Movie Review: Jhund

Rating: 3 of 5

Star Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Ankush Gedam, Akash Thosar, Rinku Rajguru

Director: Nagraj Manjule

Nagraj Manjule’s zest to use his voice and achieved medium to tell the stories of the have nots with authenticity, newness and a fresh approach. Amitabh Bachchan backing it all. A dip that the movie takes at the beginning of the second half, but the clever climax saves the day.

Jhund meaning ‘herd’ is about a group of slum dwellers who find a coach in an almost retired college professor Vijay (Amitabh Bachchan). He equips them and introduces them to soccer or football. But like Vijay, is society ready to look at them with dignity and basic respect? Nagraj explores that.

Sports dramas at large in Hindi cinema now are made with a formula, especially the ones that take the team abroad. You exactly know which ones. Nagraj Manjule acknowledges their existence and shapes a movie keeping them in mind. While a majority of the old ones focus on the inception and winning moment, Manjule shows you what exactly happens between that. And as you might have already guessed, this isn’t just a sports drama, but the filmmaker talking about several other issues and giving a voice to ones who don’t have it.

Amitabh Bachchan is one of the most experimental actors we have and the megastar proves his mettle yet again. He isn’t the only driving force and never does he try to be one. The megastar leaving his superstar image aside, takes the backseat when needed and becomes a backbone to the narrative. He lets Nagraj’s world shine more than him and that is his biggest and the best contribution. The way he is still evolving and doing characters that are more varied is how a real actor grows and he is definitely an inspiration to many.

Ankush Gedam is the second-best of them all. The actor has to play the leader of the Jhund and be opposite Big B many times. Call it Mr. Bachchan making him comfortable, or Gedam being brave, not for minute does he look intimidated. Even when he calls Big B Buddha. The actor goes through a complete character transformation and it all looks in his performances.

Akash Thosar gets a very weird cameo though. He appears to create conflicts and they get solved quite easily. Rinku Rajguru in a small yet impactful part proves she is progressing in her journey and becoming a stronger actor by each passing day.

Nagraj Manjule’s world building is very strong. The filmmaker takes his sweet time in doing it. There is no rush. Just like Sairat, he manages to play with the visuals and this time adds colors. He almost makes the members of the Jhund look like aliens because the world is looking at them with that gaze