Jaane Jaan Review - The Devotion of Suspect X Gets Another Honest Remake With Powerhouse Performers

Jaane Jaan Review

Jaane Jaan Review: Known for his master thrillers, Sujoy Ghosh brings Jaane Jaan, an adaptation of a famous Japanese novel, featuring Kareena Kapoor, Jaideep Ahlawat, and Vijay Varma in the lead. The Devotion of Suspect X has been adopted 4 times—3 times in foreign cinemas and once in India (Tamil Cinema), and everyone tried to be honest with the original source material. It was the only option if you didn't want to put in extra effort and brainstorm on your own. Jaane Jaan seemed quite relaxed since the team knows that the story isn't popular with Hindi audiences, so it would work for them even if they missed a point or two. But more than its suspense and thrill factors, the film is uplifted by the powerhouse performers, with Jaideep topping the list.Jaane Jaan follows the story of a single mother, Maya D'Souza (Kareena Kapoor), her daughter, Tara (Naisha Khanna), and their neighbour, Naren (Jaideep Ahlawat). Naren is a math genius and a teacher at a school, while Maya works at a cafe. Naren is mad about Maya but has no guts to tell her, whereas the interesting thing is that it's no secret to Maya. One day, Maya is visited by her ex-husband, who tries to force himself on her to hide from the cops. During a heated argument and physical fight, Maya and Tara murder him, and then the teacher comes to help them cover the murder. Inspector Karan Anand is sent to Kalimpong, and he finds out about the murder. The body is found (unexpectedly), and he begins his investigation, which brings him to his one and only suspect, Maya. While Karan tries to solve the case, the teacher is committed to saving Maya and Tara, and the rest of the film is about who wins at the end.Jaane Jaan is extremely devoted to Keigo Higashino's "The Devotion of Suspect X," excluding the emotional entanglement between the teacher and the cop/investigator. It has nothing new to offer for people who have either read the novel or have seen any of its adaptations from Japanese, Chinese, Korean, or Tamil cinema. It's just too old for that. There are a few loopholes that are too dated for 2023, while they worked at a high level way back in 2005. The idea of setting up a lie seems old today. We have seen it in many films, but Mohanlal and Jeethu Joseph's Malayalam masterpiece, "Drishyam," took it to a whole new and unmatchable level. One might just relate to that set-up factor of Drishyam in Jaane Jaan and say that it's not that great because even Drishyam is a decade old now. Jaane Jaan could have avoided these arguments if it had been made in 2010 instead of 2023. It's pretty late if you are considering its modern appeal. However, it's thrilling enough to carry you with its flow and provide a fulfilling thriller in those 130 minutes.What goes wrong is giving away the idea too early. The teacher lies to his friend, aka the cop, despite knowing that he'll catch it. That's where you start predicting things, even though you haven't read or heard about the original novel. That's one of its biggest shortcomings, followed by a stretched runtime that lasts for 130 minutes without any non-situational songs. That entire "Aa Jaane Jaan" song segment is a big mess. The sexual hints given by the cop are disgraceful too, especially when the entire matter is about diverting one's attention. Rather, it draws more attention to that specific character. Despite a few loose ends, Jaane Jaan comes home safely. You can be assured of a watchable murder mystery and a suspense thriller with this one.Apart from that, there is one big reason to watch Jaane Jaan, and that's its leading trio. Jaideep Ahlawat as Naroo/Naren is phenomenal. You won't be able to think of any other actor making this role so perfect other than Jaideep. His looks, body language, accent, and that cold attitude—oh my my. Jaideep, how can you be so perfect? Kareena Kapoor comes in second, as she reminds us of "Talaash" (2012) with some scenes. So, if she is a mother, then what? She is hot, as Karan, aka Vijay, says. Kareena has this sensitive expression that comes naturally, and every time it comes on screen, I'll tell you, I'm delighted. Vijay Varma has started looking more and more handsome with each film after Gully Boy, and boy, what a performer he is. The likes of Baaghi 3, Dahaad, and Kaalkoot wasted his talent, but thankfully Mirzapur, Darlings, Lust Stories 2, and now Jaane Jaan used him well. OMG! 3 out of 4 belong to Netflix! That's the thing. You may want to skip Jaane Jaan because you may have read the novel or seen the cinematic adaptation before, but you just can't miss watching these three actors spill their magic. The supporting cast of Naisha Khanna, Saurabh Sachdeva, Karama Takapa, and Lin Laishram seemed decent.In terms of technical aspects, the best thing about Jaane Jaan is its background score. The murder scene has a gripping tune playing in the background, but it plays on the front end. The cinematography by Avik Mukhopadhyay is fine, and the editing by Urvashi Saxena is pretty good, if not great. This film could've been bundled up into 110-120 minutes, but those extra 10-12 minutes feel unwanted. The film is set in beautiful locations that aren't too bright, helping the dark theme look better. Sujoy Ghosh has given us Kahaani and Badla (a remake), so we are familiar with his kind of cinema and the story-telling aspects. Here, it's the same territory, with less suspense as we already know the killer. The things revolve around hiding the murderer, not finding it. Post Drishyam, nothing can surprise you more when it comes to fooling the cops, and Jaane Jaan is no exception. Sujoy was smart enough to understand the pulse of OTT audiences, who have more patience than theatre-going audiences. Jaane Jaan is more like an OTT film (and it's coming on Netflix deservingly) than a theatre watch like Kahaani and Badla. There aren't any big issues as such, except that we have been through many tricks by now, so it feels a bit predictable there. Nevertheless, you will enjoy it, and you will enjoy it more because of the power-packed performances by the three leading actors.

Jaane Jaane Review.