Jawan is a social-political action extravaganza that is meant to be watched on the biggest screen possible. Shahrukh Khan as Vikram Rathore has done a menacing Job to carry this film on his shoulders and he has done full Justice to this role. It’s hard to look elsewhere when he is doing action. But Srk’s Charisma isn’t enough.
Apart from Shahrukh Khan all other characters are single dimensional with very little to do. Vijay Setupathi known for his acting potential in movies like Vikram Vedha and Super Deluxe plays a weapon dealer “Kaali”. He is more comical than villanous. As an audience I didn’t worry about what is he going to do. Even when he captured daddy Srk Vikram Rathore, I was worried more about him than Srk. It is extremely important to make big movies with larger than life characters but both the antagonist and protagonist should be equally balanced otherwise It disrupts the entire screenplay.
Even Nayanthara’s character Narmada was single dimensional. A negotiator who isn’t negotiating. It seems she was just Following the instructions of the hijacker Vikram Rathore. Only Srk shines throughout this film and no one else. Everybody is treated with mediocre writing. The film feels tiring and exhausting in the second half because everybody knows what is going to happen. Emotional scenes are so rushed that it’s hard to feel for the character’s trauma.
The flashbacks of Srk’s girl gang were not given proper Justice. They felt rushed. The director atlee had no choice because there was a lot he wanted to put in this film. In order to make space for Agriculture corruption, Health corruption, Wrong weapons, Indian army, Patriotism, Elections, Voting, and many more topics, The film more or less feels like a collection of reels. The messaging doesn’t have any impact. In one scene Srk addresses the whole nation in a monologue about voting and its importance. Even he loses the grip in that scene. It feels like he is doing a sad romantic scene . His sincerity doesn’t feel convincing.
Deepika Padukone’s screen presence is terrific but she also had very little to do. What was the need to show Deepika Padukone’s acrobatic skills when the only work she has been given is to give birth to baby Srk “Azaad”? The film fails to articulate what it is trying to say at almost every instance. At one point you just wish to see only Srk beating people.
In the end, you are left wondering about what this movie could have been instead of what it is.
