One of the best movies of 2022 was RRR, the Tollywood sensation that smashed global box office records and even won an Oscar along the way to being an instant cult classic (that you can now stream on Netflix!). David Fear in his The Rolling Stone review describes the experience of watching that movie “like mainlining a dozen genres and narratives at once: old-school David Lean epics, ’80s Hollywood he-man pulp, ’90s Bollywood musicals, Hong Kong action movies, Russian silent cinema, Italian peplum, Passion plays, Homeric odysseys and homoerotic buddy comedies.”
Indian cinema has always been fertile ground for entertaining cinematic spectacles, but it now feels like RRR has opened the door for the rest of the world to recognize this, including with the newest Hindi blockbuster release Jawan. If you thought RRR was an exuberant epic, Jawan somehow ratchets things up another level or three. It’s directed by Atlee (in his Hindi film debut) and stars one of the biggest movie stars in the world in Shah Rukh Khan (also known as “SRK”, who is basically the Tom Cruise of India). SRK continues his comeback with his earlier 2023 collaboration with Atlee, Pathaan, after an almost 4 year hiatus away from the silver screen. Jawan is a quintessential “masala” film: a mashup of multiple genres – this a spy thriller, rom-com, action/heist, family revenge drama, social commentary, military epic, prison movie, and superhero movie (there’s even an appearance by someone that is basically Bane with a pet cheetah), all rolled into one glorious, bonkers, machismo end product.
Don’t let the 2 hour 49 minute runtime deter you – the pacing is unrelenting and time flies by (you don’t even need the fake intermission that they give you). If you really think about it, 3 hours isn’t that long for a movie that is basically actually 10 different movies. The storytelling is not the most sophisticated, but it’s bigger and bolder than a Napa cab mixed with turmeric. Almost from the very beginning, you have to get used to the tonal whiplash, as Atlee starts with a violent bang (literally, in the first five minutes a kid is shot point blank) and maintains proceedings with some excellent action, well-constructed tension, and very timely humor, but towering above all else is the total and utter the commitment to making each plot twist and reveal come at you so quickly that you barely have time to process it. Worry not, for everything comes together rather nicely at the end.
SRK does most of the heavy lifting here, especially as he plays different roles in the film, and his charisma and physicality jump off the big screen. He starts off playing a socially conscious Robin Hood type before things quickly get more mysterious as the audience is left trying to figure out just how the puzzle pieces that seem to come from different movies fit together. One minute you are learning about the economic adversity of the Indian agrarian industry and the next minute you see someone getting pantsed (clearly and reliably a universal method of shaming someone), then half a beat later you’re watching something reminiscent of Mr. and Mrs. Smith. The film is unabashedly ambitious as well, tackling a range of themes from the military industrial complex to healthcare inequity while also overtly referencing The Lion King and The Matrix. It’s not perfect, but Jawan has one thing that most films these days lack – complete unpredictability.
There’s also a lot of heart and optimism to Jawan, and the film is intentional about its message, culminating in a rousing, inspiring monologue where SRK dispenses with the wigs and prosthetics to deliver an earnest message on why we should all care a little more about our civic duty. Vikram Rathore 2024! In terms of the filmmaking, it’s more than competently made, with some truly impressive set pieces – the car chases, the action scenes, and the song-and-dance numbers – that we could delve into here, but it’s better experienced firsthand. Is Jawan sometimes silly and over-the-top and overstuffed? Yes. Will you be entertained regardless? No doubt. Something can be ridiculous and unnecessary, like only buttoning your shirts halfway up, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t somehow work. That same thinking also applies to Jawan as a whole.
Now playing in theatres.
