'Jazbaa' review: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan makes a strong comeback with perfect whodunit

Film: Jazbaa 
Starring: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Shabana Azmi, Irrfan Khan, Jackie Shroff and Atul Kulkarni
Directed by: Sanjay Gupta
Ratings: ***1/2

What it's about: Remake of Korean film Seven Days, the Hindi version marks the return of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan to the big screen. She could not have chosen a better film to come back after her five-year long maternity break. She plays a tough criminal lawyer Anuradha Verma who has a reputation for always winning her cases, and taking cases that pay well, even if she is representing a criminal. Her daughter Sanaya is kidnapped from a school race, and she is told that her that if she wants her daughter back, she will have to defend a convicted felon, a rapist and a murderer Miyaaz Shaikh (Chandan Roy Sanyal). She is warned not to go to the cops because the abductor will be closely watching all her moves. Anuradha's cop friend Yohan (irrfan Khan), a suspended policeman, finds out about the abduction and decides to help her. Anuradha has to race against time to save her daughter. All she has are four days.

What's good: Sanjay Gupta is known for his testosterone filled gangster flicks. This time, he steps out of the comfort zone. For starters, the protagonist is the leading lady. But you can see the Gupta touches, the sepia tones, the car chase scenes in Mumbai. grunge locations, the mandatory item song. At its soul, it's a crime drama, which has a lot working for it. It's fast-paced, taut and has a run time of two hours, allowing you little time to think.The court-room scenes are brilliant, Aishwarya is in a character that isn't close to anything she has done before. She looks gorgeous and gutted as the scene requires her to be, but it is the supporting cast of Jazbaa -- Irrfan Khan and Shabana Azmi who lift the film several notches above in every scene that they are on the screen. Dialogues by Kamlesh Pandey deserves a special mention. Above all, if you can shock and awe the audience in the end, it's a win. And that is what makes Jazbaa a satisfying experience.   

What's not: Sanjay should have perhaps worked at showing some bond between the mother and daughter. You see it, but you don't feel it. We have seen the scene too many times in too many films -- The parent dropping the child to school and reminding him/her that he/she has forgotten to kiss the parent -- it has no impact anymore. Just like child complaining that the parent doesn't spend enough time with him/her. It's just too trite. The convicted felon Miyaaz Shaikh goes from 90's Amrish Puri mode(cackles for no reason) to Anupam Kher aka Mandhari from Saudagaar (breaks into weird dance). Siddhant Kapoor, a drug addict plays the character it like a mental patient. Irrfan Khan, a suspended cop, with an arrest warrant out for him, summons cops twice and they land up, not to help him but to assist him. The scene of the mother running after the child in the abductor's van (show in slow motion) which is meant to be a highlight (shown twice at interval point and then repeated again) doesn't have the desired effect. It makes you want to cover your ears with your hands, rather than to wipe your tears with them. 

What to do: If you enjoy whodunits, watch it. You won't see the suspense coming.