Jazbaa
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''Jazbaa'' () is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language
crime thriller film Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as drama or gangster film, but al ...
directed by
Sanjay Gupta Sanjay Gupta (born October 23, 1969) is an American neurosurgeon, medical reporter, and writer. He serves as associate chief of the neurosurgery service at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, associate professor of neurosurgery at ...
. The film's narrative revolves around an attorney forced to defend an unsavory criminal after her daughter is kidnapped. It stars
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (; Rai; born 1 November 1973) is an Indian actress who is primarily known for her work in Hindi and Tamil language, Tamil films. Rai won the Miss World 1994 pageant and later established herself as one of the most-popu ...
and
Irrfan Khan Irrfan Khan () (born Sahabzade Irfan Ali Khan; 7 January 196729 April 2020) was an Indian actor who worked in Indian cinema as well as British and American films. Widely regarded as one of the finest actors in world cinema, Khan's career spa ...
, with
Shabana Azmi Shabana Azmi (born 18 September 1950) is an Indian actress of film, television and theatre. Her career in the Hindi cinema, Hindi film industry has spanned Shabana Azmi filmography, over 160 films, mostly within independent and neorealist paral ...
,
Jackie Shroff Jaikishan Kakubhai Shroff (born 1 February 1957), known by his screen name Jackie Shroff, is an Indian actor and former model from Mumbai, Maharashtra, who primarily works in the Hindi film industry. In a career spanning over four decades, he ...
,
Atul Kulkarni Atul Kulkarni (born 10 September 1965) is an Indian actor, producer and screenwriter who works in Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, English, Odia and Telugu language films. Kulkarni won the National Award for the Best Supporting Act ...
and
Chandan Roy Sanyal Chandan Roy Sanyal (born 30 January 1980) is an Indian actor who is known for his work in the Hindi and Bengali language films of India. After graduating with a degree in mathematics, he made his acting debut in the 2006 film '' Rang de Basant ...
in supporting roles. It is a remake of the 2007 South Korean film '' Seven Days''. The film was released on 9 October 2015. The film marked Aishwarya's return on screen after a five-year break. Rai's performance received nominations for Best Actor in an Action Role at 2015
Big Star Entertainment Awards The Big STAR Entertainment Awards was an annual award show presented by Reliance Broadcast Network Limited in association with STAR India to honour personalities from the field of entertainment across movies, music, television, sports, theatr ...
and in 2016,
Screen Award for Best Actress (Popular Choice) The Screen Award for Best Actress – Popular Choice was introduced in 2009 as part of the annual Screen Awards in India. Unlike the Screen Award for Best Actress, which is determined by a jury, this category is decided by public voting and is aw ...
. She won Power-packed performance of the year at
Stardust Awards The Stardust Awards was an award ceremony for Hindi movies, which was sponsored by '' Stardust'' magazine. Here is a list of the award winners and the films for which they won. The first ceremony was held in 2004 for films released in 2003. The ...
.


Plot

Anuradha Verma is a prominent criminal lawyer and a single mother who has never lost a case. On the day of a parent-child race organized in her daughter Sanaya's school, Sanaya is abducted. The kidnapper contacts Anuradha and tells her that she has to defend a convicted felon in order to get her daughter back. Anuradha lies to family and friends, saying that Sanaya is safe at her grandmother's house, so that the law enforcement is not involved. The felon is Niyaaz Shaikh, who was charged for the rape and murder of a young woman named Sia, and the case against him is set for hearing in four days. The kidnapper keeps track of Anuradha very closely to make sure that she complies with their demands. All evidence suggests that Niyaaz is the perpetrator, so Anuradha has to work hard to win the case, and with time running out, she tries to get help from her policeman friend Yohan, who has been suspended from the force by other corrupt officers for flouting the rules and regulations too often. The case against Niyaaz is being closely monitored by influential politician Mahesh Maklai. Mahesh asks renowned public prosecutor Ronit, who has been defeated by Anuradha in the past, to take up the case as rape is a critical issue the current government is fighting. Anuradha tries to gather information by hook or crook, including lying to Sia's mother Garima Chaudhary. Anuradha discovers that Mahesh's son, Sam, was Sia's boyfriend, and Niyaaz was their drug dealer. Niyaaz had raped and killed Sia after delivering drugs to her home, while Sam was intoxicated and passed out. As Anuradha returns home one evening, she is taken hostage by Mahesh and his henchmen. The politician explains to her that when Sam woke up, he panicked and contacted his father to help him dispose of Sia's corpse. Cutting the gas pipes and planning to set Anuradha's house on fire, the men leave her bound and gagged on the floor. However, she unties herself and escapes. After returning to court, Anuradha is able to get Niyaaz out on bail due to the missing murder weapon and also implicates Mahesh and Sam as co-conspirators of the murder, thus destroying Mahesh's political career. As promised, Sanaya is released, but suffers an allergic reaction. Fortunately, Anuradha is able to reach her daughter in time. As Yohan and Anuradha continue digging, they realise that Garima was behind Sanaya's kidnapping. Garima blackmailed Anuradha to free Niyaaz, allowing her to kidnap and burn him to death, since she found the death sentence or life imprisonment to be insufficient punishment for someone who brutally raped and murdered her daughter. Garima insists she never meant to hurt Sanaya, and apologizes to Anuradha for what she put her through. Though initially infuriated after finding out the truth, Anuradha offers her services as a lawyer to Garima when she is apprehended by police.


Cast

*
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (; Rai; born 1 November 1973) is an Indian actress who is primarily known for her work in Hindi and Tamil language, Tamil films. Rai won the Miss World 1994 pageant and later established herself as one of the most-popu ...
as Advocate Anuradha Verma *
Irrfan Khan Irrfan Khan () (born Sahabzade Irfan Ali Khan; 7 January 196729 April 2020) was an Indian actor who worked in Indian cinema as well as British and American films. Widely regarded as one of the finest actors in world cinema, Khan's career spa ...
as
Inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia The rank of Inspector is present in all Australian police forces excep ...
Yohan *
Sara Arjun Sara Arjun (born ) is an Indian actress who mainly appears in Tamil and Hindi films and commercials. The daughter of actor Raj Arjun, she had appeared in a series of commercials and a short Hindi film before the age of six. In 2010, she was si ...
as Sanaya Verma, Anuradha's daughter *
Shabana Azmi Shabana Azmi (born 18 September 1950) is an Indian actress of film, television and theatre. Her career in the Hindi cinema, Hindi film industry has spanned Shabana Azmi filmography, over 160 films, mostly within independent and neorealist paral ...
as Garima *
Jackie Shroff Jaikishan Kakubhai Shroff (born 1 February 1957), known by his screen name Jackie Shroff, is an Indian actor and former model from Mumbai, Maharashtra, who primarily works in the Hindi film industry. In a career spanning over four decades, he ...
as MP and Home Minister Mahesh Khanna *
Chandan Roy Sanyal Chandan Roy Sanyal (born 30 January 1980) is an Indian actor who is known for his work in the Hindi and Bengali language films of India. After graduating with a degree in mathematics, he made his acting debut in the 2006 film '' Rang de Basant ...
as Niyaaz Shaikh, Sia's murderer *
Atul Kulkarni Atul Kulkarni (born 10 September 1965) is an Indian actor, producer and screenwriter who works in Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, English, Odia and Telugu language films. Kulkarni won the National Award for the Best Supporting Act ...
as Prosecution Lawyer Ronit *
Siddhanth Kapoor Siddhanth Kapoor (born 6 July 1984) is an Indian actor and assistant director who works in Bollywood. Son of actor Shakti Kapoor and brother of actress Shraddha Kapoor, he started his career by working as an assistant director in various films ...
as Sam Maklai, Mahesh's son *
Priya Banerjee Priya Banerjee (born 16 April 1991) is a Canadian actress who works primarily in the Indian movie industries. She has worked Hindi, Telugu films. Banerjee's first film was ''Kiss'' in Telugu in 2013, opposite Adivi Sesh. She then appeared in h ...
as Sia Chowdhury, Garima's daughter *
Abhimanyu Singh Abhimanyu Singh is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil films. He is notably known for his roles in the political films '' Gulaal'' (2009) and '' Rakta Charita'' (2010). Career Abhimanyu Singh made his debut wi ...
as Abbas Yusuf, Anuradha's client *
Sonu Sood Sonu Sood (born 30 July 1973) is an Indian actor, film producer, Model (person), model, humanitarian, and Philanthropy, philanthropist who works predominantly in Hindi cinema, Hindi, Telugu cinema, Telugu and Tamil cinema, Tamil films. He is k ...
as Samir Locksmith *
Kota Srinivasa Rao Kota Srinivasa Rao (born 10 July 1942) is an Indian character actor known for his work primarily in Telugu cinema and Telugu theatre. He has also starred in a few films in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Hindi cinema, Hindi, Kannada cinema, Kannada and Ma ...
as Joseph William Akkilingeyan *
Saif Ali Khan Saif Ali Khan (; born Sajid Ali Khan Pataudi; 16 August 1970) is an Indian actor and film producer who primarily works in Hindi cinema, Hindi films. The titular head of the Pataudi family since 2011, he is the son of actress Sharmila Tagore a ...
as Paresh Shah *
Ankur Vikal Ankur Vikal is an Indian theatre and film actor. Career He graduated from the National School of Drama (NSD), New Delhi in 2000, after studying Architecture at Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda. He has acted with the Motley Theatre Grou ...
as Vijay *
John Abraham John Abraham (born 17 December 1972) is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi films. Known for his stoic action hero persona, he is a recipient of a National Film Award along with nominations for four Filmfare Awards. Abraham ha ...
as Satam * Sangeeta Kanhayat as Nazia Qureshi, wife of Niyaaz *
Kaizaad Kotwal Kaizaad Kotwal is an Indian producer, director, actor, writer and designer. He has worked on over 200 theatre and film productions, including the Indian production of the Vagina Monologues. He won an Emmy Award for Art Direction in 1996. Life ...
as Dr Satish *
Rajeev Verma Rajeev Verma (born 28 June 1949) is an Indian actor. He has worked in film and television. Early life Rajeev Verma is a veteran Indian actor, who works mainly in film and television. Verma was born in Narmadapuram, Madhya Pradesh, India. He ...
as Binnu * Sukaniya as Warden Amrita * Shilpa Mehta as Sulekha Tai, maid servant * Diksha Kaushal as an
item number In Indian cinema, an item number or special song is a musical number inserted into a film that may or may not have any relevance to the plot. The term is commonly used within Indian films ( Bengali, Hindi, Kannada, Punjabi, Tamil, and Telugu c ...
"Aaj Raat Ka Scene"


Production

According to reports,
John Abraham John Abraham (born 17 December 1972) is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi films. Known for his stoic action hero persona, he is a recipient of a National Film Award along with nominations for four Filmfare Awards. Abraham ha ...
was supposed to play the male lead in the film. However, the film-maker Sanjay Gupta dismissed the rumors and said "John was never cast for the role".
Irrfan Khan Irrfan Khan () (born Sahabzade Irfan Ali Khan; 7 January 196729 April 2020) was an Indian actor who worked in Indian cinema as well as British and American films. Widely regarded as one of the finest actors in world cinema, Khan's career spa ...
was signed to star opposite Aishwarya and
Shabana Azmi Shabana Azmi (born 18 September 1950) is an Indian actress of film, television and theatre. Her career in the Hindi cinema, Hindi film industry has spanned Shabana Azmi filmography, over 160 films, mostly within independent and neorealist paral ...
,
Jackie Shroff Jaikishan Kakubhai Shroff (born 1 February 1957), known by his screen name Jackie Shroff, is an Indian actor and former model from Mumbai, Maharashtra, who primarily works in the Hindi film industry. In a career spanning over four decades, he ...
,
Atul Kulkarni Atul Kulkarni (born 10 September 1965) is an Indian actor, producer and screenwriter who works in Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, English, Odia and Telugu language films. Kulkarni won the National Award for the Best Supporting Act ...
and
Chandan Roy Sanyal Chandan Roy Sanyal (born 30 January 1980) is an Indian actor who is known for his work in the Hindi and Bengali language films of India. After graduating with a degree in mathematics, he made his acting debut in the 2006 film '' Rang de Basant ...
were confirmed as a part of the film's supporting cast. Aishwarya studied to portray a lawyer in the film. She met lawyers and even went through various court case clippings to get the nuances of her character right. Filming began in January 2015, and the film was shot in and around
Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
. The shooting of the film was completed in 51 days.


Soundtrack

The first promotional song of the film titled "Bandeyaa" was released on 7 September 2015. The music is composed by Amjad-Nadeem, Arko and
Badshah Badshah or Baadshah may refer to: * Padishah, or Badshah, a superlative sovereign title of Persian origin People * Badshah (rapper) (Aditya Prateek Singh, born 1984), Indian rapper * Badshah Begum (1703–1789), first wife and chief consort of ...
. The full audio album released on 1 October 2015 by ''
Zee Music Company Zee Music Co. (ZMC) is an Indian music company, a subsidiary of Zee Entertainment Enterprises. It carries its business activities mainly from New Delhi. The company has captured a major chunk of market share in Music of Bollywood, Bollywood m ...
''.


Reception


Critical reception

Meena Iyer of ''
The Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...
'' gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and stated "Jazbaa's narrative has pace and power. Aishwarya is rusty at the start but eventually takes charge of the dual aspects of her character. Once in the groove, her eyes breathe fire. Irrfan breezes past with clap-trap Kamlesh Pandey dialogues and Shabana is flawless." ''
Daily News and Analysis The ''Daily News and Analysis'', abbreviated as ''DNA'', is a Hindi-language news program on Zee news that was earlier an English-language newspaper with multiple local city editions across India. ''DNA'' was first launched as a broadsheet newsp ...
'' rated the film with 3.5 stars out of 5 and commented "What makes Jazbaa a satisfying experience is 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 looks gorgeous and gutted as the scene requires her to be, but it is the supporting cast who lift the film several notches above." ''
Zee News Zee News is an Indian Hindi-language right-wing news channel owned by Subhash Chandra's Essel Group. It launched on 27 August 1999 and is the flagship channel of the Zee Media Corporation. The channel has been involved in several controve ...
'' gave a rating of 3.5 stars out of 5 noted "Overall, 'Jazbaa' is compelling and an ensemble that lived up-to its expectation. For Aishwarya –The age-appropriate role was pulled off impeccably and she also showed a few action stunts". Sonia Chopra from ''
Sify Sify Technologies Limited (formerly Satyam Infoway) is an Indian information and communications technology (ICT) company providing telecom services, data center services, cloud & managed services, transformation integration services, and ...
'' gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and noted "Despite the story being highly far-fetched, the film is still arresting for its pacy storytelling, actors who perform with conviction, and a few interesting surprises in the finale. Worth a watch!." ''
Filmfare ''Filmfare'' is an Indian English-language fortnightly magazine published by Worldwide Media. Acknowledged as one of India's most popular entertainment magazines, it publishes pieces involving news, interviews, photos, videos, reviews, events, ...
'' rated 3 stars out of 5, praised the performances of all the actors and noted "The film steams up some good thrills and then throws a bucket full of sentimentality over them and douses them out. Aishwarya performance as a confident lawyer but vulnerable mother is fantastic." ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' also gave the film 3 stars, and mentioned "For all the rot Gupta dwells on, there's something refreshing about Jazbaa within the wider Bollywood context: it'll make for brisk, pacy, adult entertainment." ''
Bollywood Hungama Bollywood Hungama (lit. "Bollywood Madness" in Hindi), previously known as IndiaFM (or IndiaFM.com), is an Indian entertainment website, owned by Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, which acquired the website in 2000. The website provides n ...
'' gave it 3 stars, stating "Aishwarya Rai Bachchan with her 'initially-rusty-later spellbinding' performance, carries the film on her shoulders. On the whole, JAZBAA is a captivating thriller with good performances that make it a decent one-time watch." ''
Mid-Day ''Mid-Day'' (stylised as mid-day) is a morning daily Indian compact newspaper. Editions in various languages including Gujarati and English have been published out of Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Pune so far. In 2011, the Delhi and Bangalore ...
'' rated 3 stars and noted "Sanjay Gupta had gone a little easy on the unnecessary and intrusive melodrama. Even then, it's a good one time watch for sure. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan perfectly looks the part and even does a fairly decent job, barring certain emotional scenes where she clearly goes over the top." Writing for ''
Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media Limited, an entity controlled by the Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia, the daughter o ...
'', Rohit Vats gave a rating of 3 stated, "The film is a well paced thriller, but primary characters' penchant for invoking whistles dilutes the thrill to some extent. Aishwarya Rai and Irrfan will take you to a new territory and then keep you there for most of its 130-minute duration. Jazbaa is a good watch this weekend." Gayatri Gauri from ''Firstpost'' said "The screenplay moves fast in a gripping enough thriller mode. Gupta displays his old penchant for slick action and weaves a fairly engrossing tale." ''
IANS Indo-Asian News Service or IANS is a private Indian news agency. It was founded in 1986 by Indian American publisher Gopal Raju as the "India Abroad News Service" and later renamed. In December 2023, Adani Group, Adani group, known for its clos ...
'' gave the film 3.5 stars commented that "With ample thrill and entertainment, this one is a good weekend watch. Aishwarya, seen on screen after a long hiatus, has a pivotal role, which she dons to perfection. However, the picture-perfect designing of the film is over-egged, giving the film a glossy, albeit, synthetic and unreal look." '' Subhash K. Jha'' said that "It's a hardhitting unconstitutional message, packaged and projected with a precarious panache peculiar to Sanjay Gupta's cinema. The shared moments between Aishwarya and Shabana Azmi are a marvel to behold." On the contrary, Shomini Sen from ''
CNN-IBN CNN News18 is an Indian English-language news television channel founded by Raghav Bahl based in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is currently co-owned by Network18 Group and Warner Bros. Discovery. CNN provides international coverage for the c ...
'' criticised the film for its melodramatic, high pitched and unintentionally funny dialogues and wrote "Jazbaa scores only because of the performances. Aishwarya Rai grunts and screeches on some scenes but manages to deliver a convincing performance." Ananya Bhattacharya writing for ''
India Today ''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media, Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' laun ...
'' gave 2.5 stars criticized Gupta's direction and wrote "The problem with Jazbaa lies in the overdose of melodrama and dialogues that make your ears bleed. One aspect that works in favour of the film is Jazbaa does raise some pertinent questions about the way justice is (un)delivered in the country. Watch Jazbaa for the performances."
Saibal Chatterjee Saibal Chatterjee is an Indian film critic, editor and documentary screenwriter. He was a columnist at ''BBC News'', ''Business Standard'', ''Hindustan Times'' and '' The Financial Express''. He has also written for ''The Telegraph'', ''The Tim ...
from
NDTV New Delhi Television Ltd is an Indian news media company focusing on broadcast and digital news publication. It was founded in 1984 by economist Prannoy Roy and journalist Radhika Roy. NDTV began as a production house for news segments, ...
gave the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and stated "Jazbaa is a slick production all right and it does deliver a few thrilling moments and an above-average climax. Overall, Jazbaa feels like a wasted effort, a clear case of superficial style triumphing over substance by a fair distance. But it has just enough for Aishwarya Rai Bachchan fans to justify a trip to the multiplexes." Sukanya Verma of ''
Rediff Rediff.com, stylized as rediff.com, is an Indian news, information, entertainment, and shopping website. Founded by Ajit Balakrishnan in 1996, it was the first Indian website to become a mainstream news media organization. It is headquartered i ...
'' gave 2 stars and described the film as "A mostly watchable thriller marred by its director Sanjay Gupta's penchant for excesses."


Box office

The film collected nett on its first day. The first weekend collection stand at nett. The film grossed around $1.2 million (₹ 78.1 million) in its opening weekend at International Markets. In its lifetime, ''Jazbaa'' grossed between 33.19– 429 million.


References


External links

* {{Sanjay Gupta 2015 films 2015 crime thriller films 2010s Hindi-language films Films about child abduction in India Indian remakes of South Korean films Indian crime thriller films Indian films about revenge Films directed by Sanjay Gupta Police detective films Films about drugs Films about organised crime in India Films set in psychiatric hospitals 2010s police procedural films Indian crime drama films Films set in Mumbai Films shot in Mumbai Fictional portrayals of the Maharashtra Police Indian mystery thriller films Indian courtroom films Indian detective films Indian legal drama films Films about lawyers Films about the illegal drug trade Films about substance abuse Indian rape and revenge films