Film Review: Jaane Jaan [Dearest One]

Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Jaideep Ahlawat, Vijay Varma, Saurabh Sachdeva, Lin Laishram, Naisha Khanna, Uditi Singh

Director: Sujoy Ghosh

Filmmaker and screenplay writer Ghosh – known for successful and critically acclaimed directorial ventures such as ‘Kahaani’, ‘Te3n’ and ‘Badla’ – is back with yet another crime thriller in ‘Jaane Jaan’. The movie, which is now streaming on Netflix, presents a gripping story that is sure to keep the viewers hooked from start to finish. 

‘Jaane Jaan’ narrates the story of a single mother, Maya D’Souza (Khan), whose seemingly simple life working at a cafeteria is turned upside down when her ex-husband Ajit (Sachdeva) shows up unannounced and threatens to make a permanent comeback in her life.  

Luckily for Maya, her reclusive but brilliant neighbour – known simply as Teacher (Ahlawat) - steps in to help her out with Ajit’s unexpected comeback and everything that follows. Teacher, who is also Maya’s secret admirer, uses his mathematical genius to come up with a plan using nothing but equations, logic and some legwork. 

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 ‘Jaane Jaan’ is essentially a game of chess between the two main protagonists – Teacher and the police officer assigned to the investigation that pursues, Karan Anand (Varma) – and the moves each makes in a bid to come out on top.  

Ghosh’s film, however, while still entertaining in and of itself, does not necessarily come across as an original storytelling format. Similarities to ‘Drishyam’ and ‘Drishyam 2’ are very striking and obvious which at times dampens the shock effect the director may have hoped for.  

The general cinematography and setting are also unnecessarily dark and dreary, to the point where it hinders the visibility of the film rather than lend itself to the mood. 

A few hiccups here and there notwithstanding, however, Ghosh’s film is a nice entertainer which delivers a gripping story in a fast-paced way. 

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Khan’s performance as a single mother trying to protect her daughter (Khanna) is no doubt powerful, while Alhawat’s nuanced rendering of the introverted genius math teacher is also sure to make a mark. Varma and Khanna also do full justice to the characters they play and prove to be great casting choice which complement the script well.  

Overall, the film is definitely worth a watch.