It’s almost tragic when you think that all Sohail Khan had to do, to make Jai Ho a much better film, was ask his father Salim saab for a second opinion. When you have a writer as great as him in your family, why would you produce stories as mediocre as this?
A remake of the Telugu film, Stalin, itself a loose remake of Pay It Forward, Jai Ho is Salman Khan’s first film of the new year, and on the back of five thumping box office films. It’s entirely possible that his star power will still carry the film to the proverbial 100cr mark, but even given all its masala aspirations, this is a highly compromised film.
More than anything, Jai Ho is an exercise in lazy filmmaking. For the kind of nationalistic message it carries and the scale it aims for, there is very little done to infuse real drama. The locations are uninspiring, shot at places owned by sponsors who coughed up the dough, and in no way provide the canvas for a larger than life film. The costume department is a joke, with Salman turning up in whatever he could find on the morning of the shot, and bizzare shaped fluorescent glasses to boot. Technically, except for two songs and a fight sequence, the camera work is non-existent, the editing non-existent, and sound is loud. Just from a basic presentation point of view, the film is a huge letdown, hoping to rely on Salman’s presence to make a visual impact.
The writing merits no serious discussion. There is a core idea which Sohail Khan tries to build the story around, inspired as mentioned from Stalin. But the thrust that the narrative could have provided, is diffused by the unending stream of cameos, and by his unflinching desire to integrate the cliched bad buy politician as the key conflict. Moreover, the use of an amputee to make a key point is contrived, but shameful and insensitive.
There’s very little commercial success that’s left for Salman Khan to achieve. His proclivity towards charitable activities is well know, and it is high time that he stop taking the adage of charity beginning at home too seriously. More than other major star, he has the ability to influence the kind of films that can be made. All he has to do is say the word.
Hindi, Action, Drama, Color