Jawan (2023): Bad, Worse, Worst!

Rating : 0/5
Genre: Action
Year: 2023
Running time: 2 hour 45 minutes
Director: Atlee
Cast: Shahrukh Khan, Nayanthaara, Vijay Sethupati, Deepika Padukone, Varun Grover, Sanya Malhotra, Aijaz Khan
Kid rating: PG

I walked out of Jawan midway. Couldn’t take the nonsense anymore. This is a massy entertainer, with no logic, lots of over-the-top (and I mean really OTT, even by Bollywood standards) emotion and hyped up drama. It is all show with very little substance but if you are going in with those expectations you might very well be able to sit through the entire film. Unlike me.

I would tell you of the plot, but I might as well build castles on the moon. Because they are both figments of the imagination. Jawan centers around Azad Rathore (Shah Rukh) a prison warden moonlighting as a disguised do-gooder. To make the corrupt pay, he and his gang of women take some aggressive measures (like hijacking a Mumbai Metro for ransom) and run into  National Security Guards officer Narmada Rai (Nayathara). 

I walked out some time after that, but as you might guess it’s Azad’s alter ego against Nayathara. There’s also Vijay Sethupati as Kaliee Gaikwad the OG villain, Varun Gover as Irani – Narmada’s right hand man, Sanya Malhotra as part of Azar’s gang of do-gooders. Deepika Padukone has a special appearance. Apparently Sanjay Dutt has a small role later in the film, but I was spared that.

Jawan was in Hindi, but I felt like I was watching a Tamil movie. Even the dialogs felt like they were translated from the Tamil/Telugu originals. The acting is extremely overdone and hammy, so SRK must feel right at home. Each scene is a showcase for the actor and their clothes and their “look” – Nayanthara is dressed to the nines even when reporting for duty – knee high boots, cool jacket, full-on makeup, sunglasses – the works. There is not a shred of realism anywhere in the film.

This film is being compared to Pathaan, but Pathan was a much better film, even though that also was on the OTT side. Pathan at least had a semblance of sanity; Jawan is all-out chaos. Besides that, Jawan brings a 80s-like crudity and crassness we’d almost gotten rid of in Hindi movies. Cringey scenes abound – like the one where Narmada’s little daughter, Suji, in interviewing potential husbands for her. Smart-talking, mouthy kids in Hindi movies are annoying, but Suji’s character takes the cake. And if that were not enough, we had to watch a fine actor like Sanya Malhotra ham it up big time for her role as Dr. Eeram. Quite torturous.

Jawan is probably the worst movie I’ve seen in quite a while. Be prepared for this film; this is trademark Atlee, I learn post-walkout. Making mental note to avoid his work, for the future.

Kidwise: Gory violence; sharp pointed weapons being thrust through bodies, lots of dripping blood.