Jawan

A three-hour Indian blockbuster that is mature and complex. This is the first project of director Atlee Kumar and it is a huge global hit, and the second biggest blockbuster from India this year after Pathaan, also starring 58-year-old Shahrukh Khan, one of India's biggest stars. The story focuses on Vikram Rathore, the warden of a prison who to fix a corrupt society and right the system by taking revenge on both the rich and the corrupt scumbags. It's a bit of a mix between Robin Hood and Money Heist, which suited me just fine. I thought it was genius that the main character is helped by women from prison, so the police are looking for someone who has been locked up for a long time, I liked this a lot. Jawan is a three-hour massive blockbuster that combines maybe ten genres, but is interesting on every level and it really holds together as a whole. The story works, on the one hand it grabs the heart, can be touching (the scene with the children dying in hospital is intense), the surprise moments works – I like how India can pull off twist after twist, the viewer is really shocked to the core at the end! The romantic line works here too, the main character starts dating the police inspector who is looking for him. The humour works at times, the dramatic scenes also have a charge, even the musical numbers with the dances and songs are spectacular and a good watch (especially when you realise how much work must have gone behind it). The action itself is also worth praising. It's not so overdone and doesn't have much CGI, it’s down to earth for Indian standards, though there are a lot of slow-motion sequences, but at least it's nice and spectacular, in short it's great to watch. The three hours go by very quickly, the pace is engrossing and with such a diverse number of genres, you never get bored. For me, a great ride. 8/10. (19.11.2023)