Direction: Anurag Basu
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor (Jagga), Katrina Kaif (Shruti), Saswata Chatterjee (Jagga’s father), Chitrak Bandyopadhyay (Debu), Sayani Gupta (Little Girl), Saurabh Shukla (Police Inspector)
Ratings: 3/5
Jagga Jasoos story
Jagga Jasoos is the story of a young, curious and shy boy, Jagga. After the death of Jagga’s parents in an accident, Jagga is raised by Bagchi, his foster father. Bagchi, one day, disappears after admitting Jagga into a boarding school. Jagga feels abandoned and gets a VHS tape from Bagchi every year. One year, he doesn’t get a tape and sets on a journey to solve the mystery of his missing parent. On the other hand, Shruti is a journalist who is trying to solve an international criminal case. Jagga and Shruti cross paths and they both embark on an adventure that involves solving an international smuggling racket.
Jagga Jasoos was completed over a long period of three years, juggling through non-availability of dates and the fall out between Ranbir and Katrina. The movie was extensively shot in South Africa and Morocco. Govinda, Jackie Shroff, and Amitabh Bachchan were considered for the role of Ranbir Kapoor’s father, which was eventually played by Saswata Chatterjee, who rose to fame from Kahaani(2012). Directed by Anurag Basu, the movie boasts of 29 songs. Jagga Jasoos is also the first production film of Ranbir Kapoor.
Jagga Jasoos review
Jagga Jasoos is the brainchild of Anurag Basu, whose works like Barfi and Life in a Metro are all experimental cinema, taking up characters, subjects and a script that brings with itself layers to be peeled away by the audience. A similar honesty and a whole new world of imagination have been portrayed by Anurag Basu in Jagga Jasoos. The whole idea of turning the movie into a musical and pairing it with beautiful cinematography (kudos to Ravi Barman) works well for the audience. Pritam’s music gives the emotions and feelings the due gravitas required.
The character of Jagga has been developed in such a manner, that one immediately takes an interest in him and into his fears, loneliness and his detective mind. Reminded of Sherlock Holmes and Feluda which Jagga sings about in his songs, Jagga’s adventures are no less than Tintin. Ranbir Kapoor has outdone himself when it comes to acting and he carries the weight of the movie all by himself. The second-in-command Katrina Kaif fares well for the role of a bubbly reporter, but her over-the-top flat expressions seem to stand in the way. Saswata Chatterjee is a treat to watch and the scene involving him and Jagga is absolutely brilliant.
The plot of Jagga Jasoos is what gives the movie both a thumbs up and a thumbs down. On one hand, the plot of Jagga Jasoos fills us with the hope that Bollywood is trying to go beyond the run of the mill love stories and romantic comedies. It really is a sign of the maturity that some of these directors and writers are trying to bring to Bollywood cinema. But on the other hand, the pace of Jagga Jasoos is questionable. The movie slows down, unnecessarily in the second half.
A whopping 29 songs might be considered a little too much, even for a musical, though the lyrics of Amitabh Bhattacharya connects well. With all the good, Ranbir Kapoor fails to pass for a young adolescent boy, Shruti Sengupta fails to pull enough to come out as a believable journalist and the chemistry between the two characters are a hit and miss. Also, the adventurous journey of Jagga and Shruti chasing spies and handling arms dealers is a bit outstretched.
Jagga Jasoos verdict
Jagga Jasoos is not everyone’s cup of tea. And like Barfi, this one is an audio-visual treat to watch. It’s a one of its kind musical-adventurous movie made with good heart and intentions.
Trailer: