Jigara (जिगरा)

 "Jigara (जिगरा)"

Watched Hindi movie "Jigara (जिगरा)". 

This movie is directed by Vasan Bala. Written by Debashish Irengbam, Vasan Bala. Produced by Karan Johansson and others. Music by R. D. Birman, Achint Thakkar, Manpreet Singh. Cinematography by Swapnil Sonawane. This movie features Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Aditya Nanda, Rahul Ravindran, Akanksha Ranjan, Vivek Gomber, Jason Shah, Manoj Pahwa, Harssh A. Singh. This movie was released in 2023 and runs for about 2 hour 23 min. I watched the movie on 15th Dec 2023 with Aditi on Netflix.

Satyabhama (Satya - Alia) has raised her brother single-handedly after their father committed suicide. She works for a rich family who almost treat her as one of their family, almost. Their son (the heir) and Alia's brother are best friends. Once the two boys go on business trip to Hanshi Dao. The heir is found in possession of drugs in that country where drug possession carries only death penalty, no excuse. The heir blames it on the brother and brother is sentenced to death. Now Alia decides to go to Hanshi Dao to save her brother.

The story is weak. The scheme to rescue him is hairbrained. Where is the heir stupid enough to possess drugs in country with such strict rules? Why does the rich guy give 2 crore and chartered jet to Alia? How come she meets two Indians who have someone in jail? Why is an entire island powered by a diesel generator? Why the security systems don't have a battery or UPS backup? Why does the jail in-charge doesn't understand or doesn't care for international borders? Too many questions and no good answer. The director basically thinks that audience can be taken forehand. No surprise that the movie flopped.

Story and direction are super weak points. The only thing that helps the movie is the acting of Vedang, Vivek, Rahul and Manoj. However the characterization is weak. Alia's acting doesn't meet her own standards. Why would she do such a movie.

Positives: Acting.

Negatives: Nowhere close to realistic. 

It's a waste of time. Give it a miss.

Sikander ka Mukaddar (सिकंदर का मुकद्दर)

"Sikander ka Mukaddar (सिकंदर का मुकद्दर)".

Watched Hindi movie "Sikander ka Mukaddar (सिकंदर का मुकद्दर)". 

This movie has story and direction by Neeraj Pandey. Screenplay by Neeraj Pandey, Vipul K Rawal. Produced by Shital Bhatiya. It stars Jimmy Shergil, Tamannah Bhatiya, Avinash Tiwari, Divya Dutta, Anil Pandey, Ashutosh Kushwah, Rajeev Mehta, Ashrut Jain, Amrita Kumari, Anupam K. Sinha. Cinematography by Arvind Singh. Music by Payal Dev. Film runs for 2 hour and 23 minutes and was released in 2024. I watched with Aditi on Netflix on 2nd December 2024.

An exhibition of diamonds. A tip-off about the heist from anonymous source. Four assailants gunned down by police. When the scene is cleared and everyone comes back, 5 red solitaires worth 50 crore are found stolen. Police sub inspector, Jimmy, suspects Rajeev- a man who has served the jeweler for 32 years, Tamannah - an employee of the jeweler and Avinash (Sikander Sharma) - a computer technician.

Who stole the diamonds? How were they stolen? Where are they? Is Jimmy's instinct right?

The story jumps 15 years after the theft and then plays back in flashes. Inspector Jimmy finally loses his job, loses his marriage and accepts that he made an mistake by suspecting Avinash, whereas Avinash was innocent. Imagine what would be the reaction of Avinash to feel vindicated, finally after 15 years.

Tamanna is in a very unglamorous role. She does OK, acting wise, but the age is showing now. Avinash acts well. I had never heard of him earlier, but he is nominated for and won several awards in last two years. Jimmy does well as a single minded police officer with an impeccable instinct.

Direction of Neeraj is very good. Although he chooses to narrate the story in pieces, it still comes out as a whole fabric. His attention to detail is very good. Especially the nested scenes (where several scenes happen in same place seamlessly) are awesome and so is the camera work in those scenes.

The story has several twists and turns. So even the end of movie has to be with a twist. Movie ends at a juncture where a sequel becomes imminent.

Positives: Direction.

Negatives: Umm…

Recommend watching!