Prakash Jha finally falls for the
lure of making a sequel, following in the footsteps of other illustrious film
banners; “Jai Gangaajal” is a sequel to “Gangaajal”, an immensely popular &
successful film released in 2003. The chief protagonist in both the cases is a SP;
while Ajay Devgan was the lead actor in the earlier movie, it is Priyanka
Chopra’s turn, this time, to don the police uniform. While the prequel was inspired
by the acid blinding incident, at Bhalagpur, in the 1980’s the sequel appears
to be inspired by the land right agitations across the country & the hangings
of Badaun. Both the movies strongly advocate redemption through police reform,
inspiring leadership & the reestablishment of the rule of law.
Manav Kaul (Babloo Pandey) is the
don of Bankipur & the local MLA too & Murli Sharma his chief effeminate
henchman. Manav’s brother, Ninad Kamath (Dabloo bhaiyaa), who fancies himself
as “Choota Vidhayak” is a busy land shark trying to usurp lands of poor farmers
only to hand them over to industrialists & make a killing - a common “bahubali”
practice these days. Without the concurrence of the local administration this
is impossible & here they are helped by the local Machiavellian cop, Prakash
Jha (B N Singh aka Circle babu). The world is not without idealists though; it
is epitomized by Rahul Bhat - an IIT & MIT Phd graduate who has decided
to relinquish his luxuries & fight for the downtrodden poor peasants - &
the local SP - keen to establish rule of law.
The local SP who dries to
discipline B N Singh is transferred & in his place is airdropped Priyanka (
Abha Mathur) by the Minister (Kiran Karmakar) who intends to support the industrial group,
Samanta, to set up a thermal power plant in Bankipur in lieu of political
funding to achieve his Chief Ministerial ambitions. He has for long been the
benefactor of Priyanka & her family since her father’s death &
therefore believes that Priyanka would do his bidding. Alas, he is proved wrong
for she is shrewd & duty bound & makes a nice case of separating personal
indebtedness from discharging of official duties. The movie is the journey of the
Quantico star in disciplining the police force, taking the battle into the
don’s den & finally getting him convicted.
The movie weaves together all the
contemporary burning issues: usurpation of land rights by the land mafia, farmer
suicides & non receipt of compensation from the government, corrupt
politicians & crony capitalists, lascivious cops trying to make a killing, some
idealists trying to create awareness on citizen rights & the plebeians wary
of challenging authority until they reach a tipping point when they start
imparting vigilante justice. Making the farmers partners in progress rather than
divesting them of their lands with a one-time compensation is what the movie
signals strongly. It argues as much
against corruption & cronyism as against the issue of vigilante justice personalized
through the slogan "Jo janta ko lootega, uska suicide!".
Restoration of rule of law is strongly urged.
The movie is also an ode to the
role of leadership in transformation. While a lady is being molested the police
are silent spectators till Priyanka bashes the baddies nudging the cops to
announce their transformation. “Aaj aap humey
mard bana diye hai, hum toh soche thhey ki hum napunsak hi mar jaayenge” says one of the cops. Perhaps, individual corruption &
cronyism is out of systemic compulsion & not personal choice.
Prakash Jha excels as the quintessential
evil, corrupt police officer who later reveals his latent love for the uniform;
his calm demeanour, evil smirk & swagger would put many of the mainstream
actors to shame. His voice modulated to remind one of Nana Patekar in his hey
days, is a delight. Priyanka, though, is
a let-down for her fails to add variety to her performance; as an example in
all the scenes on getting out of her police van, she removes her shades in the
same kneejerk fashion & throws them in. Style & panache makes an
actor & a bit of variety is always welcome &
hyperbole is acceptable; ask Rajnikanth. A kick ass role it was meant to me but
she is unimpressive in the action sequences. She is a good dancer though & it is a pity
that this talent of hers is left unutilized. Perhaps, a romantic track between
Priyanka & Rahul would have helped showcase her better & add masala to
the movie to cater to the mass audience. Manav Kaul too is a let-down while Rahul
excels in his brief cameo.
The storyline is decent & the
editing is taut & the 158 minutes movie is definitely racy. But the lack of
good music is a dampener. The lingo used in the movie is earthy with dialogues
like “aap to koi galat misguide kiya hai” or “madam sir” while referring to a
superior, eliciting some sniggles. Sadly, it lacks the moral & emotional depth
of its prequel Gangaaajal & that is its undoing. Watch the movie after
tempering your expectations.
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