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Jazbaa Reviews

By itself, Jazbaa is not a bad film. It's just really badly made. It is treated as more of an occasion than a film, more of a comeback vehicle than a kidnap drama

Full Review | Feb 7, 2019

The wicked climax of Jazbaa makes it a satisfying watch, but not a watertight thriller.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 13, 2018

Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan makes a disappointing comeback in a dull thriller.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Oct 23, 2017

The fast paced Jazbaa is entertaining but no where near as compelling as it should have been.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Feb 19, 2016

South Korean cinema should be protesting. In his obsession with remaking Korean films in Hindi, Sanjay Gupta continues to make a hash of them.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4 | Oct 16, 2015

Watch the film if you're an Aishwarya Rai fan.

Full Review | Oct 16, 2015

Jazbaa roots its pulpy premise in the rising spate of crimes against women, but there is never any danger of taking a movie too seriously if it bathes its characters in jaundice-yellow light and re-imagines the colour of the sky as swamp-green.

Full Review | Oct 13, 2015

Another flashy but torpid remake of a Korean thriller from Sanjay Gupta.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Oct 13, 2015

A mostly watchable thriller marred by its director Sanjay Gupta's penchant for excesses.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Oct 13, 2015

Watch this if you must for Aishwarya Rai Bachchan who's still in top form. Pity her comeback film doesn't measure up to her efforts.

Jazbaa is a film which thrives on style

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 13, 2015

Things do improve in the second half and the big reveal is nicely wrapped deep into the narrative but by then one has little Jazbaa left to back this lacklustre exercise.

Convoluted and over-plotted.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/5 | Oct 13, 2015

For all the rot Gupta dwells on, there's something refreshing about Jazbaa within the wider Bollywood context: it'll make for brisk, pacy, adult entertainment - whichever side of the law you're on.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 11, 2015

Shabana is flawless. Aishwarya has made a judicious screen choice after that five-year hiatus.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Oct 8, 2015

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Jazbaa Movie Review

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Jazbaa: Official trailer

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Jazbaa review: Aishwarya, Irrfan make it a good watch

What happens when a top-notch lawyer gets pressurised to fight a particular case aishwarya rai bachchan makes a grand comeback in sanjay gupta’s jazbaa..

Film: Jazbaa

Cast: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Irrfan Khan, Shabana Azmi

Director: Sanjay Gupta

Rating: 3/5

Director Sanjay Gupta has successfully adapted foreign films in the past, and he has done it again. Jazbaa, a remake of Korean film Seven Days, gives wings to his imagination and he dreams the Maximum City in saturated colours. Sometimes it makes you feel caged inside a video game, but mostly it reminds the audience of Gupta’s earlier films where wearing shades even in the darkest of the places was an integral part of the actor’s swag. Leather jackets, black clothes, sunglasses and screeching tyres are our tools to look ‘international’ and Jazbaa has these things in abundance.

The film begins when a top-notch lawyer Anuradha Verma (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) goes to compete in a parent-child race in her daughter Shanaya’s (Sara Arjun) school. Very soon, Anuradha finds out that Shanaya has been kidnapped because somebody wants her to fight a rape case and ensure that the prime accused Miyaaz (Chandan Roy Sanyal) goes scot-free. Morally ambiguous cop Yohan (Irrfan) is Anuradha’s ally in the ensuing pursuit, but they have not yet estimated the might of their opponent. Who wins the court battle and the cat-and-mouse game in general forms the rest of the story.

The moment Sameer Arya’s amazing long shots of the Queen’s Necklace open the film, you understand the size of the canvas on which Jazbaa has been planned. Recently, Bombay Velvet showed Mumbai in all its glory, and Jazbaa has upped the ante. The city plays the perfect foil to a story that celebrates the independence and individuality of its characters. It’s just that this makes them looking down the barrel. These characters are unique, but they’re also unexpectedly vulnerable.

Watch: Aishwarya, Irrfan make Jazbaa a good thriller

When we see Anuradha Verma working out on the sea shore, we get the glimpse of a strong woman. Soon, we are introduced to her world of rapists, murderers and hardcore criminals, and then the idea of her weak position among the wolves creeps inside our minds. However, she is sharp-tongued and knows how to counter the sinister males around, but this could just well be a disguise. Beneath her tough exterior lies a doting single mother who is still not at peace with the outside world. Interestingly, this doesn’t stop her from taking false cases and getting some hardened criminals acquitted. The potential of this role makes Advocate Verma a good choice for Rai’s comeback to screen after five years (Guzaarish, 2010).

On the other hand, Irrfan as a tough-talking cop tries every bit to present himself as the quintessential Bollywood hero who has a punch-line for every occasion. He comes on the screen with, ‘Toh kya Singham ban ke ghumoon,’ on being questioned about his Amitabh Bachchan looks. He talks to himself in the mirror like an eccentric guy, and describes his home as, ‘Main kahan rehta hoon, yahan intzar rehta hai.’ At one point, he also says, ‘Hollywood ki filmein zyada dekhta hai kya, ye Bollywood hai.’ His idea of a Mumbai inspector is equivalent to those supercops who know how to break every barricade set up by the wrong-doers. His great acting prowess saves him from looking like Ethan Hunt walking on the Mumbai roads. Otherwise his characterisation has been done with sole purpose in mind: Let’s make Yohan the new Dabangg. Still, Irrfan is the most entertaining thing about Jazbaa which has a somewhat confusing title.

Irrfan is at his best in the song ‘Jane tere shehar ka kya irrada hai’. The actor is absolutely matchless here, and without having to spout any dialogue. The point I am trying to make here is that ‘do we really need so many punch-lines to drive home the point?’

Arya’s hand-held camera, in collaboration with Gupta’s sleek planning of courtroom scenes, gives the viewers the most poignant scenes of Jazbaa. It’s also a battle between Garima (Shabana Azmi) and Anuradha Verma and it’s difficult to predict the winner.

The most striking thing about Gupta’s film is the over-dramatization of scenes which stops the viewers from getting involved in the film. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a well paced thriller, but primary characters’ penchant for invoking whistles dilutes the thrill to some extent.

Jazbaa is a film which thrives on style and Gupta knows how to present a thriller. Aishwarya Rai and Irrfan will take you to a new territory and then keep you there for most of its 130-minute duration. Jazbaa is a good watch this weekend.

(Interact with Rohit Vats at Twitter/ @nawabjha )

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TheReviewMonk

Now playing, jazbaa review.

Critic Rating

Audience rating.

• Cast & Crew
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Running Time

Jazbaa is a remake of the South Korean film 'Seven Days'. A prominent criminal lawyer Anuradha Verma's daughter is abducted, and the abductor informs her that the only way she will ever see her daughter again is by defending a convicted felon, charged with brutally raping and murdering a young woman. Anuradha's friend Yohan, a suspended policeman with disregard for old rules, is too tangled up in his own mess to help her. The prosecutor is a longtime rival who is determined to defeat Anuradha professionally. Anuradha has only seven days before the trial ends and she has to race against time and corruption to save her daughter. Wikipedia

Starring Cast

Jazbaa Reviews

Frankly it delivers more than its awful trailer promised. But good luck protecting your eyes and ears from this sensory overload.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is over-the-top in this convoluted, over-plotted crime-drama...

Jazbaa is a mercifully brief movie, just about two hours long, but that’s about it in terms of the good part...

Jazbaa is a film which thrives on style and Gupta knows how to present a thriller. Aishwarya Rai and Irrfan will take you to a new territory and then keep you there for most of its 130-minute duration. Jazbaa is a good watch this weekend.

A film like Jazbaa needs a constant tension in the story and in its characters given the straitjacketed situation they are in. The pace needed to transcend inane car chase sequences and seep into the restlessness of the characters. Gupta had a good story to work with and he lifts up the second half by several notches. But sadly, he gets too caught up in pandering to his Korean cinema fetishes to polish the story. He lands on a punch line every now and then, uses one slide of text in the end to make the film seem like one that is fighting the cause of rape, thereby completely stripping it of any character. He told us how to hold a coffee mug. If only he could hold on to a script as tight.

A mostly watchable thriller marred by its director Sanjay Gupta’s penchant for excesses -- a greenish yellow filter that renders the frames more sickly than stylish unless it’s some sort of bizarre metaphor for Ash’s light eyes brimming in agony, a pounding background score that’s so commonplace it serves little purpose and terribly reckless use of slow-motion.

Overall, Jazbaa feels like a wasted effort, a clear case of superficial style triumphing over substance by a fair distance.But it has just enough for Aishwarya Rai Bachchan fans to justify a trip to the multiplexes. Jazbaa, however, is just as much, if not more, Irrfan Khan’s film.

Jazbaa's narrative has pace and power. From screeching car sequences to emotionally-charged showdowns between his accomplished lead cast; the film throbs. Which is not to say that there are no flaws. The green hue overshadows Mumbai's skyline. Aishwarya is rusty at the start but eventually takes charge of the dual aspects of her character. Aishwarya has made a judicious screen choice after that five-year hiatus!

If you enjoy whodunits, watch it. You won't see the suspense coming.

Jazbaa is not quite the re-entry to Bollywood Aishwarya's fans had been expecting. But she does do a largely good job of nailing her mother-in-distress act... when not screaming her lungs out or weeping her eyes out, that is. Watch Jazbaa for the performances.

Based on Korean drama Seven Days, Jazbaa shows the Indian judicial system working at the speed of light and also a leading lady going over the top. Jazbaa is a ham-fisted drama which is loud and never hits the right notes.

More than Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, this film is laced with unmissable performances of Irrfan Khan and Shabana Azmi.

Jazbaa is a captivating thriller with good performances that make it a decent one-time watch.

Post interval ‘Jazbaa’ becomes immensely watchable as the investigation proceeds and you try to wrap your mind around the various findings of the seemingly open-and-shut case. Like I said - ‘Jazbaa’ is flawed, but the end justifies the means.

Good actors in a not so good film, is a scenario all too common in Hindi cinema. Jazbaa is another addition. Sanjay Gupta has brought in all his trademark moves, the green tinge, the slow motion shots and the jumpy editing. But while the visuals look slick, the story is really all too old and the presentation feels jaded. Watch this if you must for Aishwarya Rai Bachchan who’s still in top form. Pity her comeback film doesn’t measure up to her efforts.

...is a well-made film true to its genre. It has a message and it has a motive!

Audience Reviews for Jazbaa

In the past year or so, we have been witness to some prominent heroines such as Manju Warrier, Jyothika etc. venture back into mainstream cinema . The latest to join that bandwagon is Aishwarya Rai who had taken a career break for motherhood. Her comeback vehicle is Sanjay Gupta's "Jazbaa", who is infamous for blatant ripoffs of Hollywood & Korean movies. Well the trailer seemed stylish & evokes expectations, but will it be the fairy tale return for Ash??? Anuradha Verma (Aishwarya Rai) is a prominent criminal lawyer whose exceptional competence meant she got her clients off the hook, irrespective of whether they were guilty or not; if they were able to afford her hefty pay check. Things take a turn when her daughter gets kidnapped & she is instructed to defend a convicted felon as ransom. With a few days left for the final verdict on that case, she had to race against time & ensure she turned the tables on an open & shut case for the sake of her daughter. With the help of her childhood friend, Inspector Yohan (Irrfan Khan) suspended from the force for charges of corruption; they try to unravel evidence that could possibly prove that the case wasn't as crystal clear as it seemed. But with time, it becomes apparent that there were other stronger forces at play who didn't wish that the case was reopened. So can Anuradha save her daughter & if so, at what cost??? It's been a couple of years since Sanjay Gupta had last made his appearance felt at the theatres through "Shootout at Wadala". To be frank, I have never been a fan of his movies as it oozed style & lacked content in most cases. Another aspect of all of his movies was that they were either copied from the West or Far East, which I didn't actually mind as long as it appealed to the senses; but invariably it didn't. His latest venture is also said to be a rip off of a Korean movie titled "Seven Days" (which I haven't seen), that has the premise of a thriller, but it failed to rise beyond a certain level & relegates to a melodramatic flick. Though the climax does provide a twist, it doesn't quite surprise the audience as expected & culminates in a predictable manner. In the technical department, the BGM by Amar Mohile was irritating while the colour tone used by Sameer Arya in the visuals didnt make it an enjoyable experience. However, Bunty Nagi's editing was crisp while Kamlesh Pandey's dialogues was witty at times. Though Ash doesn't quite fit into the top bracket of actresses (in terms of skill), she has done a decent job as the protagonist. Irrfan Khan tries to do justice to his role which didn't quite have the depth for an actor of his caliber, due to which it fails to impress. The same applies to Shabana Azmi & Atul Kulkarni as well, while the rest seemed average in their brief roles. Verdict: There is no doubt that the movie isn't going to make much impact at the box office & will depend on the multiplexes to break even. It should be able to do that after all there isn't much competition around & also due to its reasonable budget. So is it worth a try??? Hmm..well only if you are a fan of Ash or else forget it!!! Rating: 2.25/5 Regards...Ben

Take a city, add bombastic dialogs, add lots of green, and you get a Sanjay Gupta Film. Take the recipe, add an actress who had a hiatus of at least 5 years, and you get Jazbaa. Had it been 7 years, you would have got Jazbaaa, 8 then Jazzbaaa, 9 then Jjazzbaaa, and so on, but that's not the issue here. After showing the audience that she is fit and fine to come back to the screen by running through Marine Drive, Bachchan starts portraying the roles of a criminal lawyer, a marathon sprinter, a helicopter mom, and a Gold medallist screamer. Boy, she can scream anywhere, anytime, and at anybody. Suddenly, her school-going daughter is kidnapped by a tech-savvy abductor-cum-hacker-cum-righteous mamzer who demands that she fight the case of a convicted drug dealer and let him walk free. To our surprise, she agree to pay the unique ransom, and helping her in her child-saving mission is her childhood friend (really?), rustily played by Khan who is himself fighting an alleged graft case for heck's sake. What follows is neither new to our thriller senses nor is novel by an of its look-good approaches. Throwing green and more green at you just because it's your signature style does not work in 2015. We have reached Mars, for god's sakes. Apart from those delivered by Khan, all the dialogs are preposterous. Do you think you would scream "Where are you?" to a kidnapper who has just abducted your baby? Mr. Gupta does. Mrs. Bachchan's performance is particularly cringe-worthy as she moves here and there with a dead stare in her eyes and a lion's roar for a throat. Reacting throughout the film like you hate everybody is not the appropriate type of characterization that one adds into a story whose climax is more apparent than the actors' ages. The protagonist plays a lawyer who only defends known, guilty offenders because, she claims, "those who are not guilty cannot afford her." With this attitude, I had Arybhatta's greatest invention of cares to give. The screenplay is a hot mess. Trying to slip in few songs between a thriller film is the lowest thing Gupta has done for Jazbaa. There's even a hip hop song by Badshah somewhere which had great similarities with his number in Khoobsurat. It reminded me of its actress and I was done for the day. Courtroom sequences are nicely carved jokes here, where the judge is sleeping and the advocates themselves reaching a verdict, even making few educated guesses in front of him; it was unintentional humor. They are so bad that just these sequences can be tried in a real court for perjury. There's also a touch of activism, for cryin' out loud. I am all for woman-centric films, but churning out rubbish in the name of thrills and hiring an actress with a huge fandom and telling an ordinary story will be received the same way how other recent films are received in Bollywood, irrespective of the genre. Shroff and Azmi did a good job. BOTTOM LINE: Sanjay Gupta's Jazbaa is maybe made for the modern world where every other person is a thug, but after analysis, it just looks like green beef. GRADE: D- Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES

JUST SAW.. IT IS SIMPLY FABULOUS..

must watch this time irrfan and aish rocks..

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Jazbaa movie review: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's green return gift to Bollywood

Aishwarya rai bachchan's comeback film, sanjay gupta's jazbaa, is watchable thanks to the performances..

Listen to Story

Cast: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Irrfan, Shabana Azmi, Jackie Shroff, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Siddhanth Kapoor

Director: Sanjay Gupta

Sanjay Gupta's Jazbaa has had the audience's attention since the day the film was announced. And it was revealed that this was the film Aishwarya Rai Bachchan had chosen to return to the big screen with. However, Jazbaa is a lukewarm comeback for Rai Bachchan. The day the trailer released, people had their doubts about the film, and the film's release just justified those doubts. But more on that later.

OPINION: In Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's Jazbaa, Bollywood gets a single-mother hero after long

Advocate Anuradha Verma (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) is a single mother, whose daughter Sanaya is kidnapped from school. Not delving into the shoddy security of the school, Anuradha receives a call from a 'Private Number' after the police reach her house for their investigation. Not surprisingly, Verma is given an address and a task. Police officer Yohan (Irrfan) is suspended on corruption charges. He requests his school buddy Anu to fight for him. But of course, the task given by the kidnapper keeps her busy. She has to fight the case of a rapist and murderer inside the courtroom to ensure her daughter is safe. Thus begins the (over)emotional ride called Jazbaa.

Aishwarya's Anuradha is sincere and believable as both the lawyer whose sole aim in life is to win her case, and as the grieving mother. As Sanaya's mother, Aishwarya is extremely melodramatic and OTT, though. Sanjay Gupta makes good use of the camera to focus on Ash's arresting eyes. As Yohan, the cop-off-duty, Irrfan tries and stays true to his role. The dialogues he is made to mouth, though, are downright painful. And physically so. Sample this: " Neend mashooka ki tarah hoti hai, waqt na do to rooth ke chali jaati hai aur phir manana mushkil hota hai ". The ' rishton mein bharosa aur mobile mein network ' one has been dissected to the core right when the trailer was released, so not going there again.

ALSO READ: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is the hero of Jazbaa, says Sanjay Gupta

The filmmakers deserve a standing ovation for getting together a strong supporting cast comprising veterans like Shabana Azmi and Jackie Shroff. Shabana is convincing in her role of Garima Choudhary; Jackie's accent puts one off. Siddhanth Kapoor's few-minute-long role is commendable. Chandan Roy Sanyal gets his killer act bang on.

The problem with Jazbaa lies in the overdose of melodrama and dialogues that make your ears bleed. The story isn't really anything to be praised here given that the film is an official remake of the Korean thriller Seven Days. The amount of green that is used in Jazbaa can make anyone crave for anything not-green by the time he or she exits the theatre.

WATCH: Aishwarya and Irrfan in the trailer of Jazbaa

One aspect that works in favour of the film is its run-time. In two hours, Jazbaa does raise some pertinent questions about the way justice is (un)delivered in the country. The music doesn't bother. The ghazal Jaane Tere Shehar Ka stands out among the rest.

In all, Jazbaa is not quite the re-entry to Bollywood Aishwarya's fans had been expecting. But she does do a largely good job of nailing her mother-in-distress act... when not screaming her lungs out or weeping her eyes out, that is. Watch Jazbaa for the performances. Published By: AtMigration Published On: Oct 9, 2015 --- ENDS ---

Jazbaa (2015): Sanjay Gupta's engaging action thriller with feministic undertones

A Potpourri of Vestiges

2 comments:

Awesome review!

Thanks... glad you liked it! :-)

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'Jazbaa' - Movie Review

Updated on: 09 October,2015 04:31 PM IST  |  Shubha Shetty-Saha |

This movie is touted as Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's comeback vehicle and she's got a meaty role to justify it. She perfectly looks the part and even does a fairly decent job, barring certain emotional scenes where she clearly goes over the top

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This movie is touted as Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's comeback vehicle and she's got a meaty role to justify it. In an age-appropriate role, Aishwarya plays a successful lawyer, Anuradha Varma, who's also a single mother to her daughter Sanaaya (Sara Arjun). 

Anuradha feels no guilt fighting a case for criminals, as long as they can 'afford' her. But, soon enough, she gets caught in a trap where she's forced to defend a rapist and murderer because that is the ransom for freeing her abducted daughter. Tainted cop (Yohan) is her best friend and secret admirer, who, eventually, becomes her ally in her fight to get her daughter back. Hyper active, ambitious Anuradha and the cool headed, melancholic Yohan make for an interesting pair. The good thing is that the two lead protagonists are not the epitome of virtue; they are true-to-life, grey characters, with their own issues and their own justifications.

Director Sanjay Gupta already has half the battle won, as the story inspired by Korean film 'Seven Days' is fast paced and guaranteed to keep you hooked for most part.

Photos: Bollywood celebs watch 'Jazbaa' at Yashraj Studios

The two-hour duration doesn't let you linger too much, except for once or twice when the otherwise foolproof screenplay goes limp, particularly the scene when Anuradha spots her kidnapped daughter and goes all out with her emotional outburst under a bridge for what seemed like eternity. Otherwise, Sanjay Gupta manages to keep the proceedings on a tight leash, not allowing our attention waver for too long. Even as you anxiously follow Aishwarya's tense four days in which she has to get the rapist, Miyaaz Shaikh (Chandan Roy Sanyal) out of prison that he's ensconced in, it is Irrfan who captures your heart and imagination. This fantastic actor is helped by some deadly punchlines dotted with wry humour and at times, a fine poetic touch (dialogues by Robin Bhatt and Kamlesh Pandey) lights up the screen and keeps you delighted, even guffawing at some points.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan perfectly looks the part and even does a fairly decent job, barring certain emotional scenes where she clearly goes over the top. Sanyal's character is caricaturish. Otherwise a good actor, he seemed to be struggling to find a solid footing. Shabana Azmi, who plays the mother of a rape victim, is effortless and adds value to the film.

If only Sanjay Gupta had gone a little easy on the unnecessary and intrusive melodrama. Even then, it's a good one time watch for sure.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Jazbaa

In this Jazbaa film, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan , Irrfan Khan played the primary leads.

The Jazbaa was released in theaters on 09 Oct 2015.

The Jazbaa was directed by Sanjay Gupta

Movies like Deva , Bad Newz , Ulajh and others in a similar vein had the same genre but quite different stories.

The Jazbaa had a runtime of 122 minutes.

The soundtracks and background music were composed by Pritam Chakraborty for the movie Jazbaa.

The movie Jazbaa belonged to the Action,Thriller, genre.

Jazbaa User Review

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Jojo 3158 Days Ago

Wow the film is very nice I love aishwarya rai is the queen of bollywood

Abhishek 3214 Days Ago

Time waste, fake expression of aish. made me angry...

Minal 3215 Days Ago

Aishwarya's comeback is stunning.... and Irfan..what to say about his acting great..

Sri 3225 Days Ago

Very good movie. I think what is hampering its collection is its melodramatic trailer. When you see movie movie most of the dialogue seems very superb. Except for the 5-10 minutes of over Acting and melodramatic performance, the film is superb.

Jeetendra 3225 Days Ago

Biggest movie

muskaan 3227 Days Ago

nice movie..

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Warped and not in a good way. After a decent start, completely warps logic and the associated human element.

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Jazbaa - Preview

You see the Jazbaa trailer and of course, the overwhelming thought that stays back is Aishwarya Rai 's return to films. Next come her wide eyes. Then you wonder if she will be over-the-top with her shrill outbursts or whether it will fit in with the context of the film.

And that directs you to the content of the film, which is interesting by itself too! The dilemma between professional principles and motherhood is a real tough one. In fact, most working mothers face this dilemma some time in their careers. Put into the equation prioritizing between values that define you and your child – the choice seems easy, but might just not be easy when you are in the situation.

I am sold by the premise, let's hope the film lives up to the curiosity its trailer creates. Oh and of course, Shabana Azmi 's sinister act and Irrfan Khan .

- meeta, a part of the audience

Jazbaa is superficial. The mother aches for her daughter, but it is the glycerin in those pretty wide eyes that tells you so. All characters are grey which is pretty rare in Hindi films but they don't come together to make the film interesting. The motivations are unclear which builds an air of mystery but the conclusion so convoluted that the only reaction can be a resounding facepalm .

The dilemma setup and the whodunit aspects of the story create intrigue. You wonder how even a successful advocate like Anuradha Verma ( Aishwarya Rai ) will get out of the soup that she has been pulled into. But two things come in the way of this decent start, a muddled middle and an flummoxing end.

Who goes after whom for what makes little sense, even after you know how it all ends. In fact, more so after you know who's done it after all. Its a shame because the plot is not entirely nonsensical until about three-fourths of the length of the film. Meanwhile, you also have the swag-infused philosophies that Yohaan ( Irrfan Khan ) spouts.

Here the superficiality begins to show through the cracks. The cracks that Irrfan's straight-faced dialogue delivery tries hard to keep under cover. An act we are soon getting used to. Yet, give me a always poker-faced, subtle Irrfan any time and over and over again, over a stereotypical over-the-top “top” star. The lines given to him are actually not bad, but they are overdone. A line that has been worked upon too hard loses charm.

Exactly like our lead lady's performance Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. The film opens with showing her fit, in fine form, pretty as ever with a lovely, slightly chubby face that which comes with aging gracefully and being a mommy. The hard work on both her fitness and performance show. Unfortunately, they are both distracting. She is so fit, her back so straight that even the drooping shoulders of a mother whose daughter has been kidnapped looks like a forced slouch – for effect. Her over-powering screen presencedoesn't cover up for the hard-to-lose model-like gait. As far as those bewildered, supposedly pain-stricken eyes go - no amount of shrieking over one's lungs can cover the fact that they have been artificially dampened.

Even so I am excited about her return. Her performances have rarely inspired a word other than “plastic” from me. Irrespective of the success of this film, I am glad she is back. It is symbolic because she hasn't come back to where she left off. Looks like she has left the Dhoom 2 s and the Robot s behind her. She has come back to roles that mean something even if they don't make for great films. She has come back to some causes, like girl-child fetocide and drug abuse, even if they aren't well-placed in the context of the story. It is a good restart.

And I would say that even if it were a film-made far worse. So starved are we for roles that mean something, more so for the lead lady.

30 reviewers ( ? ) - 8 yays 12 so-so 10 nays

Warning: clicking on "full review" will take you to an external website that could contain spoilers.

Thumbs up, by Tushar P. Joshi, Bollywood Life : ...An edge of the seat thriller that delivers because of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Irrfan Khan’s able performances, Jazbaa won’t disappoint. Book your ticket today. ... full review

Thumbs up, by Sarita A Tanwar, DNA : ...What to do: If you enjoy whodunits, watch it. You won't see the suspense coming. ... full review

Thumbs up, by Martin D'Souza, Glamsham.com : ...The suspense is taut as Gupta keeps oscillating from the courtroom to the crime scene to establish the motives and alibis of the different characters. What is jarring though is Jackie Shroff's character as a powerful politician. That aspect is a weak link in this whodunit. Overall, JAZBAA is a well-made film true to its genre. It has a message and it has a motive!... full review

Thumbs up, by Rohit Vats, Hindustan Times : ...Jazbaa is a film which thrives on style and Gupta knows how to present a thriller. Aishwarya Rai and Irrfan will take you to a new territory and then keep you there for most of its 130-minute duration. Jazbaa is a good watch this weekend. ... full review

Thumbs up, by Minu Mishra, MoviezADDA : ...Sameer Arya's cinematography shows Mumbai in a gritty avatar. I think the only weak spot is the film's music. Unlike other Sanjay Gupta movies, this one lacks a chartbuster. But all said and done, Sanjay Gupta's Jazbaa will leave a mark on you. It is 'just' the thriller the fans were waiting for because murder mysteries and investigative procedurals are enthralling in the darkened theatre. You won't find a well-crafted thriller that's more fun to feminists out there than Jazbaa. ... full review

Thumbs up, by Sonia Chopra, Sify Movies : ...Despite the story being highly far-fetched, the film is still arresting for its pacy storytelling, actors who perform with conviction, and a few interesting surprises in the finale. Whether it's the performances, the characters, the motive, or the storytelling-there are traces of jazbaa everywhere. Worth a watch! ... full review

Thumbs up, by Jyothi Venkatesh, Star Blockbuster : ...Last Word: The film is riveting and for a change Sanjay Gupta succeeds in making a film which eschews unnecessary melodrama. ... full review

Thumbs up, by Meena Iyer, Times of India : ...Gupta, known to be sounder with technique than story-telling (many of his films have been foreign inspirations), has got it right this time. ... full review

So-So, Bollywood Hungama : ...On the whole, JAZBAA is a captivating thriller with good performances that make it a decent one-time watch. ... full review

So-So, by Smita Vyas Kumar, Desi Martini : ...Verdict - Jazbaa is a fairly entertaining thriller. Ash makes a decent comeback with this one. ... full review

So-So, by Kritika Goel , Desi Martini : ...Verdict - Behind the pile of evidence files, lies an emotionally drained and wrecked mother. But the pain still doesn’t reach the audience. ... full review

So-So, by Aneela Zeb Babar, Desi Martini : ...Verdict - No Jazbaa, only Jazbaat! ... full review

So-So, by Rachit Gupta, Filmfare : ...Good actors in a not so good film, is a scenario all too common in Hindi cinema. Jazbaa is another addition. Sanjay Gupta has brought in all his trademark moves, the green tinge, the slow motion shots and the jumpy editing. But while the visuals look slick, the story is really all too old and the presentation feels jaded. Watch this if you must for Aishwarya Rai Bachchan who’s still in top form. Pity her comeback film doesn’t measure up to her efforts. ... full review

So-So, by Zehra Abbas , fullhyd.com : ...he second half is stronger and more interesting. The music is average, and used in the strangest way in the film - the soulful "Jaane Tere Shehar Ka" is immediately followed by the item number "Aaaj Raat Ka Scene". Jarring, yes, but that seems to be the general trend in this movie.... full review

So-So, by RAJEEV MASAND, IBN Live : ...My heart wept for poor Shabana Azmi who tries - and occasionally succeeds - in infusing some genuine emotion into the proceedings. Others like Chandan Roy Sanyal (playing the accused), Atul Kulkarni (as a public prosecutor), and Jackie Shroff (as an influential politician) are largely wasted in a script that's focused single-mindedly on reminding us that Aishwarya Rai looks great when she's running in heels - in slo-mo. Hurrah! ... full review

So-So, by Surabhi Redkar, koimoi : ...More than Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, this film is laced with unmissable performances of Irrfan Khan and Shabana Azmi. I am going with a 2.5/5 for the film. ... full review

So-So, by Shubha Shetty-Saha, MiD DAY : ...If only Sanjay Gupta had gone a little easy on the unnecessary and intrusive melodrama. Even then, it's a good one time watch for sure.... full review

So-So, by Jaidev Hemmady, Movie Talkies : ...The background score complements the story and though there are quite some flaws in the screenplay, it's not a major disappointment as such. The suspense element in the story is quite thrilling and will keep you on the edge of your seat as you keep guessing who the kidnapper is. ... full review

So-So, by Saibal Chatterjee, NDTV : ...But it has just enough for Aishwarya Rai Bachchan fans to justify a trip to the multiplexes. Jazbaa, however, is just as much, if not more, Irrfan Khan’s film. ... full review

So-So, by Rummana, yahoo! India : ...Post interval ‘Jazbaa’ becomes immensely watchable as the investigation proceeds and you try to wrap your mind around the various findings of the seemingly open-and-shut case. ... full review

Thumbs down, by Anna MM Vetticad, annavetticadgoes2themovies : ...All the megawatt casting, stylish camerawork and blue-gray tints in the world cannot alter the fact that when it comes down to brass tacks and a scrutiny of the climax, Jazbaa is a hollow film. ... full review

Thumbs down, by Githa Vanan, Bolly Spice : ...Remakes are not something new in our industry and this too is a remake of a Korean film. Yet Sanjay Gupta’s everlasting love to extenuate and exacerbate the melodrama is once again at the forefront of this movie. The end result is watching for the sake of watching but not actually connecting with anyone. Jazbaa proves to be emotionless. ... full review

Thumbs down, by Kusumita Das, Deccan Chronicle : ...A film like Jazbaa needs a constant tension in the story and in its characters given the straitjacketed situation they are in. The pace needed to transcend inane car chase sequences and seep into the restlessness of the characters. Gupta had a good story to work with and he lifts up the second half by several notches. But sadly, he gets too caught up in pandering to his Korean cinema fetishes to polish the story. He lands on a punch line every now and then, uses one slide of text in the end to make the film seem like one that is fighting the cause of rape, thereby completely stripping it of any character. He told us how to hold a coffee mug. If only he could hold on to a script as tight. But we guess handle se pakadne se faasla reh hi gaya. ... full review

Thumbs down, by Ameet Bhuvan, Desi Martini : ...Verdict - Melodramatic comeback leaves lot to be desired ... full review

Thumbs down, by Deepanjana Pal, FirstPost : ...The only thing that tops the number of questions Gupta fails to answer is the amount of glycerine Bachchan and Azmi use in Jazbaa. Or maybe they spent all of their non-shooting hours weeping over the decision to do this film and therefore appear red-eyed in every other scene. ... full review

Thumbs down, by Gayatri Gauri, FirstPost : ...Several new characters emerge, one of whom is a politician, played by Jackie Shroff. Mercifully, he plays it subtle. By the time, certain twists unfold; you don’t really care if mom and daughter will unite. All you care about is Aishwarya Rai Bachchan who shows so much sincerity that you wish she had worked with another Sanjay who brought out the best in her in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.... full review

Thumbs down, by Suhani Singh, india today : ...Aishwarya Rai Bachchan spends ample time screaming, shedding tears and looking perturbed but her pathos rarely resonates thanks to a script which is more occupied to give its leading star a comeback than present a poignant, compelling drama. Irrfan is left to deliver Gupta's wisecracks which become tiring as the film progresses. When Khan accuses a character of watching far too many Bollywood films, the irony is not lost. Jazbaa is a ham-fisted drama which is loud and never hits the right notes. ... full review

Thumbs down, by Raja Sen, Rediff : ...Earlier, Khan offers a fellow policeman a bribe of the very purest Shilajit, but that might have come in handier for Gupta’s flaccid film. You can give us red eyes in a green film, Mr Gupta, but that doesn’t make it Christmas.... full review

Thumbs down, by ANUJ KUMAR, The Hindu : ...Things do improve in the second half and the big reveal is nicely wrapped deep into the narrative but by then one has little Jazbaa left to back this lacklustre exercise. ... full review

Thumbs down, by Karan Bali, Upper Stall : ...All in all, Jazbaa is not quite the right comeback vehicle for Asihwarya Rai Bachchan. For one, she needed a better director to guide her as her limitations as an actress too show up rather more than she would have hoped. ... full review

104 tweeters ( ? ) - 74 yays 9 so-so 21 nays

yogigade : #Jazbaa aishwarya has chosen the perfect script for a comeback.@_SanjayGupta jazbaa only coz of you.you stayed positive & it paid off ..

yasminshah82 : Strong come back by Aishwariya Rai, Irfan Khan does it again and Shabana Azmi has nailed it. Jazbaa highly recommended.

YahooIndia : Why Jazbaa is a must-watch movie. https://in.movies.yahoo.com/post/130745603459/5-reasons-to-watch-aishwarya-rai-bachchan-and?linkId=17845590

XREALLIFE1 : Jazbaa r very great movie. So nice. Best of luck jazbaa movie http://twitter.com/XREALLIFE1/status/652879746347372544/photo/1

Wazza_k007 : Jazbaa was a great movie *ing aish rai n irrfan khan @juniorbachchan great thriller, acting and casting was great too

vineet_koul : Sir awesome movie jazbaa https://t.co/3jcuPIVD00

vidhi_vids : Jazbaa Is Full Entertainment.It binds you with it into the story & characters,keeps you at the edge.Story is good & with lotsa emotions.

VatsaSanjeev : Good Movie: Jazbaa. Iran Khan rocks. Aishwarya also done very beautiful acting. "Mohabbat hai esliye Jane diya zid hoti to baho mein hoti."

thisIsShiva_17 : Full marks to @TheRealPriya for her excellent performance that she presents on #Jazbaa and entertained everyone,what a great Bollywood debut

tamiwadhwa : JAZBAA mindblowng awsssmmmmmm film icredible..superb acting nd minblowing u AISHSARYA RAI BACHCHAN double RESPECT @juniorbachchan @irrfan_k

syedniyamath2 : And guys not to forget to tell the response of #Jazbaa by others all were so much engaged with film also were laughing on dialogues of irfan

surenmehta : Sunday outing with son after long time, movie Jazbaa, edge of seat movie, enjoyed , lunch at @creamcentre and then shopping

SunilSinghBJP : #Jazbaa Worth Watch .... Good Movie .. Good Suspence

stuti_jhalani : It is always pleasure to watch @irrfan_k #jazbaa

SRKkiSoni : Aish u r so beautiful & as always best as mom n lawyer in #Jazba movie . my rating 3.5/5 . watch it guys .

somkritya : Another power packed movie #Jazbaa Deliciously crisp storyline. Irfan rocks but this one is an @AzmiShabana & Aishwarya Rai bachchan movie.

SMSHADABKALAM : Superb one #Jazbaa @aish marvelous come back.

sliceofreallife : Jazbaa is a Must Watch for Gripping Story & Strong Performance Despite Some Faults in the... https://t.co/OM0foO3VDZ

sivatejat20 : #Jazbaa Grand re entry of #AishwaryaRaiBachchan Awesome acting as usual. http://twitter.com/sivatejat20/status/653090528569876480/photo/1

shubham7368 : Awesome movie #jazbaa..must watch guys..!!!

shubhakb : As usual @actorirfankhan is brilliant! Last week #Talvar this week #Jazbaa .. Ek se badkar ek!!

shavaiz1988 : Jazbaa standing ovation here in karachi ash life best performance, irfan 1 liners people were mad, uff @Vishal_FilmBuff. @_SanjayGupta

shabnamafi : Wowwww.....JAZBA...perfect acting by every1...Aishwarya ji, Irfan sir and our dear beloved Shabana azmi ji....

sarafareed5 : Jazbaa is a super duper hit,GO And watch it, Jazbaa a Must Watch Movie

SanDhirParShFC : #Jazbaa #Epic #MovieOfTheYear , via http://www.pizap.com http://twitter.com/SanDhirParShFC/status/652858499899101184/photo/1

Sajjali3 : Just seen jazbaa movie was good

Sai_Enreddy : Saw #Jazbaa yesterday...liked @irrfan_k dialogues...gud comeback by #AishwaryaRaiBachchan...

rohandhakras : #Jazbaa #Jazbaa #Jazbaa just loved the movie ,aish & irfan .

Robinsi93347861 : #Jazbaa paisa vasool movie Superb acting by @irrfan_k sir, @AzmiShabana mam and aishwarya rai bachchan mam Superb story @_SanjayGuptasir

rblvineet : #Jazbaa wow what a amazing movie by director @_SanjayGupta sir head's off to you . fabulous Story it's a super hit movie. best of luck sir

RaHul_71144 : Jazbaa a must watch :-) http://twitter.com/RaHul_71144/status/653077103961841664/photo/1

PriteshShetty87 : #Jazbaa movie is a good watch. Good acting by #AishwaryaRai @irrfan_k & @AzmiShabana Amazing #screenplay & #JazbaaOneLiners

prernakshk903 : Jazba.. A nice movie

PoojaKumarNY : Watch the movie #jazbaa. It's a good attempt on having #women in pivotal roles! We are on the right track.

Parslee_143 : Watch Jazbaa today.

nripendutta10 : Tomorrow is Sunday,,this is Aishwarya rai Bachchan day jazbaa,,don't miss

mybravetweet : #Jazbaa is a must watch just to see the brilliant acting and wonderful dialogues of @irrfan_k

mibrahim7850 : #Jazbaa Aishwarya rai and Irrfan khan rocked it

MeeraKhan2o : Watched #Jazbaa , liked it even though not a fan of this genre. Best part is Ash looked as stunning as she was 5 years ago and the way she

Meenu_Ahluwalia : #Jazbaa --bit of a nail-biter. @AzmiShabana & @irrfan_k so excellent. Good return to film for Aish. So glad I don't work in crim law!

MadhuriS11 : Must watch & Feel the thrill.. #Jazbaa Great reviews by public all over the world.. I'm like

lwelu56_ : Jazbaa - ❤️

LoggedinAmaad : Watched #Jazbaa and thrilled with expressions of Ash and @AzmiShabana @irrfan_k is absolutely Awesome.

lavishkryan : I really don't care. What I only know is,, Aishwarya acted brilliantly,, and essayed her character very beautifully nd justified it #Jazbaa

LadyDP61 : I think #Jazbaa was one of the best thriller movies I've ever seen! Aishwarya Rai at her very besttttt! http://twitter.com/LadyDP61/status/652874758153854976/photo/1

La6oof123 : Aishwarya totally killed it! #Jazbaa lovely movie!

Kelisha_k : Jazbaa is such a good movie. Aishwarya Rai looks so good Definitely recommend it

jkpriyasays : #Jazbaa is worth a watch. Brilliant performance by Aishwarya Rai, @AzmiShabana @actorirfankhan sunday 7.45 pm show was houseful #London

jha_siddhus94 : #Jazbaa is an out-and-out Aishwarya Rai film. She dominates the screen most of the time, making it her ideal comeback movie.

jagibaby : What a great movie!...Stunning performance by Aishwarya, Irrfan and wow, Shabana!...Great story, loved it! #Jazbaa

iNIMISH : After a long time watched a good movie. Brilliant work by Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, @irrfan_k and Sanjay Gupta #Jazbaa

iArpanPatel : #Jazbaa starts superbly . .audiance Appreciated . . Irfan & Aish perfomance Superb.

Honey_Aishu : #Jazbaa .... Amazing movie, love it Aishwarya and @irrfan_k with their best performance & Not to forget baby sara

h1rakAnath : #Jazbaa is a suspense thriller with emotions. Aesthetically shot. Loved the film. @_SanjayGupta @Jazbaa

girishjohar : Really enjoyed #Jazbaa ....an entertaining thriller ...see it to believe it ...

FuschiaScribe : The story of #Jazbaa doesn't have much of a logic but I liked the movie. The story is good, the plot isn't too gripping.

djakki91 : Jazba... A good movie... Irfan and Aishwarya, complimemt each other by performance. Direction could have been better..@irrfan_k

DeeKiran1 : #Jazbaa is v good, ending was totally unexpected & #AishwaryaRaiBachchan played a natural mother's role but 4 me @actorirfankhan stole show

DaveshD : #jazbaa what an awesome movie...superbb...

daAbomb5 : Just saw Jazbaa, amazing film, edge of the seat stuff. Worth every penny spent

ChinmayiBali : I toh LOVED Jazbaa, objectivity ko maro goli. It's comfort bolly at its best. Aish is such a beautiful crier and Irrfannnnn <3 <3 #GupsRoxxx

chayadutt19 : Jazbaa.. A must to watch movie. @AishwaryaRaiWeb @ifrankhan... U guys nailed it

CHAR4N : Done with #Rudramadevi and #Jazbaa well impressed by the both films...

cadence99 : Second Jazbaa show in 15 minutes!! :) :) :)

bollywoodbom : More power to @irrfan_k . Awesome performances in both #JAZBAA and #Talvar movies. You cannot miss these movies if fan of #IrrfanKhan.

ashforeverno1 : Aishwarya, Irfaan and Shabana Azmi all rocked. Great movie to watch #Jazbaa

AnkitaRFTennis : #Jazbaa Nice thriller.... Great comeback by #Aishwarya and #Irrfankhan u r jst amazingggggg......

amitlkumar : Watched #Jazbaa.Gr8 actrs.perfect acting.Aish is bck n she looks stunning.A gud grippin stories and 1 liners by Irrfan keeps u awestruck

amit_AishGang : Just watched #Jazbaa again

aman2603suri : #jazbaa #sanjaygupta juzzz a perfect comeback dude @_SanjayGupta @aishwaryaraibachann

akhiljain33 : What a Great Film #Jazbaa was! I Absolutely Loved it! Brilliant performances from aishwarya and @irrfan_k loved the movie more than anyone!

AbraamAditya : Jazbaa a must watch let's go

16EktaSinha : The Best of the year ♥ #Jazbaa Beyond Perfection ! killer script !!! faduu dailogs

_RahulB : Jazbaa A Must Watch because it's a taut thriller which will keep you on the edge of your seat.

ya5hw4nthl : #Jazbaa starring Aishwarya Rai is an average one, but the core element is the one that should be taken into account. Rapists = Death.

tanqeed : Sanket’s Review: Jazbaa is fairly watchable film but letdown by its overtly melodramatic tone #Jazbaa http://tanqeed.com/sankets-review-jazbaa/

swanakshatra : #Jazbaa simply watch for #IrfanKhan and dialogues!! #AishwaryaRaiBachchan looks super slim and pretty but acting is gone for a toss!!

supreeth1110 : #watched #jazbaa #yesterday #amazing #story but #cinematography #direction #acting is not as expected… https://t.co/zhDYT2L8Uv

nkumar_ : #Jazbaa seems interesting one. Till half time movies keeps you confused and engaged both

Neera_26 : Saw #Jazbaa....ok...ok...one time watch but spoilt the end....Aish looks as beautiful...Irfan Khan is as effortless & convincing as ever..

Granger_Gab : Jazbaa is epic hamming! Also Bollywood should watch more US Legal dramas! Wasted Atul Kulkarni, Irfan Khan & Shabana Azmi!

Elfishskull : #Jazbaa avg movie 2nd half better than the first. Irfan has done a good job, sanjay gupta has not used his acting abilities to d fullest

BikBanTheory : Misbah: Promises but does not deliver Jazbaa: Ditto Don't miss the end Rating: 2.5/5

thebhokalibong : Even seasoned actors like Shabana Azmi seemed unbearable. Such poor screenplay. #Jazbaa

TazzzArtist : #Jazbaa was very disappointing

SushilSarwadnya : Sanjay Gupta is poor director. His old fashioned direction made Jazbaa bad copy of Seven days. Sit at home N watch Seven Days again.

rohinee : Saw #Jazbaa - the only redeeming feature about the movie was @irrfan_k - awesome as always.

RanjanPant : #Jazbaa Movie | जज़्बा - 50% @RottenTomatoes would have been 20% w/o controlled #IrrfanKhan .Story porous, hysterical overacting, sloppy Dir

rajathkumar : The reeling question is, what are established, renowned actors like Irrfan Khan and Shabana Azmi doing in this mess of a film? #Jazbaa

RachitVats : Jazbaa - 1.5, Sicario - 4.5. Inspiring enough for Sanjay Gupta's future remake.

Princy_Aish : #Jazbaa i ws wtchng it fr irfan n they kept showing faltu acting of aishwarya. crap movie. only thing good is irfan's dialogues

prakalprathi : #Jazbaa saw the movie. Though movie is gripping but lacking in depthness. Ppl comparing to dhrishyam. No where near it...

Namitranjan1 : A bad movie makes a good actor look ordinary #irrfan A bad movie makes a bad actor look pedestrian #ashwariya #jazbaa is not worth a paise

lameyak : Not enough JAZBA in its making. Stuck in the age old ruckus of bad story telling. Skip it I say. http://twitter.com/lameyak/status/652692501535428608/photo/1

KNVaidy : My track record of one great movie followed by one trashy stuff stays intact. Saw #Talvar last week. Great one. Saw #Jazbaa just now. Phew!

jborocz : #Jazbaa is really not a good film. Nearly unbearable, righteous Kitsch, in fact. Plot doesn't work. Aishwariya: naah. You have been warned.

isaifpatel : Had gone for Jazbaa on last day in India. Aishwarya has overacted, same old story, typically (crappy) Sanjay Gupta movie. Don't go for it.

HuffPostIndia : 'Jazbaa' is a screechy, unsubtle copy of an already flawed film, writes @SupraMario http://www.huffingtonpost.in/2015/10/09/jazbaa-movie-review_n_8267402.html?ncid=tweetlnkinhpmg00000001 http://twitter.com/HuffPostIndia/status/653261312953348097/photo/1

gujjuchokkra : #movie #Jazbaa big flop waste of time money and energy....

Febin_John : Jus watched #Jazbaa . Bad direction. Ok Ok acting. End scene was cliched. Coukd have been better.

baradwajrangan : Irrfan joins Nawazuddin in being able to channel, amazingly, the spirit of masala . But Jazbaa is barely watchable https://t.co/HA4ABAg2k4

AmbarChatterjee : too loud, too melodramatic and makes a caricature of court proceedings... Jazbaa fails to impress! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfVghJeJC8E&feature=youtu.be

abhishekson2014 : Don't know wat happened to me, I went for Jazbaa & slept in the theatre. Biggest regret of my life, though I have to admit I loved my nap:-)

AAKulkarni : #Jazbaa typical monotonous bollywood movie.. #bored #overacting

2 readers - 1 yays 1 so-so 0 nays

Not Interested in Watching, by Abhinav

Not Interested in Watching, by Anuj

Not Interested in Watching, by Fan

Want to Watch, by TimELiebe : We Support Mothers Returning to Work!

Yay! Thumbs Up, by prafful : u=if ur irfan khan fan - must watch

So-So, by Ajay Singh

This page has additional observations, other than the ones noted in the main review .

Parental Guidance:

• Violence : Lots of fist fights and a murder.
• Language : A couple of abusive words.
• Nudity & Sexual content : No nudity. A rape scene repeated a few times.
• Concept : A kidnapping the ransom for which is freeing a rapist-muderer.
• General Look and Feel : Nothing out of the ordinary.

Detailed Ratings (out of 5):

Jazbaa - cast, crew, links.

Jazbaa - Trailer

If you cannot see a video above, click here to see it on YouTube

Comments (17)

Click here for new comment.

Strange the Bachhan senior did not convince Miss World to stop from doing a hara kiri. Statistically Hindi film audiences have almost never accepted a "real-life married" lead actress, and even worse acceptance rate for "real-life married mom" lead actress.

And I don't think that with the times the Hindi film audience have evolved on the acceptance criteria for their lead actresses.

Regardless of how well the film might be made, this is doomed.

Instead of attempting to make a comeback post-marriage and post-pregnancy, the Bachhan-bahu should have settled into another role where the audiences are less choosy (like direction, or even non-filmi roles like Mrs. Akshay Kumar). By taking on this suicidal film, the Bachhan bahu will just succeed in ensuring that both Abhishek and Aishwarya are shunned by the industry.

@Fan - somebody has to break that glass ceiling (as actress-mothers had in other parts of the world decades ago!), and who's better positioned to than Amitabh Bachchan's daughter-in-law? I'll lay you odds Rani Mukerji has similar plans once she has a baby, and wants to come back from maternity leave....

Besides, it's not as if Grandpa has any intention of letting go of the kid! ;)

::pictures Big B coming on set for a harass cop movie - wearing a baby sling with his granddaughter, and daring anybody to laugh!::

Watched the trailer...doesn't seem like Irrfan has done a very good job here and Aishwarya also looked hysterical like she does in most of her acts. Director same as Kaante, Zinda, don't have any big hopes from this one :)

@TimELiebe: I think that Rani is well positioned as (almost) the head-honcho of YRF. She might still do films, but really on her terms and exceptionally.

The only exception (in Hindi films) in recent years to this rule is Kajol. Let's see how her Christmas outing is going to fare. And in the past the only exception that jumps to mind is Madhubala; otherwise it is sadly a downhill road for married moms (dream girl Hema Malini included). This situation should change, to give enough creative space to our lead actresses - but so far Hindi films has been a highly male dominated industry.

Coming to Jazbaa itself, I find the video song doing the rounds to be extremely annoying. Also, Sanjay Gupta does not have any decent track record. And to top it, Aishwarya over acted in most of her final films before taking a maternal break - only exception being Jodha Akbar where she was sufficiently restrained. So, overall the movie seems to be doomed unless there is a strong word of mouth after the movie is out.

Don't know about Aishwarya and nor do I care because imo she's an irritating over-rated actress who hams her way through. But will someone advise this brilliant showman Irfan Khan to get a little more choosy and a little less repetitive? Jazbaa seems to be a continuation from where he left off in Talvar. In fact, in the last half a decade he's been doing the same thing in every film except Paan Singh Tomar and Piku. And not surprisingly, these were 2 of his most outstanding performances in recent times.

Just read your review. Not a single mention of Shabana Azmi!! So it means that her role is even worse than the two that you describe?

Trailer failed to convience me atleast.

Okay, @Fan - I like Aish Rai better as an actress than you do. OTOH, I'm an American, so I might have a higher tolerance for her Beautiful Suffering Act and acting than people who've had to live though it for decades do.

As for Irrfan Khan - funny, I was having this discussion in the Comments board for The Martian ! Apparently he was to play the Indian Scientist character now played by Chiewtel Ejifor (to the anger of Asian-American actors who feel underrepresented!), but dropped out due to "movie commitments in India". I wonder if this isn't the movie he dropped out of The Martian for...?

well .. once again irfan khat at his best. Aishwarya as usual over acting. even though director tried give all the lime light to Mrs.Bacchan , Very talented ifran khan impress the audience with his acting. Good to see shabana azmi after long time.

@Fan I don't like her as an actor much either and I think it is high time married-mommy-actors do the movies they like and let the audience take their time to accept them.

Also, keep in mind that sometimes, it is not the fact that the lady is married or a mom that comes in the way. The movie and/or performance is not to the mark.

By the way, Sri Devi did well in English Vinglish! :)

@Meeta: I am all in favour of woman oriented (regardless of age, marital status, etc.) films. I just quoted a factual statistic, that very few of them succeed to make a comeback as lead stars. At best, as you said, they make a one-time hit like English-Vinglish or a successful comeback in a non-lead role like Juhi Chawla in recent times. It is indeed a pity for the audience as such talent goes waste.

At the same time, if you look at recent attempts of such mother-stars, I would say that their choice of comeback films were quite horrible - cases in hand Karishma, Aishwarya, Madhuri, ... It is easy for arm-chair critic like me to say that, but I do understand that A-budget producers do not take the risk of signing such star-moms for a comeback film in a lead role - as they are guided by the same factual observation that I had made. So it is a vicious circle - past records means no big producer willing to give a break - star-mum forced to work with B-grade producers/directors with the risk that the movie would most likely be an average hit at best, meaning their star rating and comeback wish suffering further.

Yeah @Fan, here's my attempt at trying to break the circle in my small way. Appreciating that she has come back, even if I didn't like the movie or don't like her performances in general.

By the way, I did like 'Aaja Nachle' and I do like Madhuri Dixit :D

Well we can say that Kareena Kapoor is an exception. Married and still considered as an A-star lead actress. And regularly getting offers from A-star producers.

Although, looking at hits, apart from starring in Salman blockbusters as a prop, she hasn't had any real hit on her own merit since her marriage. But at least she is going strong after marriage. Although one can argue that she did not take a hiatus after her marriage, and so is not on a "comeback". Nevertheless the myth of married lead actresses unable to get leading roles is being bucked, probably not at the speed that we would like but at least it is going in the right direction.

@Fan, Kareena Kapoor "on her own merit" - before marriage can't think of any one other than 'Jab We Met'

BTW: no page started as yet for the Diwali blockbuster Prem Ratan Dhan Payo from Rajashree the kings of family oriented films?

@Fan in the works, should be up soon :D

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Jazbaa Movie Review

Jazbaa  movie review.

Reviews Counted:11 Positive:5 Neutral :2 Negative : 3

From All the  Top  Professional  Critics reviews on the web

Ratings :2/5   Review By: Rajeev Masand  Site: CNN IBN

Often the problem with trying to satisfy multiple agendas is that telling an interesting story becomes secondary to everything else.Yet nothing hurts the senses more than the sepia-soaked yellow-green lighting that gives the film a post-apocalypse videogame-like effect. Im going with two out of five for Jazbaa. Frankly it delivers more than its awful trailer promised. But good luck protecting your eyes and ears from this sensory overload.

Visit  Site  for more Ratings :2.5/5   Review By: Saibal Chatterjee  Site: NDTV

Overall, Jazbaa feels like a wasted effort, a clear case of superficial style triumphing over substance by a fair distance.But it has just enough for Aishwarya Rai Bachchan fans to justify a trip to the multiplexes. Jazbaa, however, is just as much, if not more, Irrfan Khans film.

Visit  Site  for more Ratings :–   Review By: Taran Adarsh  Site:Twitter

Watched #Jazbaa. A captivating thriller with a powerful finale. Slick, stylish & fast-paced, the film’s high point is it’s taut screenplay.Sanjay Gupta’s deft direction uplifts even an ordinary sequence. Aiding him are punch-packed dialogue and superb cinematography. Aishwarya makes a stunning impact, conveying a gamut of emotions [grief, strong-willed, determined] with aplomb. Finest work so far. Jazbaa also boasts of two stellar performances: Irrfan [outstanding] and Shabana Azmi [remarkable]. Two major strengths of this film.

Visit  Site  for more Ratings :3.5/5   Review By: Meena Iyer  Site:Times Of India

Jazbaa’s narrative has pace and power. From screeching car sequences to emotionally-charged showdowns between his accomplished lead cast; the film throbs. Which is not to say that there are no flaws. The green hue overshadows Mumbai’s skyline. Aishwarya is rusty at the start but eventually takes charge of the dual aspects of her character. Once in the groove, her eyes breathe fire.

Visit  Site  for more Ratings :–   Review By: Komal Nahta Site:Zee ETC Bollywood Business

Sanjay Guptas direction fails to create the right kind of impact. He has concentrated too much on making a stylised film but that has not taken care of the emotional side of the drama which remains dull. On the whole, Jazbaa will fail to deliver at the box-office and will entail losses to all concerned. Class audiences may find the film interesting but that will just not be enough.

Visit  Site  for more Ratings :1/5   Review By: Raja Sen  Site: Rediff

Gupta has cut to a generic hip-hop song, a party song, the kind Irrfan himself satirised so well recently.That says it all, the gulf between the lampooned and the lampooner.earlier, Khan offers a fellow policeman a bribe of the very purest Shilajit, but that might have come in handier for Guptas flaccid film. You can give us red eyes in a green film, Mr Gupta, but that doesnt make it Christmas.

Visit  Site  for more Ratings :3/5   Review By: BollywoodHungama  Site: BollywoodHungama

While the film’s music (Amar Mohile) is not very massy, it is the film’s background music that keeps the film gripped throughout. The film’s editing (Bunty Negi) could have been a bit better in order for the film to look sleeker. The film’s cinematography (Sameer Arya) is decent. On the whole, JAZBAA is a captivating thriller with good performances that make it a decent one-time watch.

Visit  Site  for more Ratings :2.5/5   Review By: Surabhi Redkar  Site: Koimoi

Jazbaa does not promise anything extraordinary. If you have missed Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in films, here is a treat for you. Irrfan Khan fans will certainly enjoy.

Visit  Site  for more Ratings :3/5   Review By: Shubha Saha  Site:Mid Day

Sanjay manages to keep the proceedings on a tight leash, not allowing our attention waver for too long. Even as you anxiously follow Aishwaryas tense four days in which she has to get the rapist, Miyaaz Shaikh (Chandan Roy Sanyal) out of prison that hes ensconced in, it is Irrfan who captures your heart and imagination. If only Gupta had gone a little easy on the unnecessary and intrusive melodrama. Even then, its a good one time watch for sure.

Visit  Site  for more Ratings :2/5   Review By: Lokesh Dharmani  Site:Masala

The film gives such gyan on life, love and universe that it seems less like a whodunnit murder mystery and more like a satsang. There is a spiritual spin to everything. A character in the movie says, I like holding my coffee mug close, because I want to hold my life close and feel it with my naked fingers. I laughed out so loud that my cheeks still hurt. Yep, you can hold the coffee mug close, hold your life close too. I am not sure if you should come anywhere close to Jazbaa.

Visit  Site  for more Ratings :3/5   Review By: Manjusha Radhakrishnan  Site:Gulf News

Jazbaas taut pace and streamlined approach towards the second half glosses over these glaring inadequacies. The climax is sharp and unexpected. The whodunit also addresses the issue of violence against women, in an entertaining manner. The film looks at how rape cases are shoddily handled by Indian courts and dwells briefly on how a manipulative criminal can walk away scot-free if aided by a smart lawyer. The thrilling bits are saved for the last in this succinct thriller, making you wonder why the bits about retribution, justice, crime and punishment were not explored in depth. The wicked climax of Jazbaa makes it a satisfying watch, but not a watertight thriller.

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 Movie:   Jazbaa

Synopsis:   Prominent criminal lawyer Anuradha Verma’s daughter is abducted, and the abductor informs her that the only way she will ever see her daughter again is by defending a convicted felon, charged with brutally raping and murdering a young woman.

The abductor watches Anuradha’s every move, forces her to comply and orchestrates a perfect crime by outwitting the police. Anuradha’s friend Yohan, a suspended policeman with disregard for old rules, is too tangled up in his own mess to help her.

The prosecutor is a longtime rival who is determined to defeat Anuradha professionally. Anuradha has only seven days before the trial ends and race against time and corruption to save her daughter.

Release Dates:  Oct 9, 2015

 Director:    Sanjay Gupta

Producer:  Sanjay Gupta,Aishwarya Rai

Running time: 2 h 3m

Music composed by:  Sachin-Jigar Amjad-Nadeem Arko

Cast:  Aishwarya Rai Anuradha Gupta  Nittin Keni Akash Chawla Sachin R. Joshi  Raina Sachin R. Joshi

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A ‘borderlands’ fan regretfully reviews the ‘borderlands’ movie.

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Borderlands

I’m not sure there’s a way to make a good Borderlands movie. And this is certainly not it.

Given that it’s being rated as one of the worst video game adaptations ever in a sea of bad video game adaptations, most from a decade or more ago, I had to see Borderlands for myself. It is not 2005-era Uwe Boll bad, and yet it is also not good at all. To talk about it, you should know up front that I’m someone with hundreds and hundreds of hours across three games and a pre-sequel, and that’s the perspective I’m coming from.

This is neither a good Borderlands movie or nor a good movie, period. It feels like Gearbox and Eli Roth tried to split the difference here, making a mass-appeal PG-13 action film but gesturing vaguely at the games to try to get that crowd to show up too.

But the end result is throwing the Borderlands games at a wall, watching them shatter, and gluing back together a handful of mildly recognizable pieces. Spoilers follow, though not if you’ve played the games or even know the basics.

Did you think casting was going to be a problem? Casting is a problem. In some instances it’s actually…okay. I think the single best-cast character is Marcus, and all of his 90 seconds of screentime. Krieg just has to look like Krieg and say Krieg things like “I’m gonna lick your spine!” and he does that. I do think Young Gamora/Young Ahsoka Ariana Greenblatt’s promising career will survive this, and she would be an okay Tina with a much better script. Weirdly, I actually kind of…liked Jack Black’s Claptrap? He was genuinely funny at times, and arguably more so than the games.

But Lilith and Roland, man, what were they thinking? Roland is Kevin Hart, who is of course not the stoic, burly soldier he should be, he is Kevin Hart, perhaps acting 20% less Kevin Hart-ish than usual, but only that. And just physically he is, no exaggeration, only slightly taller than Greenblatt’s Tina and the film does nothing to pretend otherwise.

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Cate Blanchett

Cate Blanchett is absolutely the most baffling casting here as Lilith. I have no idea how they got the two-time Oscar winner other than perhaps boredom on her part and an inexplicable desire to recreate her character’s trajectory in Tar. But as a game-player, the age-gap from her to OG Lilith is distracting. And not just as a casting decision, but from a story perspective too. The movie has Tannis and Moxxi telling her about their time with her mother and remembering her as an eight year old. Jamie Lee Curtis is 65, ten years older than Blanchette’s 55. Gina Gershon is 62. It’s just goofy.

The script does not resemble any Borderlands game at all, other than it’s vaguely about finding Pandora’s vault. They make the thrust of the story an off-canon rewriting of Tina into being some Atlas-made clone using Eridian DNA to open the vault as a “chosen one,” her only connection to her original character being her bunny ears and saying things like “dealio.”

Tina is supposed to be the prophecies “Daughter of the Eridia,” but of course we all know where this is going. Lilith begins the movie without Siren powers. You will know from about twenty minutes in that she, not Tina, is the chosen one in question and gets those Siren powers at the very end. Flame on. The vault opening ends up being nothing but floaty cubes and tentacles, a hint of a boss fight from the games with no corresponding fight in the film.

The script is not good, but neither is the action. This is what I’ll now be calling “Rebel Moon Syndrome” where a PG-13 cut neuters the action of something that clearly should be R-rated. The gore-soaked, Mature-rated games give way to bullets pinging off armor and people falling over. Again, I think they were going for box office boosting here with the lower age rating, but it hurts the film. Not that gory action would have saved it, but it would have been better than what we got in this cut.

This project feels like pure ego. Look at these huge stars we got to play these characters even if they make no sense! Borderlands fans will show up no matter what even if the story and characters are way different! We’re launching the Borderlands cinematic universe to expand beyond those pesky gamers!

This will die here. Alone. No more movies. Nothing like this should be attempted again. In some other world I can see a cool animated Borderlands series possibly having worked on Netflix. But whatever A-list blockbuster this was supposed to be, despite a few brief moments where it works, it overwhelmingly does not, and it actually makes me concerned about Borderlands 4, if this is the kind of thing the studio thinks is good now.

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Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, collections, chaz's journal, great movies, contributors.

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In the wake of Quentin Tarantino ’s ascendance to his pop culture throne in the ‘90s, dozens of imitators tried to mimic his approach to filmmaking, only to fall flat on their faces. It turns out that what he does is much harder than it looks. As all of those Tarantino wannabes were to “ Pulp Fiction ,” Neil Marshall ’s “Duchess” is to the work of Guy Ritchie , particularly “Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels,” the filmmaker's international breakthrough. Incongruent needle drops, freeze frames with character names, overheated narration, and tough tales of interconnected criminals – “Duchess” wants SO badly to be a Ritchie film that he almost deserves co-writing credit on the project. Although he probably wouldn’t want that. “Atrocious” might have been a better title.

The remarkably boring Charlotte Kirk plays Scarlett Monaghan, a woman approached by a suave gentleman named Robert McNaughton ( Philip Winchester ) while out with her deadly dull boyfriend at the club one night. Robert and Scarlett have instant chemistry, so they pretty quickly dispatch with Mr. Wrong and begin a steamy affair before Scarlett discovers how Robert makes his money. He’s a dealer in massive diamonds, which means he travels in an underworld of shady characters that requires that he have a couple of criminal allies of his own in the loyal Danny ( Sean Pertwee ) and Baraka ( Hoji Fortuna ). Colin Egglesfield plays an antagonist of Robert/Scarlett, while Stephanie Beacham is forced to deliver some of the film’s worst dialogue as a crime lord of the jewelry scene.

Without spoiling, Scarlett ends up forced into more action than she could have expected when she responded to the flirtatious, snappy dresser that fateful night. Marshall, Kirk, and Simon Farr’s script wants to be a Guy Ritchie variation on “Kill Bill,” a story of a woman pushed to vengeance by people who underestimated her. Still, they don’t come close to closing that sale in any notable capacity. Kirk just isn’t charismatic enough or believable when it comes to action (or character or dialogue or anything), which could explain why Marshall resorts to extreme violence to try to make a truly dull film more interesting. At one point, a hot iron is pressed to a torture victim’s penis. At another, oil is poured on a man’s face and lit aflame. It’s like the torture porn version of “ Snatch .” Yeah, not fun.

It doesn’t help that the plotting and tone of “Duchess” are so exaggeratedly stupid that the whole thing plays almost like a parody of Ritchie instead of an homage, one that goes on for what feels like forever – it’s overlong at nearly two hours, and I swear to you it feels twice as long. And when it all ends with a door wide open for a sequel? It’s more of a threat than a promise. 

Brian Tallerico

Brian Tallerico is the Managing Editor of RogerEbert.com, and also covers television, film, Blu-ray, and video games. He is also a writer for Vulture, The Playlist, The New York Times, and GQ, and the President of the Chicago Film Critics Association.

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By The New York Times

A bouquet of red flags.

‘It Ends With Us’

In this romance based on the book of the same name by Colleen Hoover , flower-lover Lily (Blake Lively) falls in love with picture-perfect neurosurgeon Ryle (Justin Baldoni, who also directed), but discovers he may not be so perfect.

From our review:

It Ends With Us” is fitfully diverting, at times touching, often ridiculous and, at 2 hours and 10 minutes, almost offensively long. It’s visually and narratively overbusy, stuffed with flashbacks of Lily as an adolescent (Isabela Ferrer) that create two parallel lines of action. … The flashbacks add information, yet they also pull you away from the adult Lily, which fragments Lively’s performance and drains the slow-building momentum of her scenes. Just as unfortunately, Baldoni prettifies everything — trees, cityscapes, people — to the point that each detail, pose and smile seems lifted from a lifestyle ad instead of true, messy reality.

In theaters. Read the full review .

Bullets over back story.

‘borderlands’.

This action caper from Eli Roth, based on the video game franchise of the same name, follows the bounty hunter Lilith (Cate Blanchett), joined by a band of outlaws, as she tracks down, a tycoon’s daughter (Ariana Greenblatt).

You can see the jokes, but most of them don’t land. Still, there is some neat design work if you squint. The masks are pretty cool, like the ones worn by a handful of goons who sport glow-in-the-dark face coverings with eerie green slits, and a digital technology allows people to wear other people’s pixelated faces over their own. … In voice-over narration at the beginning, [Blanchett] drolly intones that the plot to come is “some wacko B.S.” We don’t disagree.

Critic’s Pick

Coming-of-age with men who don’t act theirs.

On a camping trip, 17-year-old Sam (Lily Collias) grapples with the immature behavior of her father (James Le Gros) and his old friend (Danny McCarthy) in this drama.

“Good One” is the writer and director India Donaldson’s feature debut, and an astounding one, full of the kind of emotional detail that can only come from personal experience. The movie smoothly shifts from gentle comedy to emotional punch, modest in a way that sneaks up on you in the end, backed by Celia Hollander’s acoustic, folk-inflected score. For most of the film, we’re expecting something to happen to Sam — it feels inevitable, out here in the woods with two grown men. But when something does happen, it’s totally unexpected and revelatory.

The boys are back in Beantown.

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