Back to the badlands
Angel Rani, March 5, 2016, DHNS:
Jai Gangaajal
Hindi (UA)
Cast: Priyanka Chopra, Prakash Jha, Manav Kaul
Director: Prakash Jha
Rating: **
Priyanka Chopra is all guns blazing when she wields the lathi. As IPS officer Abha Mathur, she gives a piece of her mind — and muscle — as she takes on the “naamards” of the system (way too many here).
Welcome back to the badlands of Bihar. Corrupt leaders, evil cops, gullible villagers and a few activists screaming into the microphone — it’s the familiar Prakash Jha set-up. The only surprise is Jha himself.
The director plays a corrupt cop who is at the service of an MLA (a perfectly restrained Manav Kaul). The politician and his cronies are out to gobble every business pie in Bankipur and are forcibly acquiring land for a thermal power station. Now, the project has already driven many farmers up the tree, taking the suicide graph further north.
Jha impresses initially with his know-all demeanour and intense stares, but his broody ways stretch the second half by yards. And it doesn’t help that a sudden change of heart is left unexplained.
Another aspect that the movie dwells on is mob justice, with many villagers keen to see their perpetrators dangling from trees and posts.
Jai Gangaajal makes a pitch for land rights and several other issues, but the movie rarely connects as the emotional threads are too loose.
Priyanka Chopra tries hard, and partly succeeds, in bringing the no-nonsense officer to life. The make-up does some damage though. With not a hair out of place, Chopra struggles to bring in that raw appeal the Jha stable is famous for.
Hindi (UA)
Cast: Priyanka Chopra, Prakash Jha, Manav Kaul
Director: Prakash Jha
Rating: **
Priyanka Chopra is all guns blazing when she wields the lathi. As IPS officer Abha Mathur, she gives a piece of her mind — and muscle — as she takes on the “naamards” of the system (way too many here).
Welcome back to the badlands of Bihar. Corrupt leaders, evil cops, gullible villagers and a few activists screaming into the microphone — it’s the familiar Prakash Jha set-up. The only surprise is Jha himself.
The director plays a corrupt cop who is at the service of an MLA (a perfectly restrained Manav Kaul). The politician and his cronies are out to gobble every business pie in Bankipur and are forcibly acquiring land for a thermal power station. Now, the project has already driven many farmers up the tree, taking the suicide graph further north.
Jha impresses initially with his know-all demeanour and intense stares, but his broody ways stretch the second half by yards. And it doesn’t help that a sudden change of heart is left unexplained.
Another aspect that the movie dwells on is mob justice, with many villagers keen to see their perpetrators dangling from trees and posts.
Jai Gangaajal makes a pitch for land rights and several other issues, but the movie rarely connects as the emotional threads are too loose.
Priyanka Chopra tries hard, and partly succeeds, in bringing the no-nonsense officer to life. The make-up does some damage though. With not a hair out of place, Chopra struggles to bring in that raw appeal the Jha stable is famous for.
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