Movie Review: Jashn

 There are no stars in this film; the script is the biggest winner. It’s a rare story, adapted to today’s times and told with immense sensitivity. At the centre is the sublime story of a brother and his love for his sister; of a sister’s responsibility towards her kid brother who harbors a dream of one day being a singing sensation. A sister, who in the absence of parents takes it upon herself to give the luxuries of life to her sibling. In the bargain, she has to make a huge sacrifice and it takes this very brother of hers to show her the mirror. A relationship so exquisitely portrayed that it’s worth going miles to see.

Around this relationship is told the story of  Akash Verma (Adhayan Suman) who hangs around with his boy band in the hope of one day hearing the applause of the audience in an open-air stadium. He is supported by his sister Nisha (Shahana Goswami) who is the mistress of Aman Bajaj (Humayun Sayeed), an influential industrialist. Aman it is who finances the luxuries of Nisha for a price! Akash is aware of this but is a silent spectator, supporting his sister in her weak moments. Nisha is smitten by Aman but he is a married man.

Akash falls in love with Sara (Anjana Sukhani) who invites brother and sister to her house to visit her family. It turns out that Sara is the sister of Aman. Sara, leaves her family and comes to live with Akash. There are poignant moments between Akash and Sara, which captures their love for each other but nothing matches the finesse with which the brother-sister relationship is established.

Aman becomes the thorn in the flesh for Akash as he is out to wipe any aspirations that he has of making it big by buying out music companies and pushing him to washing toilets in a five-star hotel. But in the end, even the arrogant Aman melts in the face of the love Akash has for his sister. That’s not all; it’s a beautiful moment when Akash calls his sister on stage to receive his award from the hands of Aman.

Debbie from Rock On just rocks. I’m talking about Shahana Goswami. Give this girl any insipid role and she has that God-given ability to make it larger than life. What a performance. Just Wow! Her emotions are not just reflected in her eyes alone. She emotes them in her voice and transfers them into her body. An award-winning performance.

Another performance, which leaves you in awe is that of Humayun Sayeed. Wikipedia tells me that this actor is from across the border. He matches Shahana, emotion for emotion and compliments her in his body language, dialogue delivery and tone of voice. Not once does he react. If producers don’t break down his door, I will be very surprised.

Anjana Sukhani takes time to come into her own and has some beautiful moments with Adhayan.

Now for Adhayan Suman. Jashn is his coming of age. An explosion of emotions. Adhayan displays all with a maturity one never sensed he had. After a disastrous Haal-E-Dil and an average Raaz 2, he impresses with his handling of a sensitive character where it was very easy for any actor to go over the top. Adhayan’s Akash stays in sync with the situation, moving you to tears.

The music is soothing, which adds to the overall appeal of Jashn directed by Raksha Mistry and Hasnain S Hyderabadwala.

This movie will rock! The Bhatts have another winner on their hands.

Rating: 3.5/5

Martin D’Souza

This first appeared on glamsham.com on July 17, 2009