Somewhere in the middle of the film, the head of Deference Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) (Anish Kuruvilla), shows Jai (Sai Dharam Tej) India’s new weapon — the Octopus that can launch attacks in eight directions and when not in use, can fit into a suitcase. This is supposedly a high-security zone and the duo passes through just two scanners to access it. There’s already been a theft attempt on Octopus when it was on its way to Delhi, and saved single-handedly by Jai.
Though this secret weapon is coveted by an unknown terror group, we don’t see any sense of urgency to safeguard it even after the theft attempt. Not even a cursory involvement of national-level security agencies. The only cop somewhere in the picture is an assistant commissioner of police (Nagababu in a cameo).
Jawaan talks a lot about patriotism, putting your country ahead of you and your family and if needed be willing to stake your life, espouses RSS ideals by making the film’s leading man an RSS follower. What the film doesn’t have is an intelligent story and screenplay to back this up.
Battle lines are drawn clearly in the childhood episode — between the studious, righteous Jai groomed by his teacher-father (Jayaprakash) and Keshava who steals money, question paper… you get the drift. Jai admires Bhagat Singh for his valour in questioning the British while Keshava thinks it’s cool to throw a bomb.
As these polar opposites battle each other years later, the screenplay looks promising in some segments. Tamil actor Prasanna plays Keshava effectively, with a mix of sophistication and connivance.
The portion where Jai rages on without knowing the face of his opponent could have led to a few edge-of-the-seat moments. But the makers can’t decide whether they want Jawaan to be another script-driven film like, say, Dhruva and Garuda Vega or be content with channelising all the attention on boosting Sai Dharam Tej’s star image. The actor does well, but the narrative gets boring and doesn’t rise above masala trappings. Each time Bhargavi (Mehreen) is in the frame, a song sequence follows. After a while, Prasanna too looks disinterested.
As an aside, the lack of attention to details is evident even in simple scenes. Picture this. Jai and Bhargavi meet at Raymond’s Tomb in Malakpet. He tells her this will be their secret meeting place henceforth and she says ‘so romantic’. Was that sarcasm or did she really like the choice of heritage structure as their meeting point? In another scene, when she hails an auto to this location, she says ‘Gachibowli’. For a story that’s set in Hyderabad, at least these details could have been taken care of?
Jawaan
Cast : Sai Dharam Tej, Prasanna, Mehreen Pirzada
Direction : BVS Ravi
Storyline : A patriotic guy fights to save his family, and a new weapon built by DRDO
