Epic Bollywood action film Jawan is utterly preposterous from start to finish. The same can be said of Hollywood films like Fast X, which happily defy the laws of physics in an effort to up the ante, but where the latest Vin Diesel movie was a joyless predictable slog, Jawan is a well-paced, consistently entertaining slice of silliness that put a big smile on my face.
Shah Rukh Khan plays Azad, warden at a women's prison, who attempts to right wrongs committed by those with power and influence. Leading a group of young prisoners, each with their own unique talent, Azad holds officials and businessmen to ransom, sharing their wealth with the poor and needy. Unscrupulous arms manufacturer Kalee Gaikwad (Vijay Sethupathi) isn't happy about the modern-day Robin Hood, and attempts to make him pay for his actions...
At nearly three hours long, this could easily have been an excuse for me to catch some z's, but director Atlee doesn't make having a nap an option - when the film isn't delivering ridiculous action scenes with more OTT violence and slow-motion than several John Woo movies, he's giving his viewers spectacular, colourful, impressively choreographed song and dance numbers. The only downtime was a brief interval (the first time I've seen one of those in decades).
Dashing Shah Rukh Khan is a lot of fun in a dual role (he also plays Azad's father Vikram Rathore, whose path has crossed with Kalee before), there's eye candy from numerous Indian beauties (Nayanthara, Deepika Padukone, Riddhi Dogra and Priyamani), and the cinematography is awesome. As a Westerner relatively unfamiliar with Bollywood, I cannot say how this outrageously daft film compares with most other Indian action movies, but I can say that I had a good time.
Now if only Vin Diesel, Jason Momoa, Michelle Rodriguez and pals would do a synchronised dance in the middle of the next F&F film, I might be more inclined to see it.
Shah Rukh Khan plays Azad, warden at a women's prison, who attempts to right wrongs committed by those with power and influence. Leading a group of young prisoners, each with their own unique talent, Azad holds officials and businessmen to ransom, sharing their wealth with the poor and needy. Unscrupulous arms manufacturer Kalee Gaikwad (Vijay Sethupathi) isn't happy about the modern-day Robin Hood, and attempts to make him pay for his actions...
At nearly three hours long, this could easily have been an excuse for me to catch some z's, but director Atlee doesn't make having a nap an option - when the film isn't delivering ridiculous action scenes with more OTT violence and slow-motion than several John Woo movies, he's giving his viewers spectacular, colourful, impressively choreographed song and dance numbers. The only downtime was a brief interval (the first time I've seen one of those in decades).
Dashing Shah Rukh Khan is a lot of fun in a dual role (he also plays Azad's father Vikram Rathore, whose path has crossed with Kalee before), there's eye candy from numerous Indian beauties (Nayanthara, Deepika Padukone, Riddhi Dogra and Priyamani), and the cinematography is awesome. As a Westerner relatively unfamiliar with Bollywood, I cannot say how this outrageously daft film compares with most other Indian action movies, but I can say that I had a good time.
Now if only Vin Diesel, Jason Momoa, Michelle Rodriguez and pals would do a synchronised dance in the middle of the next F&F film, I might be more inclined to see it.