Jazbaa

Anuradha Verma (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) is a prominent criminal lawyer and a single mother who has never lost a case. On the day of a parent-child race organized in her daughter Sanayas (Sara Arjun) school, Sanaya gets kidnapped and kidnapper contacts her and tells her that she has to defend a convicted felon to get her daughter back. Anuradha has to lie to police and her friends that Sanaya is safe at her grandmothers house.The felon is Niyaaz Shaikh (Chandan Roy Sanyal) who is convicted for the rape and murder of a young woman and the case against him is set for judgement in four days. The kidnapper keeps track of Anuradha very closely to make sure she complies with his demand.

As all evidence suggests that he is the murderer, Anuradha has to work hard to win the case and with the time running out, she tries to get help from her police friend Yohan (Irrfan Khan) who has been suspended from the police force by other corrupt officers for flaunting the rules and regulations too often. The case against Niyaaz Shaikh is closely monitored by a powerful politician Mahesh Maklai (Jackie Shroff) who asks a renowned public prosecutor (Atul Kulkarni) who has been defeated by Anuradha in the past to take up as rape is a critical issue the current government is fighting.Anuradha tries to gather information by hook or crook, including lying to the victims mother Garima Chaudhary (Shabana Azmi), during which she figures out that Mahesh Maklais son Sam was the victims boyfriend who was intoxicated during the murder.Anuradha is able to get Niyaaz out on bail due to lack of evidence and also implicates Mahesh Maklai and Sam as co-conspirators of murder, thus destroying the political career of Mahesh Maklai. As Yohan and Anuradha continue digging, they end up finding that Garima is behind all this and she was the one who kidnapped Niyaaz with the help of a paid aid and burned him alive since she finds the death row to be less of a punishment for someone who brutally raped and murdered her daughter.

Anuradha,though initially infuriated after finding the truth about Garima, offers her services for her case in the end.Meena Iyer of The Times of India gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and stated Jazbaas narrative has pace and power. Aishwarya is rusty at the start but eventually takes charge of the dual aspects of her character. Once in the groove, her eyes breathe fire.

Irrfan breezes past with clap-trap Kamlesh Pandey dialogues and Shabana is flawless. Daily News and Analysis rated the film with 3.5 stars out of 5 and commented What makes Jazbaa a satisfying experience is its fast-paced, taut and has a run time of two hours, allowing you little time to think.The court-room scenes are brilliant, Aishwarya looks gorgeous and gutted as the scene requires her to be, but it is the supporting cast who lift the film several notches above. Zee News gave a rating of 3.

5 stars out of 5 noted Overall, Jazbaa is compelling and an ensemble that lived up-to its expectation. For Aishwarya The age-appropriate role was pulled off impeccably and she also showed a few action stunts. Sonia Chopra from Sify gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and noted Despite the story being highly far-fetched, the film is still arresting for its pacy storytelling, actors who perform with conviction, and a few interesting surprises in the finale. Worth a watch!.

Filmfare rated 3 stars out of 5, praised the performances of all the actors and noted The film steams up some good thrills and then throws a bucket full of sentimentality over them and douses them out. Aishwarya performance as a confident lawyer but vulnerable mother is fantastic. The Guardian also gave the film 3 stars, and mentioned For all the rot Gupta dwells on, theres something refreshing about Jazbaa within the wider Bollywood context: itll make for brisk, pacy, adult entertainment. Bollywood Hungama gave it 3 stars, stating Aishwarya Rai Bachchan with her initially-rusty-later spellbinding performance, carries the film on her shoulders. On the whole, JAZBAA is a captivating thriller with good performances that make it a decent one-time watch.

Mid Day rated 3 stars and noted Sanjay Gupta had gone a little easy on the unnecessary and intrusive melodrama. Even then, its a good one time watch for sure. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan perfectly looks the part and even does a fairly decent job, barring certain emotional scenes where she clearly goes over the top. Writing for Hindustan Times, Rohit Vats gave a rating of 3 stated,The film is a well paced thriller, but primary characters penchant for invoking whistles dilutes the thrill to some extent. Aishwarya Rai and Irrfan will take you to a new territory and then keep you there for most of its 130-minute duration.

Jazbaa is a good watch this weekend. Gayatri Gauri from Firstpost said The screenplay moves fast in a gripping enough thriller mode. Gupta displays his old penchant for slick action and weaves a fairly engrossing tale. IANS gave the film 3.5 stars commented that With ample thrill and entertainment, this one is a good weekend watch.

Aishwarya, seen on screen after a long hiatus, has a pivotal role, which she dons to perfection. However, the picture-perfect designing of the film is over-egged, giving the film a glossy, albeit, synthetic and unreal look. Subhash K. Jha said that Its a hardhitting unconstitutional message, packaged and projected with a precarious panache peculiar to Sanjay Guptas cinema. The shared moments between Aishwarya and Shabana Azmi are a marvel to behold.

[check quotation syntax ] On the contrary, Shomini Sen from CNN-IBN criticised the film for its melodramatic, high pitched and unintentionally funny dialogues and wrote Jazbaa scores only because of the performances. Aishwarya Rai grunts and screeches on some scenes but manages to deliver a convincing performance. Ananya Bhattacharya writing for India Today gave 2.5 stars criticized Guptas direction and wrote The problem with Jazbaa lies in the overdose of melodrama and dialogues that make your ears bleed. One aspect that works in favour of the film is Jazbaa does raise some pertinent questions about the way justice is (un)delivered in the country.

Watch Jazbaa for the performances. The Koimoi reviewer, Surabhi Redkar rated 2.5 stars out of 5 said Jazbaa does not promise anything extraordinary. If you have missed Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in films, here is a treat for you. Irrfan Khan fans will certainly enjoy.

Saibal Chatterjee from NDTV gave the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and stated Jazbaa is a slick production all right and it does deliver a few thrilling moments and an above-average climax. Overall, Jazbaa feels like a wasted effort, a clear case of superficial style triumphing over substance by a fair distance. But it has just enough for Aishwarya Rai Bachchan fans to justify a trip to the multiplexes. Sukanya Verma of Rediff gave 2 stars and described the film as A mostly watchable thriller marred by its director Sanjay Guptas penchant for excesses.