The stupendous impact of a surreal movie with an outstanding script, direction and cast is still wear off from the previous week. The razor sharp Talvar and its chief protagonist Irfan Khan leave such a mesmerizing effect on you that you do not dither one minute before heading back to the cinemas at the mere mention of his name on the movie bill boards of Jazbaa. Yes we know it’s a comeback vehicle of Aishwarya Rai and that the megaphone is being wielded by the snazzy director of Shootout at Lokhandwala. We know that it is the story of a female lawyer forced to pick up the case of a clear convict on death penalty if she wants to save her child’s life. No that is not revealing the story. That is the premise being bandied about in the teasers and the various press releases. You do know it is heavily inspired by a Korean movie.
You settle in to some fast moving clouds, artificially filtered skyline of Mumbai. You tell yourself they are setting the mood. The camera then tries to find its own sweet spot in various degrees at curious angles all across the landscape and cannot decide where to settle in. The scene opens to the hotshot lawyer doing her Anil Ambani run across the shoreline of Mumbai with some impressive stretches thrown in. Though why she has a smirking Bond like facial expression is not clear as nothing thrilling to annoy her has yet happened. You tell yourself she is back from a hiatus, must be nervous of how she is presented and is perhaps over exerting herself to look determined and natural, too look her part of the annoyed mother, the portion which is yet to come of course.
The snazzy director is in love with the horizon and those clouds moving at a speed that could put Sandy Hurricane clouds to shame. There is still something wrong with the colors though. The sky seems to follow an artificial pattern of its own in contrast to the repeated shots of the city landscape. It almost feels like the signature shots of a Manhattan TV series. Considering the pace at which the movie moves it could well have been one.
The cop played by Irfan Khan is a rogue cop but good man and has some of the movies best lines penciled in for him in obvious respect to his international wry humor status and also because he was cheered for his one liners in PIKU. Irfan thumps his chest and puts in his best. Every time he steps in on the silver screen it lights up. He can make an ordinary good morning sound so interesting. But even he too is not convinced that his potential love interest is Aishwarya and keeps a safe distance from her and mumbles all his hidden feelings for her in whispers lest she hear him. He is there to support her as she screams her lungs out when her daughter is kidnapped. That is Aishwarya in her most unbelievable avatar. You cannot just believe that this is the same Aishwarya of Dhoom or Guru. She is just trying too hard.
Irfan bridging two movies as a law keeper is having a ball when he is on his own mouthing badass monologues and a shocked audience gets up to giggle. He is very tentative and extremely conscious when he is around Aishwarya. Watch him as he cautiously holds her every time, almost careful not to annoy her. Their chemistry just does not work. The sad part is that Aishwarya has some excellent work with Mani Ratnam and Sanjay Lela Bansali though she does go overboard at the drop of a hat. She should have chosen to produce a smarter work with a more appropriate director who could have used her sensitivity, than make her scream the rooftops with bulging red eyes. Just does not work.
There are lots of drab court scenes with an uninspired Atul Kulkarni and a surprising cameo by Shabana Azmi who walks through her part with confidence but not with great interest. Maybe a more intricate plot with characters built up, fleshed out and not too much focused on the producer could have helped. Maybe it was just a comeback trigger with better things to come yet. Aishwarya should quit trying too hard. She is a fine actress with good directors and just needs to find her sweet spot. And one prays that Irfan does not get too caught up with trying to over use himself in trying to make some well-deserved moolah in commercial films.
It was tough to sit through the two hours plus pulsating camera trying to keep pace with flying emotional clouds which is the most I remember of the movie. The ½ star in the 1.5 is purely for Irfan. Sanjay could do better to go back to his mobster realism genre.
1.5