Jaane Jaan review: A thrilling battle of wits

A must watch for all those who love good cinema

Hyderabad: Japanese author Keigo Higashino’s multiple prize-winning novel ‘Devotion of Suspect X’ has inspired a few films already, the being the Sujay Ghosh directorial ‘Jaane Jaan’. The Netflix Original stars Kareena Kapoor Khan, Vijay Varma and Jaideep Ahlawat whose brilliant performances take the movie to a different level.

Set in the beautiful Kalimpong town, the story begins in a small apartment where neighbours Mrs D’Souza (Kareena), a single mother to 13-year-old Tara (Naisha Khanna) who runs the café ‘Tiffin’, and Naren a.k.a. Teacher (Jaideep) – a math teacher in a local school – go about their day sans any frills and thrills. That is until ASI Ajit Mhatre (Saurabh Sachdeva in a cameo), Maya’s ex-husband, enters into the town and their life.

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At the movie’s outset, we already get to know Teacher’s deep admiration for Maya – depicted quite subtly, though – besides the fact that he’s a math genius. Before Ajit can wreak havoc in their lives, Maya is forced to take control of the situation; the mother-daughter duo end up killing him. The Teacher comes into the picture here, offering his help in disposing off the body saying “I’ll take care of it”. And he does take care of it.

Enters Inspector Karan Anand (Vijay), who is investigating Ajit’s disappearance and traces him to Kalimpong. The cop lands in town and while looking for Ajit, finds the body. His primary suspect is Maya and although she has strong alibis on the day of the murder, he can’t shake away his gut feeling. And still, he has to let her go for lack of evidence against her. As he is about to leave Kalimpong, thanks to carefully timed bits of information, there comes the plot twist.

What happens now? Will Maya and Tara be implicated? Watch the film to know the answers to these questions.

The film is centred on a murder investigation but it’s not a whodunit. Fifteen minutes into the film, there is a murder and we know who is behind it. There’s no suspense in that. Not a typical murder mystery but ‘Jaane Jaan’ is, nevertheless, a thriller at multiple levels: it’s a battle of wits between a sharp police officer and a math wizard; it gives you chilling moments, and you worry for Maya and her daughter. And at times, the plot reminds you of ‘Drishyam’.

Sujoy Ghosh, who has proven his mettle with suspense thrillers like Kahaani, Badla and Blind, showcases his talent in the genre yet again with Jaane Jaan. Considering the extremely talented cast put together for this movie, all the actors are at their best performances wise. But, for once, it is Jaideep Ahlawat who walks away with praise for his extremely balanced portrayal of Naren. Kareena’s Mrs Maya D’Souza is quite graceful and subtle, and shows that the diva has come a long way from being Poo. Seeing Vijay Varma as a good guy is a refreshing change. A must watch for all those who love good cinema.

Title: Jaane Jaan
Streaming on: Netflix
Director: Sujoy Ghosh
Cast: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Vijay Varma, Jaideep Ahlawat, Naisha Khanna, Saurabh Sachdeva