Jai Ho

The first confusion in my mind was during the interval of the movie Jai Ho where I almost thought that the film was over as Salman thrashed the villain and they wrote Jai Ho on screen instead of interval or intermission. Fortunately there was a second half and that in someway saves the “Thank You” act from being a painful gesture.

Jai Agnihothri is the main character here and he is so against the injustice and unevenness in the society. He has this helping mentality for people around him and lack of administrative attention causing problems for the needy makes him that violent guy who is going to react against it. Obviously the side against him becomes bigger and stronger and he fights against it. How the fight goes and what all Jai has to suffer in this journey is what the movie all about.

There is a very smartly captured, performed and edited bike stunt sequence in the second half of the movie which made me clap. Even though the bikes number plate was replaced by the brand Salman promoted, the stunts looked quite real (except for the very last scene). Apart from that, this movie has nothing much worth remembering. The usual style of Telugu movies were the hero rises rapidly and takes down the villains single handedly is shown here. Plastic characters and cheesy sentiments are not going to move you and make you do something good for three more people. And towards the climax Jai becomes something huge ( out of nowhere) and you can even see a military tank coming to rescue him.

The direction from Sohail is definitely shoddy. Script is that assembled piece of old ideas to inspire people to react. Like the way Jai asks his sister why all this is happening to him, we as an audience will also ask the same question. The quintessential thing of Salman Khan money spinners – punch dialogues – is missing. Cinematography was nice in those song sequences. Music was disappointing.

Salman Khan was okay as Jai. I couldn’t feel Jai as a frustrated man. Daisy Shah was good as a debutante.  Tabu did her part nicely. The other actor worth mentioning in the big star cast was the little kid Naman Jain. The last time I saw him was in Zoya Akhthar’s film in Bombay Talkies where he portrayed the role of a shy boy and this smart avatar in Jai Ho was really good.

Overall Jai Ho is a disappointing entertainer from the Khan khandan.  If just looking at Salman Khan is enough for you, you may watch it. The rating is 2/5 from my side. If people were inspired by one person like the way they showed in the film, India would have been a much better place. The three persons I would like to help after watching Jai Ho is Arbaaz, Salman and Sohail (Don’t blame me – I am just following the message of the movie).