Movie review: Jashnn

Vishesh Films’ latest ‘Jashnn’ reminds you of the kind of low-on-stars,high-on-emotions films the banner used to make when Mahesh Bhatt was at the helm. The women are strong and needy and vulnerable,all at the same time. The men are the weaker sex,and shed tears freely. There’s also a deeply obsessive brother,and an abusive lover. And there’s some mandatory sex.

But these elements,which Bhatt used so effectively in his best films (‘Arth’,‘Naam’,‘Zakhm’),are seriously diluted here. ‘Jashnn’ starts off with verve,but sinks into a weepy,soppy second half. The director duo who filched a Hollywood thriller for their previous film (‘The Train’ ) stays safely within homegrown boundaries,and despite the fresh-sounding dialogue,keeps everything oh-so- predictable: you know,as soon as he opens his mouth,the curly-haired Adhyayan and his pals will run from old pillar to proverbial post,and will then hit the jackpot.

It’s all very ‘Rock On’. Isn’t it time Vishesh Films went back to doing original,strong content that used to be its hallmark?

For a film about music and musicians,it is surprisingly sparse songs-wise. It’s the performances which keep you going. Adhyayan is much more sure-footed here than he was in his last outing ‘Raaz 2’,where he competed with Kangana and Emraan,and came off a poor third. Anjana gets more to do than just show off burnished shoulders: she plays both girl-friend and let-me-be-free-to-lead-my-life sister. But the best part of the film is Shahana Goswami,whose love for her ‘bhai’ overcomes all else.

Pity the film didn’t match up to her.

Rating: *** (average)

(shubhra.gupta@expressindia.com)