Jai Ho! Salman Fights Through Clichés, Fails To Create A Dhoom

We came prepared to write loads about this year’s first big release and went home disappointed. Here is the remake of the original Telugu movie Stalin (that one starred Chiranjeevi and was directed by AR Murugadoss). But when Bollywood decides to remake a regional flick, it usually provides all the bells and whistles, passion and action, which the audience is bound to lap up. Is Salman Khan-starrer Jai Ho (earlier called Mental) woefully lacking in those departments?

But before we get to the critical part of it, let us have a look at the box office figures. The numbers are good and the action drama seems to be well on its way to enter the coveted 100 crore club. According to industry estimates, the flick has grossed a little more than Rs 70 crore in the domestic market after Day 4 (January 27) and the overseas reception has been decent as well – around Rs 22.4 crore in the opening weekend. But it has failed to create the kind of dhoom Aamir Khan’s action thriller created last year, both at home and abroad. The box office collections of Dhoom 3 stood at Rs 170 crore-plus just after the first weekend, with nearly Rs 63 crore coming from the overseas markets.

Made on a budget of around Rs 75 crore, Jai Ho hit about 4,500 screens in India, but flunked on the very first day. It collected Rs 17 crore nett in India on Friday (January 24), according to an official statement. However, business picked up during the R-Day weekend and the movie saw 80-100% occupancy at single screens in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and central India. The domestic and overseas theatrical rights of Jai Ho have been reportedly sold for $18 million.

Now let us come back to the basics. Although not a financial flop, what has plagued the movie in the first place? It doesn’t lack the usual masala, of course. True to the R-Day sentiments, here is the ex-army officer Jai Agnihotri (Salman), who has been chucked out because he was too intense and took too many risks. Back in civil life, he doesn’t change much and beats up the baddies with as much vigour. Danny Denzongpa (home minister Dashrat Singh) and his daughter Sana Khan are the root of all evil, but with Sallu Bhai around (what if he is nearing 50), no one can escape a heavy dose of action, whether you like it or no. Debutante Daisy Shah (Rinky) tries to add a bit of romance to the mix, but fails to look hot in spite of her see-through sarees. The rest of the cast could be easily forgotten except for Tabu (Geeta) who plays Sallu’s elder sister but has no script to deliver her role.

And the same goes for the entire movie. Director Sohail Khan, Salman’s brother, tried to stash in all the ‘hit’ elements without realising that they should be well integrated with an impressive storyline. Every single character stays painfully one-dimensional and we do miss Salman’s timely humour or the impish traits that made him adorable in many of the earlier hits like Wanted, Dabangg, Dabangg 2 and Ek Tha Tiger.

The bottom line: Too much of anything is bad – be it cliché plots, action & gore or the final shirt-ripping, even though you are getting a close view of Bollywood’s fittest star. Unless his character evolves suitably in the future, he may not make the cut in his action avatar alone.

Image: Indiatimes