sachin Krishn’s cinematography is fine and has a rustic feel to it which compliments the film. Sham Kaushal’s action as always is quite exciting and real. Prakash Jha’s story has fresh and relatable elements but overall it is clichéd. Still, it could have worked if the screenplay is not haphazard. Dialogues are simple and sharp. Prakash Jha’s direction too gets affected when the script itself isn’t upto the mark. He has a brand and a fan base of his own and he really needs to reinvent himself in such a way that his fans don’t disown him. Hope he is able to do so in his next film!
Some good scenes in the film:
Abha Mathur beats up Moti Pehelwan
B N Singh talks to Dabloo in Babloo’s presence
Dabloo kidnaps Sunita
The intermission point
B N Singh goes to arrest Dabloo and the scene thereafter
The scene at the morgue
Minister Ramakant at Abha’s residence
On the whole, Jai GangaaJal is based on some relatable issues and raises some important questions. Priyanka Chopra is damn good in the lead role but its Prakash Jha the actor who steals the show. Sadly, it’s an average film as it becomes clichéd and also too filmy which doesn’t go well with the film. Some of the best scenes of the film were already shown in the promos and hence for most of the film, one knows what’s going to happen next. The film has taken a poor opening and has no chance of a success at the box office. Here’s hoping that Prakash Jha sees the writing on the wall(this is his fourth underwhelming film in a row) and attempts to reinvent himself!
My rating -* ½ out of 5!
