Vasan Bala's prison-break thriller Jigra isn't the first time Alia Bhatt has played an Angry Young Woman. We also saw her take down women bigger in size and even smash a beer bottle on the head of one in Zoya Akhtar's 2019 coming-of-age musical Gully Boy. But Safina's street-style rage was backed by a breach of trust. She loses her temper as soon as she realises her boyfriend Murad (Ranveer Singh) lied to her, further validating her suspicious streak. Lying in love was a deal-breaker for her and reason enough to turn violent. But that volatility, that innate moral code, that vicious bite is glaringly missing in her latest film.

Not Bachchan enough

The motive behind Satya's blinkered angst is to rescue her brother Ankur (Vedang Raina) from a death sentence in a foreign land. “Ankur nahi mar sakta (Ankur can't die),” becomes her mantra, which she chants incessantly like she utters “Shiva” in Brahmastra: Part One or her husband Ranbir Kapoor does “papa” in Animal. She also doesn't have time to emote because her brother is sitting on a ticking time bomb. Alia uses steely stares and a restless gait to convey her single-minded agenda. She comes across as convincing, but Satya as a protagonist has neither the edges nor a strong core to make us root for her like we should for any angry young protagonist.

Early on in the film, when Satya (meaning: truth) confronts a rowdy troublemaker, her new friend, Manoj Pahwa's Bhatia, warns her, “Bach ke nikalna hai, Bachchan nahi banna” (Have to get out unscathed, not turn daring like Amitabh Bachchan). Satya responds, “Ab toh Bachchan hi banna hai (There's no option but to turn into Bachchan now).” That remark, however, comes back to bite her later in the movie when she suggests breaking into prison, and freeing thousands of dangerous convicts in the process, in order to rescue Ankur. When she's warned by another character Muthu that it's not right, she agrees, “Han, sahi nahi hai. But maine kabhi nahi kaha main sahi hu. Main sirf Ankur ki behen hu (Yes, it's not right. But when did I suggest that I'm right? I'm only Ankur's sister here)."

Satya contradicts herself here because she did insinuate that she's Bachchan. And for all his flaws, the Angry Young Man was inseparable with righteous rage. In Namrata Rao's recent docuseries Angry Young Men, screenwriter and co-architect of the Bachchan persona – Javed Akhtar – said that it wasn't a coincidence that the rise of the Angry Young Man coincided with the imposition of the 1975 Emergency by then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. He became the face of the rebellion, the deprived, and the angry because he stared the establishment in the eye. Satya, on the other hand, has no such inclination – her angst stems from her personal protective streak. Period.

Shine a light on that anger

Satya doesn't raise her decibel or go on long rants because again, no time must be wasted on verbosity. She's an orphan so keeps her brother under her wing at all times. After her father died by suicide in front of her in childhood, she can't afford to follow the same path irrespective of how tough the times get. So she keeps all her trauma buried under her duty. That may make Satya a good sister, but certainly not an exciting protagonist. Sample Aarya, played by Sushmita Sen, in Ram Madhvani's gangster show – she's thrown into the deep end as well, commits unpardonable deeds in order to protect her family – till she starts enjoying it and gets penalised for the same. There's a full-blown arc that lends to the excitement of watching a character unfold – there's no unravelling in Satya.

When Satya breaks into happy tears at the end of the film, it's then you realise that she's capable of more than one expression. No doubt it feels earned, but the journey to that end feels extremely laboured. Given her instinctive faculties, Satya is no planner either – which is why Jigra doesn't even make for an engaging or logically coherent escape thriller. If not Bachchan, even the other end of the spectrum – Rannvijay Singh (played by Ranbir) in Sandeep Reddy Vanga's family crime thriller Animal – could evoke both thrills and emotions within the audience, even though the nature of response was negative. The reprehensible character made you squirm – which is still a reaction more carnal and visceral than the cold-blooded vacancy of Satya.

Sandeep could also misappropriate the Bachchan symbol and dub Rannvijay as his Angry Young Man. That still goes well with the filmmaker's politics and filmography. But is Satya the protagonist really reflective of Vasan Bala the director? Both his previous movies – Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota and Monica, O My Darling – have been unadulterated fun and high on adrenaline populated by memorable characters like Jimmy/Mani (Gulshan Devaiah) and Nishikanth Adhikari (Sikandar Kher). Alia's Satya, in contrast, comes across as dull and monotonous. One doesn't want Vasan to keep repeating his genres, but doesn't expect him to sin on the front that defines his cinema.

Both his earlier movies qualify him as a cinephile and a self-proclaimed retro Bollywood buff. Easter eggs and references in passing are peppered over Jigra as well. Even the Bachchan iconography makes sense in some places – Zanjeer song Chakku Chhuriyan playing in the background with Satya and Bhatia planning the escape (with she wearing a Wolverine top no less) or Yari Hai Imaan Mera serving as the anthem for their friendship. Winks like those were tributes enough – the Bachchanisation of Satya seems rather force-fitted. Just like the evergreen sibling song Phoolon Ka Taaron Ka, originally used as an identification mark to reunite long-lost siblings played by Dev Anand and Zeenat Aman in Hare Rama Hare Krishna (1971). It's completely wasted in the context of Jigra.

Even Alia's obsession with protecting her brother is half-hearted. While she claims to slash her nerves just to buy some time with him (I wanted to go all Ranveer Singh in Dil Dhadakne Do and pass a sharper knife to her), she barely gets her hands dirty. When Muthu comes in her way for righteous reasons, she attacks him, but can't eliminate him in all her cold-blooded fury. She gets spared not because she's a mighty protector or a formidable fighter, but because others are kind and unforgiving to her. Imagine a world where everyone turns into Satya? Would there be a Bhatia who takes a bullet for his friend? He's the unsung hero of Jigra, one who deserves his story to be told, instead of the Angry Young Wannabe who thinks the world only revolves around her truth, her satya.

Read Also: Kartik Aaryan lets it out of the bag! Kiara Advani may return for Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3

HOW DID YOU LIKE THIS ARTICLE? CHOOSE YOUR EMOTICON !