Jal Movie Review: Doesn't Quench Thirst

The adage is age old but always holds relevance - Never judge a book by its cover, never trust a film to be as striking as its promo. This is what turns out to be the case for Jal which, after boasting of a terrific promo, turns out to be an average dramatic affair that could possibly have restricted itself to being a documentary or a short feature. The very premise, that of water shortage, could well have worked had it played in the background. But then the very fact that it actually stays on in front right through its over two hour duration turns out to be overbearing in rather quick time, hence leaving one restless.

What mainly pegs the film down is the fact that it appears to be way too cautious around catering to both Indian as well as international audience. In the process, at times it gets over dramatic, at others it tries metaphorical references, on other moments it tries to play subtle while in a different mood, it aims at bringing in some hardcore Bollywood elements. Due to these shifts in narrative, what one gets to see is a never ending affair that even comes close to meandering big time, especially in the first half of the film.

So on one end Purab Kohli is proclaimed as this God in the Rann of Kutch who can predict spots of water availability, on other he is ridiculed or made fun of by the same set of villagers. Fluctuation from being a demi-God to a simpleton isn't quite seamless and in fact for around first 30 minutes of the film, he is almost in the background with Yashpal Sharma (as a guide) holding center-stage. With a Russian woman (Saidah Jules) entering the scene, you expect some major twists in the tale but then her exit is hurried which somehow acts as a speed breaker in a plot that was just building up.

It is this entire build up exercise that almost consumes the entire first half of the film and though there are romantic elements being added (with Tannishtha Chatterjee as Purab's silent admirer and Kirti Kulhari bring his dushman gaon ki beloved') here, the interest level stays on to be barely optimum. Meanwhile many other characters are introduced, right from Purab's best friend, a government official, Saidah's colleagues from the West and a jealous admirer of Kirti (Mukul Dev) but somehow the while package still doesn't grip you entirely.

Thankfully, the story does come into force in the second half of the film with a water expedition gone wrong and a murder taking place. Though the narrative is a tad slow moving here as well but then the plot is interesting enough to keep you engaged for most part of it. The state of affairs stay sad though, well literally, and while the finale is expected to be moving, the overall impact has been well diluted by then.

What stay on to be major strengths of the film are cinematography and music. However both are overdone in the film with visuals overpowering the story telling number of times, especially in the first half, and coming across as unwanted distraction. On the other hand the background score tries to tell a story on its own at number of interesting junctures, where one would have rather heard dialogues fit in.

The performances are decent to good though the spoken word of diction continues to fluctuate from being authentic to filmy, at times (surprisingly) within a single scene. Purab is good though at times he doesn't quite appear to be the character he is playing. Kirti gets a good role for herself though one just wishes her character was stronger. Tannishtha is as usual in her Road, Movie' and Gulaab Gang avtar. Saidah is just about passable. Ravi Gosain, as Purab's friend, is good while Yashpal Sharma, expectedly, is the pick of the lot despite inconsistency in his characterization.

The film requires a lot of patience and is only for those who are fond of watching cinema that do their bit as an educational exercise.