Mythri Movie Makers and People Media Factory’s Jaat (UA) is the story of a stranger’s (Sunny Deol) fight against a ruthless criminal, Ranatunga (Randeep Hooda), who terrorises the locals in a group of coastal villages. In other words, it is a fight between good and evil. Who is this stranger and why has he decided to end Ranatunga’s rule?
Gopichand Malineni’s story, with additional inputs by M. Vivek Anand, Nimmagadda Srikanth, Srinivas Gavireddy, Mayukh Adithya and Krushna Hari, doesn’t have novelty as one has seen similar stories of good versus evil in many past films. However, the writers have at least attempted to present the routine story differently. The screenplay, written by all of them, is replete with violence-laden scenes. The first half has light moments in the tension-ridden drama, in the scenes in which the stranger (Sunny Deol) keeps repeating why he is insisting on an apology (“Sorry bol“), but at the end of the day, the viewers realise that an entire first half is devoted to just one single point (getting an apology). The post-interval portion has more variation and drama, but there is so much gruesome violence and bloodshed that it will be difficult for ladies, families and classes to sit through the same. The masses may feel thrilled with the way the stranger (Brigadier Balbir Pratap Singh) turns out to be a one-man army, but that section of the audience is limited. Several scenes are repeated, with the result that the drama becomes more unpalatable for a large chunk of the audience. The police station sequence in the second half, in which the stranger kills Ranatunga’s brother (Vineet Kumar Singh) and almost all the police officers of that cop station, is outstanding and will be met with thunderous rounds of applause. The sequences in the pre-interval part in which the stranger goes one after another to meet various people for an apology till he finally reaches Ranatunga, are also wonderful. There are some other scenes too, in which the viewers will clap and whistle but the overall impact of the drama will not be what was needed. Besides, one is talking of applause from just one section of the viewers, but the same applause-worthy scenes will often be considered too heavy and even repulsive by the womenfolk, classes and family audience. The revelation of the true identity of the stranger towards the end is pretty exciting. The climax action is comparatively less impactful because the masses would’ve enjoyed fist fights rather than a gun battle. Also, the climax appears hurried. Saurabh Gupta and Sai Madhav Burra’s dialogues are excellent and clap-worthy at some places, but not consistently so.
Sunny Deol shines as the stranger. He breathes fire into his character and makes his one-man army persona believable by his expressions and stunts. Having said that, it must be added that the action directors and director have given Sunny Deol restricted and limited movements in stunts, which is not the best thing to do. Randeep Hooda is superb as Ranatunga. His acting and action stunts are very effective. Vineet Kumar Singh is terrific as Ranatunga’s younger brother,Somulu. His ‘Ooooo’ sound is entertaining. Regina Cassandra leaves a fine mark as Ranatunga’s wife. Jagapathi Babu breathes fire into the character of Satyamurthi. Ramya Krishna lends dignity to the character of President of India. Saiyami Kher is very natural as police inspector Vijaya Lakshmi. Her voice modulation is lovely. Upendra Limaye is first-rate and will win a lot of applause for his brief appearance. Swarupa Ghosh is menacing as Ranatunga’s mother. Ajay Ghosh is outstanding as Ram Subbah Reddy (father of the prospective bride who insults the prospective groom and his parents). Babloo Prithvi makes his presence amply felt as the bad cop at the police station, who makes fun of the lady police officers after they are humiliated by Ranatunga’s goons. Ravi Shankar has his moments. Vinay Varma is natural to the core as Satyamurthi’s aide. Nithin Mehta leaves a fine mark. Zarina Wahab provides lovely support. Bandhavi is nice as the mentally deranged girl. Mushtaq Khan impresses as the honest police officer. Naga Mahesh is realistic. Nanda Gopal performs effectively. Murali Sharma is good in a brief role. Urvashi Rautela sizzles in song-dance number.
Gopichand Malineni’s direction is good but he has targeted only the masses while alienating the ladies, family and class audience. The emotional appeal of the drama is low. Thaman S.’s music is good but not a single song is of the hit variety. Lyrics (Kumaar for Touch kiya; Amrit Maan for the theme song; Adviteeya Vojjala, Shruthi Ranjani, Kalyan Chakravarthy Tripuraneni for O Rama) are good. Song picturisations (choreographed by Ganesh Acharya, Shobi Paulraj and Jani Master) are rich but seem to have been hurriedly done. Thaman S.’s background music is impactful. Rishi Punjabi’s cinematography is excellent. Ram-Laxman, V. Venkat, Peter Hein and Anl Arasu’s action and stunt scenes are terrific, but they are too gruesome. Like one man’s food is another man’s poison, the action scenes which will be loved by the masses, will be found to be unpalatable by the others (classes, ladies and families). Avinash Kolla’s production designing is lovely. Navin Nooli’s editing is very sharp.
On the whole, Jaat is for the masses only. It will, therefore, work in single-screen cinemas and in small centres but business in multiplexes and big cities will be below the mark. Ladies, families and classes will not like the film. In the final tally, therefore, the film will not be able to do much at the ticket windows and will prove to be a loss-making enterprise. Business in Haryana will be very good for obvious reasons.
Released on 10-4-’25 at Inox (12 shows; in daily 10 shows from 11-4-’25) and other cinemas of Bombay thru AA Films. Publicity: ordinary. Opening: below the mark. …….Also released all over. Opening was dull at most of the places, but it was extraordinary in Haryana.