A cinematic spectacle
JAGGA JASOOS Direction: Anurag Basu Actors: Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Saswata Chatterjee Rating:
J agga Jasoos is visually so beautiful, it’s soothing. Anurag Basu has found a trustworthy lieutenant in cinematographer Ravi Varman. His camera entices, and then Basu ensures you stay.
Their tale begins in Darjeeling, where an amateur detective named Jagga (Ranbir Kapoor) lives in a school hostel and applies his theories to friends. He’s lonely, easily distracted; the quintessential man-child.
He’s always longing for his missing father, Tooti Footi (Saswata Chatterjee); for all his Tintin-inspired adventures, he is fighting inner demons like most of us. He makes for a lead character that is likeable and relatable.
A chance meeting with a Kolkata-based journalist, Shruti (Katrina Kaif), pushes him to go on the journey of a lifetime, across Thailand and Morocco, over beaches and deserts.
The world of giraffes, ostriches and decorated elephants give the film an ethereal otherworldliness. The musical interludes are lyrical, and offer a break from Jagga’s stammering.
Then comes Jagga’s big case. What seems at first like another open-and-shut snowballs into a global conspiracy. This is where Basu begins to falter.
He is rescued by well-structured action sequences and Pritam’s soulful tunes. But as the focus moves to the lead pair, you can’t help but notice that there’s no chemistry there.
Ranbir is sincere; he doesn’t falter. But Katrina’s accent begins to grate. Chatterjee, better known as Bob Biswas from Kahaani, become the pivot.
The second half is held back by its mish-mash plot and random soliloquys on social issues. The 161-minute runtime doesn’t help. Still, for cinematic spectacle, Jagga Jasoos hits the nail on the head. Its visuals will stay with you. Watch it for that, and for Saswata.