Jai GangaaJal Movie Review: D?j? Vu Time For 'Gangaajal' Fans

Way back in 2003, Prakash Jha had teamed up with Ajay Devgn to make a power-packed drama named Gangaajal, which revolved around an upright cop with a corrupt subordinate, who takes on a tyrannical MLA and also manages to reform his subordinate with his lectures on truth and justice while dealing with vigilantism in his jurisdiction.

Cut to 2016- Prakash Jha comes up with the same story, right down to the corrupt subordinate and frustrated villagers taking to vigilantism in his latest offering Jai Gangaajal, which also marks Jha's acting debut.

The district of Bankipur in Madhya Pradesh is ruled by the tyrannical MLA Babloo Pandey (Manav Kaul) and his debauched younger brother Dabloo (Ninad Kamat), who often take the help of corrupt cop BN Singh (Prakash Jha) for their dirty dealings.

When Bankipur gets a new Superintendent of Police in the form of Abha Mathur (Priyanka Chopra), the baddies do not take her seriously until she starts talking with her fists and boots and soon makes it clear that she is here to clean up the town. How Mathur deals with the dirty politics played in her jurisdiction with her grit and determination forms the rest of the plot. When BN Singh realizes the error of his ways, he too joins forces with his senior to bring down the bad guys with righteous rage.

Priyanka looks like a million bucks in her tight police uniform and she doesn't let anyone forget it. With her 'supermodel' swagger, her husky voice and her pouty lips, Priyanka makes policing look good, though we missed Rani Mukerji's realistic portrayal of a cop in Mardaani. It seems like Piggy Chops was more focused on looking good in her uniform and her aviators than in making her character seem relatable and credible.

Prakash Jha, who makes his acting debut with this film, has done a decent job and is sure to impress. Notwithstanding the fact that his character more or less resembles that of Mukesh Tiwari's Bacha Yadav, we truly liked Jha for his underplayed intensity and his realistic portrayal of a cop from North India.

Unfortunately, Manav Kaul lacks the gravitas required of a Bollywood baddie and is not an effective villain at all, though Ninad Kamath as the debauched Dabloo Pandey gave us a pleasant surprise with his performance.

The dialogues of the film are powerful enough and might provoke some whistles, while the music has a distinct North Indian flavor but like mentioned earlier, the film will strongly remind you of Gangaajal and this might lead to disappointment, especially for all those, who have seen the aforementioned movie. Both the films had an upright cop, a cynical and corrupt junior, a power-hungry MLA and frustrated villagers, who finally take to vigilantism with the able support of policemen, much to the disapproval of the protagonist.

Maybe Jha felt that having a female protagonist will score brownie points with people, especially in this age of woman empowerment, but in the absence of a fresh story, Jai Gangaajal might not really make much of an impact.