There were three reasons why I had so much expectations from this movie. First, I personally admire Alia as an artist with amazing acting potential and diversity. Her performances in films like Gangubai, Highway or Dear Zindagi are the reasons why I reckon her as one of the finest actresses of Bollywood. Reason number two- the brilliantly made trailer. And finally, the buzz this movie has generated and the positive reviews some of the trusted reviewers have come up with. But sadly, when I left the theater after those gruesome 150 minutes, I felt as if it was not Ankur who was tortured in the prison. Rather, it was a viewer like me who had been punished brutally for daring to watch a Hindi movie which I tend to avoid mostly.

The movie kicked off brilliantly. The first 30 minutes will truly keep you glued to the seat. The relation between Satya and her brother Ankur will definitely make you smile. But ‘Jigra’ loses it momentum too soon and what comes thereafter is sheer chaos. Nothing looks convincing. And Dare I say, “Even Alia’s expressions were contrived, unoriginal and plastic very often !” The sweet sibling bond that was promised in the first quarter of the movie was surprisingly missing later on. Many of the characters shown initially disappear mysteriously. Looks like the director forgot about them while working on to make Alia look like our desi wonder woman. The inter-personal relationships lack conviction and what could have been a wonderful tale of friendship, loyalty and commitment was wasted in the hope to make a woman centric slick action movie. The prison break concept in Indian cinemas is novel and it needed a rock solid screenplay and directoral finesse to churn out a decent movie on that. But as I have already mentioned, despite having so much promise, the movie lost its narrative too early and nothing looks convincing. The prison break episode which could have been a pathbreaking action sequence in Indian cinema is ludicrous to such an extent that you may burst out laughing.

I heard that the movie has garnered extremely positive reviews for its cinematography, action sequences and performances. Unfortunately, they may not have seen some of the finest international movies on this concept. True, there are some wonderful setpieces and people may start clapping to see a lady doing those scenes. But those scenes are not backed by authentic performances, good screenplay and a solid background story. Action sequences are unrealistic and at times reach the level of madness.As already mentioned , Alia’s performance is over the top, flawed and lacks conviction. Vedang Raina as her brother is wasted and has practically nothing to offer apart from being a timid brother. Rest of the cast offers nothing new. The BGM is the only takeaway from the movie.

Overall, this is a very average movie which had so much of potential that was misrably wasted. Go and watch it only if the AC at your home is not working ! Or you may even watch ‘Gumrah’ starring Sanjay Dutt and Sri Devi made in the 90s by Alia’s father Mahesh Bhatt on YouTube. The concept is almost the same and even though it was copied, still a better watch than this soulless, brainless ‘Jigra’.