Jalsa Movie Review | Filmfare.com

critic’s rating:



4.0 / 5

It’s said that the true test of character, of morality, is doing something right even when no one is looking. That’s the moral dilemma at the heart of this multi-layered film. As humans, we’re all prone to make mistakes. But what’s unique to us is the ability to rise above those mistakes and rectify them. We’re genetically coded to either flee or fight. But there’s a third response as well – that of trusting in life to do things right. All of us have to make all kinds of compromises but sometimes, it pays to take a stand for the sake of your soul. But can one afford to take the high road when survival is at stake? Isn’t it better to run away and live to fight another day. The film asks all sorts of spiky questions and thankfully, doesn’t totally spoon feed all the answers, letting the viewers draw their own conclusions.

Maya Menon (Vidya Balan) is an upright television reporter who is celebrating the success of a high TRP interview. She’s returning home late in the night at a time when her body is slowing down after the high. A girl steps in front of her car out of nowhere and is left bleeding on the road. Maya should have sought help, should have called the police, but decided to flee. She doesn’t know that the teenager she has hit is Alia (Kashish Rizwan), the daughter of her cook and maid Ruksana (Shefali Shah). Ruksana is a second mother of sorts to Maya’s autistic son Ayush (Surya Kasibhatla). Her younger son Imad (Shafeen Patel) is Ayush’s only friend. There’s a closeness between families despite the class divide, and that closeness comes under scrutiny as the film unfolds.

Maya shifts Alia to a high-end hospital and splurges on her recovery. She initially thinks it’s enough to gloss over her crime. But guilt is a beast which isn’t tamed easily. She starts hyperventilating at odd times. Her icy demeanour starts cracking as she teeters on the brink of an emotional breakdown. The police come into the picture at some point. Instead of investigating, they’re more keen on sweeping the matter under the carpet. They advise Ruksana and her husband to take compensation from the ‘influential people’ who have sent them and take back the complaint. Another tangent to the tale is rookie reporter Rohini (Vidhatri Bandi), who chances upon the video footage of the incident and is hesitant on how to proceed as the senior she looks up to is involved. She sees herself doing the wrong thing whatever course she takes and her redemption at the hands of Maya is one of the most moving aspects of the film.

But it’s Ruksana who really takes a trial by fire. She’s consumed by thoughts of revenge when she comes to know the truth. She can either be blinded by her rage or reach into her inner ducts of compassion and let things go. Neither choice is easy. And the audience experiences her anguish every step of the way.

The well-written, well executed film is a delight to watch. It not only entertains you – because at one level it’s also a taut thriller – but it also makes you question your own inner moral compass. You want to know what you’d do given the choices of the individuals present in the film. Would you succumb to impulse or let reason dictate your action?

We don’t see Rohini Hattangadi so often in our films. Filmmakers have forgotten her and that’s now indeed. Because with this film she has again proved what a performer she is. She plays Vidya’s mother in the film and is the personification of a doting grandmother. Her confrontation scenes with Vidya are a delight to watch. Shefali Shah is a powerhouse performer in her own right and the way she naturally portrays Ruksana is beyond description. At the start, she’s the trusted servant, almost a part of her employer’s family. The accident jolts her back into her own world and she begins to see the chasm that exists between her and Maya. You see Ruksana’s helplessness in Shefali’s portrayal and also her resolve. Despite everything, love remains, and she submits to its grace. Nothing is spoken but everything is said through her eyes, her expressions. Vidya Balan is one of the finest actresses of her generation, of any generation. This fact has been spent time and again and is again reiterated through this film. Her Maya is the over achiever who should excel in everything, be it as a homemaker, as a single mother, or on the professional front. She prides herself on being always in control. But what happens when that control crumbles. You see Maya’s implosion in Vidya’s eyes, in her gestures. She almost turns into the monster she hunts through her headlines. Then, on the brink of madness, sanity prevails and through that comes clarity, comes resolve, comes redemption. The actor takes us through every stage felt by Maya and makes us root for her all the way. Take a bow, Vidya, for another masterclass.

All in all, director Suresh Triveni has given us a hugely satisfying film about choices that life offers us. Everything we chose has a consequence and that’s the point brought home by the film. The storyline is backed by solid performances not only by the two leads, Vidya Balan and Shefali Shah, but by the entire ensemble cast. Jalsa means celebration and the film truly is a celebration indeed of good filmmaking.

Trailer: Jalsa