Jai 2012 Movie Reviews

Jai (Pawan Kalyan) is an orphan and is brought up by gangster Bhagawan (Jackie Shroff). He becomes his loyal follower and effectively counters rivals Atul Kulkarni, and on the other side, falls in love with innocent Sandhya (Sarah Jane Dias). Munna (Adivi Sesh) is the son of Bhagawan and is a spoilt brat, an NRI who falls in love with Jahnavi (Anjali Lavania), who in turn, pleases Jai to marry her. Munna kills Jahnavi for the fact that she hates him, and in a fit of rage with Jai, Munna accidentally dies. An angry Bhagawan then looks to take revenge on Jai for killing his son. How Jai encounters Bhagawan and his moves and come out successfully forms the remaining part of the plot.

Analysis :

Jai is an action romance flick and director Vishnuvardhan once again proves that he’s a stylish director. Jai comes with heavy dose of action sequences - gun fights, bomb explosives, etc. It gives you sights of movies like ‘Balu’ and Nagarjuna ‘Antham’ as Vishnuvardhan was focusing heavily on technical aspects to elevate the movie. Pawan Kalyan is once again seen in a gangster character as he earlier played in Balu. However, Panjaa lacks the killer instincts to hit the trigger. There’s not enough drama in the movie to make it comprehensive and it’s like shooting in the dark at various points.

The action sequences were well shots by Vishnuvardhan and he has shown Pawan Kalyan in a different way. Although sporting beard, Pawan looks elegant and was in his elements and his dialogue delivery was aggressive. In fact, in Panja, Pawan on more than couple of occasions, look like Chiranjeevi in his gestures and mannerisms. Adivi Sesh is a revelation. His murderer looks and body language is stunning. Vishnuvardhan has done a commendable job in getting the best from all the characters. Perhaps new heroines might be a minus to Panjaa since people miss out on the connectivity. A known heroine could have been a huge asset.

Performances
Pawan Kalyan delivers a commanding performance. He has put on some weight but his dialogue delivery holds the key to his character. His dance in Papa Rayudu song is brilliant and let’s hope to see more such numbers in the future.

Adivi Sesh was incredible as Munna. He perfectly suits the character and has shown a great authority. His stylish body language and explosive looks were amazing. Surely this character will take him to great level in Tollywood.

Sarah Jane Dias has done justice to her character and Anjali Lavania was involved in a bit of glam show. Jackie Sheroff, was at his usual best in a mobster role. Ali has gone waste while Brahmanandam has scored a bit.

Technicalities
Camerawork by PS Vinod is fantastic. His short framing and camera angles were tailor made for an action film and he has elevated the film visually. Yuvan Shankar Raja’s music has been very good but he missed out on the background score. Editing should have been crisper.