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neengareadynaaready · 6 months

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Jawan (2023) Spoiler Review

I urge anyone and everyone to watch it because it is so much fun from beginning to end. Also, SRK is just ugggghhh so damn hot.

Spoilers from here on out.

Alright, let me get this out of the way first: the movie was very massy and I loved it. That said, I wasn't completely blown away by the story and delivery because I'm up to my eyeballs in south Indian mass movies.

Now, there are people who look down on very massy action films. They think it's inferior or not nuanced enough. Some like only certain mass films and think that the ones they like are the superior kind of mass movies. If you're that kind of person, we're gonna have problems.

One, Jawan isn't a mindblowing film BUT it is undeniably a fun film with lots of exciting action, a good and tight storyline, and good songs.

SRK is SRK. There's a reason fans call him King Khan. His charisma is off the charts. He is great as Azad and absolutely breathtaking and unforgettable as Vikram Rathore. I am serious about the unforgettable part. I fear that his next characters, especially if they're older guys, will be compared to the legend Vikram Rathore. I almost wish Atlee would make a sequel because I want to see Vikram again, in his silver fox era, going on missions with his team (and his son somewhere there).

I wasn't really surprised with the DILF in this movie because I do think Atlee has some daddy issues. If you've seen his older movies like Mersal and Bigil, you might have noticed that the dad characters are given banger bgms and better entry scenes (Vetrimaaran and Rayappan, respectively). Vijay's title card in Mersal was Vetrimaaran's theme, while the title card in Bigil has Rayappan's theme/BGM. But Atlee killed them off in those two movies, so he subverted his own tropes in Jawan (THANK GOD BECAUSE WE WOULDN'T HAVE GOTTEN VIKRAM RATHORE OTHERWISE - sorry, I will not shut up about Vikram okay).

The Girls. Who doesn't love the women of Jawan? Seriously. They absolutely made me giddy with excitement. One, because they were awesome, and we so their backstories and how loyal they were to Azad, and how Azad loved them and was loyal to them, too. Also, that time they called him because he was in the biggest fight of his life (WEDDING NIGHT)! That was honestly the cutest shit ever. If you saw Bigil, Atlee was gunning for that, too, but Bigil is more tamed seeing as it is a sports movie.

Nayanthara and Deepika as they love interests are really good. I was so sad when I learned Aishwarya's fate (shoutout to Atlee who *also* named the mom here Aishwarya -- they're both strong, amazing women). Nayanthara is so damn good and so damn cool (but I am biased towards Jayam Ravi/Nayanthara pairing lmao).

That Sanjay Dutt cameo! Oh, man, I laughed and clapped! I had such a ball of a time. And the revelation that they were friends and he had been helping him all along! Aaaaaah, so satisfying to see honestly. Atlee, why don't you make this a series? I wanna see more of all of them.

Now, on to some things that didn't feel so satisfying to me:

I have seen Vijay Sethupathi play the villain role several times. His performance as Bhavani in Master and Vedha in Vikram Vedha (2017) are tough to beat. It's also really difficult not to compare his performance in Jawan to his performance in those two films because I had such high expectations (yes, I know, my fault a little bit). I feel like his charisma that he usually brings to the table was only seen in small parts, bits and pieces. So, that felt a little bit underwhelming.

Okay, so I like the songs! Anirudh has shown how versatile he is in producing different song genres (but currently movies and fans expect hero-elevation music from him, and that is completely understandable). But I couldn't pinpoint Vikram or Azad's main theme or main bgm. I'm recalling all the Bollywood movies I've watched over the years, and perhaps this isn't a thing in Bollywood films? (Again, if you think having specific bgm for the hero's entry or badass moment is corny, this review isn't for you, sorry, I'm into that shit, I grew up on anime). I know there's a bgm for Azad's entry at the jail and there's literally a song called Vikram Rathore but they just didn't stand out much. You can, of course, argue that SRK doesn't need bgms to elevate him to god-like status. That's true. This is just a me thing, as someone who looks forward to such bgms in mass movies from the south.

OK, I didn't think my review would be this long. I just had many thoughts while watching Jawan. Anyway, like I said, this one is a total banger of a movie. SRK is an absolute joy to watch! What an amazing performer and actor!

#jawan #srk #shah rukh khan #bollywood #indian cinema #atlee movie

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rakeshvenkataraman-blog · 7 years

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Unsung heroes

The 1990’s was a watershed decade in the chronicles of Indian cricket, not because it highlighted the meteoric rise of Sachin Tendulkar, but also it was the decade of full blown television broadcast extravaganzas, where the media moguls figured out the formula in order to milk the cash cow called Indian cricket, with gullible millions, who suddenly had access to Satellite television, unshackled from the vice like grip of Doordarshan and their soporific commentators.

For someone growing up in this era, at the cost of academic excellence, I personally ended up watching and lapping up with delight, even the most obscure and banal matches, which would otherwise be brushed under the carpet and banished into oblivion. I have an eidetic memory for such matches and the players who were involved in those classic tussles, this is an attempt to come up with a list of those forgotten warriors, who together may resemble the rag-tag team of Lagaan, pitted against the best of the British Empire.

1. Vikram Rathour:

When a mustache twirling Akshay Kumar, roared “Rathore…. Vikram Rathore,” from the movie Rowdy Rathore. The first thing that popped to my mind was this bearded young man from the mid 1990’s, who was perennially having this “deer caught in headlights” expression, while facing Allan Donald & Dominic Cork. With a smashing average of 13.10 spread over 6 test matches, he would have the honor of being the very first name on my list. I could not even recall a single instance of him getting on top of the bowlers during those overseas tours, which was surprising considering he scored heavily in the tour games preceding the actual Test series at England.

2. Gagan Khoda:

A couple of decades down the line, I would imagine, Gagan Khoda rounding up his grandchildren near the fireplace and narrating the story of an opener , who had an average of 57.50 in ODI’s in the 1990’s which was significantly higher than Sir Sachin Tendulkar. However , the fact that these runs had been earned against Odumbe’s , Tikolo’s & Rafique’s , the selectors deemed him unworthy of future opportunities.

“What was I supposed to do, score golden ducks against Kenyans ??” Grandpa Khoda was shattered that cold, wintry night according to his grandchildren.

3. Pravin Amre:

Another astounding talent from the “Achrekar School of Excellence”, Amre in fact scored a century on debut, on a day when Alan Donald was fuming sulfur from his nostrils. In addition to Yeti and Bermuda Triangle, Pravin Amre’s reluctance to be selected for the national team, remains one of the mystifying mysteries of 20th century. My photographic memory is so embarrassing that I even remember the swirl of his bat, as he hit a cover drive of Donald, the sun glistening off the shiny side of his blade, the brand name burned upon my memory for decades… “ BDM”.

4. Vijay Bharadwaj:

With a demeanor which suggested, that his aura would be more comfortable working in the environs of Infosys, Bangalore, this bespectacled gentleman, had a blazing start to his international career.

“Man of the Series” indeed, picking up 10 wickets at 12.2 and there was not a single bowler who could flaunt about dismissing him in that series, however the subsequent tour to Australia, ensured his career landed back on Planet Earth with an almighty thump. Had he been part of the IPL era, especially part of the yellow brigade of “He who must not be named”, he would have had a different career summary profile on Cricinfo.

5. Jacob Martin:

One of Indian cricket’s biggest loss, was the fact that Jacob Martin never played a test match for India, in spite of stacking up almost 1000 runs on a yearly basis playing for Baroda, and he was not just a flat track bully !! One of the finest innings played on a bouncy Perth wicket, against the likes of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar and Azhar Mahmood(a wily customer) was Martin’s 39 . This was one of the greatest overseas limited overs Innings , I have ever seen as a crazy cricket fan. In a parallel dimension, speciously Martin did not get run out at 39, but went on to save the match for India, nailing his place permanently ….

6. Sameer Dighe:

In the quagmire that followed Nayan Mongia, we had MSK Prasad, Saba Karim and even Parthiv Patel, before “He who must not be named” turned up with his majestic auburn-orange mane. A rock-solid keeper, without being entirely spectacular , which is how all wicket keepers were until the onset of Adam Gilchrist. It was interesting that Sameer was doing his Masters in USA , when Indian cricket called out to him. This story was later adapted by Ashutosh Gowariker and made into Swades starring Shah Rukh Khan.

7. Noel David:

“Noel who?” Kids from this generation would certainly scratch their heads in frustration on reading about this name, but back in the 1990’s, when Azharuddin’s fielding was the “Golden Standard”, there was this wiry looking guy, who moved like lightning on the field, with razor sharp throws and inspired bursts of chasing after the ball, when his most illustrious team mates would have given up mid-way. I also vaguely recall him sending down some tight off breaks, which would have been quite useful in the current Indian line up. Like most of his enlightened fellow Telugu brothers, he has emigrated to the United States of America.

8. Dodda Ganesh:

The windies can flaunt their Holding-Marshall-Garner triumvirate, Australians Lille- Thommo from their golden era, the Waqar Younis-Wasim Akram-Shoaib Akhtar troika can run through concrete walls, but we had 3 names back in the 1990’s which made Brian Lara toss around in his bed, made Daryl Cullinan , clutch his stomach in terror… Dodda Ganesh, Abey Kuruvilla & Thiru Kumaran.

Dodda Ganesh was the first of the Godzilla/Kaiju that we unleashed on unsuspecting batsmen. The challenge of playing more than 3 unique run scoring shots to each delivery, confused them , muddled their brains and ultimately preying on their confidence and form. A precursor to the future, when we had Ishant Sharma & RP Singh(fattened after his vacation in Florida) toiling away in England 2011.

It is rumored that the reason Gary Kirsten came back to India was to meet his old friend Dodda Ganesh, who on his debut, bravely helped him on to the summit, the Tenzing Norgay to Gary’s Edmund.

9. Abey Kuruvilla:

The striking thing about Abey was his height. At 6’6, when I first saw him on television, was salivating at the prospects of having found our own Curtly Ambrose. But when that action of his, where he resembled prostrating before a petulant Corporal, the speed gun , at the bottom of the television screen, screamed out the following data. “Speed: 122 km/hour”. For all his hulking frame, he bowled no faster than our slowest pace bowler , Venkatesh Prasad !!

10. Thiru Kumaran:

If I conducted a quiz competition now and showed a photo of Thiru Kumaran, and asked the participants to guess this personality. The answer would have been, “ I know this answer.. easy one.. that tough looking fellow from Chennai Express, Deepilka’s cousin.” The “baap” of Laxmipathy Balaji and the original Chennai Express, Thirunavakkarasu Kumaran, unfortunately lost his way playing in the ICL, where he had this Mike Tyson type hair style and looked totally intimidating, the deliveries were nice juicy half-volleys though.

11. Sarandeep Singh:

Okay, he was from the 2000’s, but hey that was pretty close to the 1990’sand it counts. Having all the ingredients of being a fine off spinner, including being anointed as ‘Turbanator 2’ ( by me), he somehow lost his way , and was eventually lost to the dusty pages of Ranji trophy cricket which no one follows. Fantastic loop and flight, with the mean ones often dipping alarmingly on the batsman. It would have been a real nightmare for visiting batsmen, had they faced, two bearded leonine Sardar’s twirling their off-breaks claiming each batsman to be his own.

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