Nagraj Manjule makes his Bollywood debut with Jhund, and he lives up to the hype
image source- YouTube | image by- T-Series
Cast– Amitabh Bachchan, Ankush Gedam, Somnath Awaghade, Kishore Kadam, Aakash Thosar, Chhaya Kadam & others
Director– Nagraj Manjule
Release date– 4th March 2022
Popcorn score– 8 out of 10
The film depicts the real-life story of Vijay Barse. To rehabilitate the children living in a slum, who perform criminal activities and are addicted to drugs, Barse made them fall in love with football and turned them into professional players.
Here, Amitabh Bachchan plays the same character and is named Vijay Borade. He is a retired sports teacher, who sees the potential of becoming good football players in slum children. Borade finds out how crime and addiction have become an integral part of their lives. So, he decides to diverse them with a help of soccer, which later rakes wonders.
Amitabh Bachchan as Vijay Borade is simply outstanding. The Shahenshah of Bollywood has done around 200 movies in his five-decade-long career, yet this one will make a special place in your hearts. Keeping that megastar aura aside, Big B flawlessly surrenders to the film. His chemistry with his ‘gang’ is too good.
Ankush Gedam as Don leaves an impact amid other actors. He’s raw and looks effortless in front of an actor like Amitabh Bachchan. His rawness blended with innocence takes over you. Priyanshu Kshatriya, Somnath Awaghade, Aakash Thosar, and all others do good in their roles.
Nagraj Manjule is a master when it comes to lifting societal issues, which often get easily ignored, and painting a beautiful canvas out of it. There have been several films with a backdrop of slums, but it’s the quality of Manjule as a screenplay writer that makes it look fresh and new. Manjule takes his own time to set up the base and in a meantime, he doesn’t let you get up from your seat. There are a couple of subplots where the film slows down. The second half seems to be stretched a bit.
Nagraj Manjule as a filmmaker has proved his mettle and with Jhund he has only progressed. His sense of making a sequence look raw just hits the right chord. Just to give an example, there’s a death scene in the film and there was a scope of melodrama in it, but Manjule ditches the temptation and that is what makes it authentic.
Cinematographer Sudhakar Reddy Yakkanti is a star throughout the film. Right from frame one, the visuals are engaging. He captures the underbelly and alleys of Nagpur in a most romantic way.
The romantic saga between Nagraj Manjule and Ajay-Atul continues! The magical musical duo supports the film really well. Songs- Baadal Se Dosti and Aaya Ye Jhund Hai stand out the most.
The collaboration of Manjule and Bachchan ooze out magic on the big screen. It’s a bit lengthy film with a duration of almost 3 hours, but never mind, Jhund holds your attention with its craft and entertaining value. The pandemic kept the film away from theatres for over two years, but it’s worth the wait!
Also, check our Gangubai Kathiawadi review here.
Follow us on – Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
This post was published on March 4, 2022
This website uses cookies.