What Is The Story About?
ZEE5’s new Hindi language web series ‘Jaanbaaz Hindustan Ke’ centres on a daredevil police officer, Kavya Iyer (Regina Cassandra), who unearths a terrorist conspiracy to smuggle RDX into the country and engineer bomb blasts at crucial locations across India. Will she, along with her boss Mahira Rizvi (Mita Vashisht), and chief hacker Chandan Jha (Chandan Roy), be able to stop the fringe elements from carrying out their devious plans? Jaanbaaz Hindustan Ke is written by Neeraj Udhwani and Ashish P Verma, directed by Srijit Mukherji, and produced by Juggernaut Productions.
Performances?
For Regina Cassandra, Jaanbaaz Hindustan Ke is perhaps her biggest splash in the world of Hindi entertainment. It is a powerful, author-backed role, and the actress has done justice to it. She does need to work on her delivery of dialogue, though. Mita Vashisht is, as usual, a complete natural on screen. Her understated performance lights up the screen manifold. Sumeet Vyas is on a mission to shed his Mr Goody-Two-Shoes image, which is why he’s taken up several antagonist characters in recent times. However, he still has miles to go if he aims to play villainous roles with some conviction. His turn as Tariq, aka Umar Afzal, in Jaanbaaz Hindustan Ke leaves one unmoved and unimpressed.
Barun Sobti is a delight to watch — both for his looks as well as his refined acting skills —in the short time he’s on screen. Chandan Roy proves his acting calibre yet again after Panchayat. He’s a great addition to the cast, and pairs well with Regina Cassandra’s Kavya. Gayathrie Shankar is intriguing as Tariq’s comrade-in-arms. Her screen presence is enough to see her through the meaty role, though her action skills are quite questionable.
Analysis?
Jaanbaaz Hindustan Ke is a reasonably watchable show, though the story is quite predictable. It is also a tad messy and all over the place. The narrative jumps erratically from the North East of the country to Jaipur, Delhi, Dhaka, Karnataka and Kochi, with the sole aim of lending gravitas to a plot that has none.
Additionally, continuity issues, as well as implausible situations, take the edge off what could have been a tighter and infinitely more gripping end product. A massive bomb blast in a hotel room only gives a few broken limbs and superficial bruises to those caught in it. Characters drive down to the Southernmost state of the country at the drop of a hat, and within minutes. All of it makes the narrative seem insipid and shoddy. One only has to look at The Family Man to gauge the difference between a truly enthralling plot, and one that is a half-hearted attempt at generating thrill – such as this show.
Take for instance, the shootout in the first episode of the series. It is so amateurish and unremarkable that it fails to make any kind of impact on the viewer. It makes the police look like clowns instead of well-trained personnel of the Indian police force, stationed in a highly sensitive zone. Likewise, none of the characters displays any kind of urgency or desperation in the face of grave impending disasters, including honchos Kavya Iyer and Mahira Rizvi. The characters just seem to be going through the motions, dispassionate and detached.
For a show that calls itself a thriller, there’s not a single edge-of-the-seat moment in the entire runtime of eight 34-40 minute episodes. The casting is the only impressive part of Jaanbaaz Hindustan Ke. It is an eclectic and talented ensemble cast that the makers have roped in to tell their story.
Akhilesh Jaiswal’s dialogues are pedestrian and uninspiring – a distinct disadvantage in a show where all the characters do a lot of talking – quite a bit of which seems unnecessary. The action scenes are average at best, while the fleeting humour fails to land.
To sum it up, Jaanbaaz Hindustan Ke is an average one-time watch, only for fans of the patriotic action thriller genre.
Music And Other Departments?
DOP Shanu Singh Rajput fails to make the most of the scenic locations that the series is set in. His camerawork is stereotypical of such shows. Satya Sharma and Sumant Sharma’s editing is efficient enough. Arko’s title song ‘Fateh’ is good to listen to, but only just. Roshin Balu’s background music is good, and considerably elevates the otherwise bland storytelling.
Highlights?
None as such
Drawbacks?
Predictable plot
Implausible situations
Amateurish making
Did I like it?
Not so much
Do I recommend it?
Only for die-hard fans of the genre
Jaanbaaz Hindustan Ke Series Review by Binged Bureau
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