Jagga Jasoos is a nearly
three-hour long rollercoaster ride. Like all rides it has its ups and downs with
a couple of major loops thrown in. It starts off well, with a rather
short-skirted Katrina Kaif, singing the story of Jagga (Ranbir Kapoor) to a
bunch of children visiting the Kolkata Book Fair. As she describes his many feats
of brilliant detection, the audience finds itself invested in the story of this
lovable character. However, once the story builds up and hops across confusing
timelines, the movie becomes simply tedious.
It is highly ambitious to
combine a detective thriller with a traditional musical format. When that's
topped with emotional family drama, you have a recipe for disaster. A younger
Jagga is introduced as an abandoned orphan in a hospital in West Bengal. He is
an endearing child that stammers and hence does not have the confidence to
speak. When he saves a man (played by an earnest Saswata Chatterjee) from a
near-fatal fall off a train, he is adopted by this man. His new father encourages
him to sing in order to communicate and imparts various important life skills.
Kapoor grows to be a
curious and enterprising young boy who loves solving mysteries, two of which
are chronicled in the first half of the film. The second half of the movie takes
Kapoor to Mombaca on a wild goose chase, with the help of Kaif (who he has met
on an earlier adventure). This is when the film hits the realms of
ridiculousness. The wild antics of two children in pursuit of an international
criminal does not make for believable cinema.
Anurag Basu has tried
to weave together two very distinct story lines and has failed miserably. He
could have explored the idea of a singing detective. Or he could have explored
the idea of a boy in search of his father, uncovering a massive international
crime while at it. There was no need for lopping them together. The movie was
extremely long and the last half hour dragged to the point where most people
just walked out of the hall. The huge disconnect between the first and second
halves of the film is glaringly apparent.
Credit must be given to
the incredible cinematography by S. Ravi Verman. The almost- photograph like
images made for a stunning visual treat. A couple of songs including “Khana
Khake, Daru Peeke, Chale Gaye” and “Galti Se Mistake” stand out for their
quirkiness.
Ranbir Kapoor is
phenomenal. He sings, dances and acts effortlessly and his talents are
completely wasted in this movie. Katrina Kaif has never been more stony-faced
and was an unnecessary addition. Both Chatterjee and Shah performed their roles
well as did the child actor playing a younger Jagga. Nawazuddin Siddiqui
made an effective guest appearance.
The biggest failing of
the movie was the unnecessary weaving together of many plotlines. Kapoor does
an admirable job of pulling his weight along but does not make a believable 18
year old. It makes you question the decision to make him a school going child
in the first place. Anurag Basu gets a definite thumbs down for converting a
potentially interesting story into a bad movie. Here’s hoping if he ever does
come out with a sequel (as was indicated in the film), he sticks to what he
understands best- the melodrama.
Film rating: 1.5/5 stars
Picture courtesy: www.indianexpress.com
