Vasan Bala’s language of seclusion in Jigra is so unique and arresting, it feels like the first time that mainstream Hindi cinema has shown an inclination to grow out of its fixation with fables and comedies on superheroes.
Alia Bhatt wears the cape of superheroism with melancholic resignation. She is the epitome of a cornered hero. When pushed against the wall, she won’t bawl. She will fight with all her might to set the imbalance right.
As Satya, Alia Bhatt is all for a good fight against injustice. But it’s not about reforming society , or even changing mindsets. This time,it’s very personal. She just wants to get her kid-brother back.
Before we go any further, let’s applaud the new star in Tinsel Town. Despite Alia’s author-back star turn, Vedang Raina, as the wronged, vulnerable sibling, gives a moving, star-making performance. Here is a rare actor who understands the lucidity and importance of silences. His mute melancholy, raging into a dying desperation, sets the screen on fire.
More than anything else, Jigra is a clenching, grasping rescue thriller. In several of the well-choreographed action sequences, I nearly forgot to breathe.
Creating a near-perfect balance between physical and emotional scuffles, director Vasal Bala has moved with effortless virility from the quirkiness of Mard Ko Dard Nahin Hota to the lifelike normality of a family-crisis double-underlined by a kinetic energy seldom seen in the action films of our country.
In brief, Jigra is about tackling grief… headlong. This is a film about confronting one’s innermost fears at a time when there is nowhere to go. The narration is brisk and urgent, but never at the cost of coherence. The frames are bathed in dark, articulate hues, signifying desperation and deliverance. Vasan Bala and Debashish Irengbam’s writing is on the ball. Never fearful of going wrong, Jigra just puts the glow back onto the cheek of mainstream Hindi cinema.
As for Alia Bhatt, is there anything she can’t do?
