Jigra
Crime Drama Thriller Hindi
When Ankur is wrongfully imprisoned and sentenced to death in a foreign country, his steely sister Satya is driven by a lethal resolve to break him free.
| Cast: | Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Vivek Gomber, Akashdeep Sabir, Harssh A. Singh |
|---|---|
| Director: | Vasan Bala |
| Writer: | Debashish Irengbam |
| Editor: | Prerna Saigal |
| Camera: | Swapnil S. Sonawane |
Guild Reviews
A treat to watch Alia Bhatt play Bachchan
Sister as Superhero
Alia Bhatt In & As The Angry Young Woman
In Vasan Bala’s Jigra (Courage) Alia Bhatt is Amitabh Bachchan. The suggestion seems both foolish and foolhardy, not least because both actors have disparate, almost contrasting, physicalities. They act differently, they react differently. And more crucially, a punch lands on them differently. If Bachchan in his youth stumbled upon being hit, then Bhatt crumples like a paper bag. If the former’s daunting presence intimidates the frame then the latter’s diminutive silhouette makes space for others. Alia Bhatt is nothing like Amitabh Bachchan yet Bala insists that she is, for she has the jigra.
The Alia Bhatt-starrer Doesn’t Fire but Fizzle Out
The trailer of Jigra promised a coup too delicious to resist: Alia Bhatt as the Angry Young (Wo)man. At one point, Manoj Pahwa tells her, “Arre, [Amitabh] Bachchan nahin banna hai. Bach ke nikalna hai.” A stone-faced Bhatt replies: “Ab toh Bachchan hi banna hai.” This exchange hides loaded meanings: reverence (Bhatt, the best Bollywood actor right now, paying tribute to the best Bollywood actor of the ’70s), inversion (a heroine playing an anti-hero), and nostalgia (a drug always in short supply). There’s a bit of serendipity, too: the movie’s release date, October 11, coincides with Bachchan’s birthday.
The Great Escape
Satya has been running from window to window in the anteroom of a maximum security prison. She’s desperate to see her brother before closing time, but there are forms to fill, procedures to follow. Finally, she ends up at the door to the visiting area, wheezing, frantic. The guard does her a kindness, says she isn’t late and will be let in soon. Satya catches her breath, but can’t wipe the worry off. “Do I look sad?” she asks the guard as she’s about to enter. “Little sad,” he replies in Malay-accented English. She puts on a strained smile. “Now?” The guard shakes his head. “Very sad, lah.”
My Name Is Bachchan. Alia Bachchan
Vasan Bala creates worlds that may appear deceptively similar to the ones you and I inhabit but run entirely on their own terms and whimsy. It’s a part of the film-maker’s charm and cinephile influences, which made the likes of Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota and Monica O My Darling such a treat. Jigra, probably his most big-ticket project so far, is also his most sombre.
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