Despite some familiar bits, the premise of Jalsa, involving a hit and run accident, is interesting

Nonika Singh

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AN upright journalist Maya Menon (Vidya Balan), a devoted maid Rukhsana (Shefali Shah) and their lives are intertwined not just as a matter of convenience, but by virtue of care and concern for each other. A hit and run accident involves a young girl and suddenly everything turns topsy-turvy. Jalsa, quintessentially about ethical dilemmas, serves us grey shades that define most of us, not just its lead character.

In the initial rushes, we see a resolute and consummate Vidya Balan as Maya conducting an interview, grilling her guest, retired judge Gulati, making him squirm with some discomfiting questions. She is righteous…Perhaps we all are when judging others. But while, we don’t pause even for a moment while throwing others under the bus…Do we uphold our own conduct by the same exalting standards? It is a question that has no easy answers.

The film opens like a thriller. A young girl is out in the late night hours with her boyfriend. His amorous advances lead to her flight from the railway bridge. As she comes out on the road from nowhere, a speeding car hits her. Who is she and more importantly who is the driver? Soon aces of the game are laid out. Who has hit whom…is not a mystery, but who all get involved sure is. As is who is paying whom for the cover up? There is a cop on the verge of retirement and a rookie journalist working in the same portal as Maya, both investigating the case at their own ends.

In more than one film, we have seen how everyone in this amoral world has a price. More than once the skewed dynamics of master servant tie (most recent example was The White Tiger), too has been projected on the silver screen. But, things do not take a sinister turn here.

Despite some familiar bits, the premise of Jalsa is interesting and explores a complex reality and takes us into the quagmire of morality. As we see Maya grappling with her conscience and guilt, her predicament is relatable. The narrative, however, struggles with how to wrap up the complications at hand. As it is, it opens many issues including societal censure that constantly judges the fair sex. In this case the refrain is: why should a girl be out at ungodly hours?

Finally, it reaches a point where we think denouement is in order. Rukhsana is face to face with the truth. Shefali Shah is exemplary in the concluding moments, mirroring the mixed bag of emotions; anger, hurt and revenge.

Final act has the necessary momentum in an otherwise slow-burn film and ups the exciting scale. Only, the anticlimax is rather predictable.

Nevertheless, the director Suresh Triveni of Tumhari Sulu-fame keeps you invested and often on the edge. Cinematographer Saurabh Goswami’s camerawork adds to his vision. And actors make it even more watchable. Both Shefali Shah and Vidya Balan put in remarkably nuanced performances. Rohini Hattangadi, Manav Kaul and Iqbal Khan impress in respective cameos. The child actor Surya Kasibhatla as cerebral-palsy afflicted Akshay, mouths some mature lines and pitches in a mature act. Streaming on Amazon Prime, Jalsa is a fine portrait of moral quandary…Even if the resolution is a tad simplistic.