Director
Suresh Triveni
Cast
Vidya Balan, Shefali Shah, Rohini Hattangadi, Iqbal Khan
What’s It About
A convoluted hit-and-run case leaves a well-known journalist, a disgruntled mother, a police officer, and the court system clutching at straws once it becomes difficult to distinguish between right and wrong. Maya Menon (Vidya Balan) is the renowned journalist. She lives with her mother (Rohini Hattangadi) and a physically disabled son. Her chef is Rukhsana (Shefali Shah), who is the disgruntled mother. Unexpected events cause their lives to spiral and collide in unpredictable ways. Will Balan be able to put things back in place? Will Shah be able to get justice from a system that is corrupted to the very core? Well, you’ll have to watch the movie to find out.
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Watch Trailer
What’s Hot
Vidya Balan and Shefali Shah star in Jalsa, presenting a masterclass in body language, facial expressions, vocal modulations, accents, and subtle shifts in pitch, tone, and intonation. Rohini Hattangadi, Iqbal Khan, and the rest of the supporting characters are equally excellent. The occurrence that serves as the impetus for all of the unexpected circumstances and the ladies' actions in the film is genuinely stunning, and the conclusion, in which the boundaries of human potential for retribution for one's kin are strained to the breaking point, is another big highlight. Furthermore, Suresh Triveni masterfully taps into complicated emotions against a gloomy backdrop of human drama, doing just enough to keep our interest.
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What’s Not
The trailer for 'Jalsa' is incredibly deceptive, creating the idea that the film is a psychological thriller while, in fact, it is an ambiguous human drama. Furthermore, the tempo sinks too slowly at moments, while the story hits multiple uneven bumps at others, particularly in the second half, highlighting Shivkumar V. Panicker's editing. One also has to ask what precisely Manav Kaul was doing in the film, cameo or not. Furthermore, without Vidya Balan and Shefali Shah, the film would not be half as enjoyable as it finally becomes.
Verdict
While Vidya Balan is good, it is Shefali Shah who salvages the film. Had the trailer been more open about ‘Jalsa’ being more of a drama around human emotions, it would have been a much better watch. Still watch it for the performances of the two ladies. It’s indeed a One Time Watch. I am going with 2.5 stars.
