Jawan Movie Review: Massy! Massy! SRK-Atlee's blockbuster is hard to resist

Massy, massy massy! The chants in Atlee’s background score on Shah Rukh Khan’s latest release Jawan are a reminder of what this first time actor - director duo have set out to do. Massy because Jawan has Atlee’s signature stamp all over it - larger-than-life action pieces, loud and over-the-top background score, gut-wrenching emotional drama and songs with 100 background dancers. But this time around he’s charting unfamiliar territory working with a superstar who embodies the emotion of ‘massy’ like no one else. But apart from being massy, the film is also messy. So does Atlee and SRK’s combination deliver or crumble under the huge pressure? Let’s find out.

Jawan is a message driven film. The story of an army officer who has been wronged and his son who later picks up the pieces of what his father set out to do is super-high on emotional drama and theatrics. Shah Rukh’s double role as the father and son was a smooth move and that is perhaps Atlee’s only ace of spade in a screenplay that is deeply interspersed with potholes and flaws. A special shout-out to Nayanthara, who acts as the perfect support to SRK in the film. But Shah Rukh’s army of girls and their mission to become Robin Hood for the downtrodden and needy is not new as a concept - Money Heist did it recently and Kamal Haasan’s Indian has done it in the past.

But where Jawan stands out from the others is in its treatment and execution. Shah Rukh moulds himself to become the medium for Atlee’s blockbuster screen vision and the camera plays with the actor like a muse with his mentor every time he walks into a frame. The supporting cast in Jawan don’t have much to do, they are there to give the film its size and grandeur because the centre piece of the film is the poster boy - SRK. Vijay Sethupathi as the bad guy is terrific , his scene where he plays Santa with the ho-ho-ho chuckle is menacing and funny at the same time.

Jawan also has Deepika Padukone in an extended cameo and watching her with SRK is pure joy, but her character needed to have more meat. Even the girl brigade doesn’t get much screen presence and Sunil Grover is an odd misfit in the sketchy narrative that flip flops as and when it wants. The film gets preachy and drags a lot in the first half. There are long dialogues on making the world a better place to live, the stand out scene being SRK’s monologue in exercising your right to vote (the timing is unmissable).

Jawan is a big screen spectacle. It is flawed but at a time where everything is over-analysed, it makes for a good time at the cinemas. Ready or not, this is a ride that’s definitely worth taking.