Cast: Vidya Balan, Shefali Shah, Iqbal Khan and Manav Kaul
Director: Suresh Triveni
Rating: 2/5
Platform: Prime Video
Actor Vidya Balan's latest movie Jalsa is a disappointing thriller that fails to do justice to her abilities. It revolves around a journalist, played by the Paa star, who doesn't hesitate to ask hard questions in her quest for truth. Her life takes an ugly turn following an accident. The rest of the plot deals with the event's impact on her relationship with her maid, played by Shefali Shah.
The plot has shades of the one seen in Drishyam as both films essentially examined the aftermath of a 'crime' while blurring the lines between right and wrong. Jalsa, however, does not reach the standards set by the Ajay Devgn-starrer, a remake of Mohanlal's cult film of the same name, as the execution is all over the place.
The film begins with a chilling sequence that sets the stage for what is to follow. This particular scene has genuine shock value. Things, however, soon go downhill as the screenplay takes too long to build the world of Jalsa. The opening 30 minutes move at their own pace and fail to explore the bonds between the characters, something that Drishyam did quite well. It also fails to do justice to the numerous subplots and secondary characters, which dilutes its impact. The track involving Vidya and Manav Kaul, for example, had plenty of potential but ends up being an afterthought when all is said and done. The same applies to the subplot involving Iqbal Khan.
Jalsa tries to redeem itself with a twist towards the end but it proves to be a case of too little too late.
Coming to the performances, Vidya is the backbone of the film. She emotes brilliantly with her eyes, bringing out the inner conflict faced by her character. Her work in Jalsa is, however, a notch below what she did in Sherni.
Vidya is ably supported by Shefali, who is going through the best phase of her career. She plays a cook/domestic help with effortless ease, hitting the right notes with her body language. She needs to be lauded for taking up a character that is completely different from the ones played by her in Human and Delhi Crime.
Manav is criminally underutilised in what ends up being an insignificant character. Iqbal too deserved a meatier role given the fact that he has a strong screen presence.
Jalsa has no scope for music and the makers rightly avoid stuffing the narrative with songs. This helps in making the narrative more realistic. The cinematography and sound design are in sync with the film's mood
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