Mumbai: It is a film that has been long in the making with several hiccups, including the 'much-in-the news' break-up between Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif, leading to a delay in its release. Notwithstanding the inordinate delay in its making, 'Jagga Jasoos' bowls you over with its intriguing drama with a 'fantasical' feel , an engaging tale of a father-son relationship and its sweet melody.
Orphaned at birth, Jagga (Ranbir Kapoor) is growing up in hospital when he is adopted by Tooti Footi Bagchi (Saswata Chatterjee), a witness in the Purulia arms drop case. Bagchi takes him to his place. However, within a few days, he gets Jagga admitted into a boarding school and disappears mysteriously, leaving Jagga alone again.
Years elapse and Bagchi does not return and Jagga’s only connection with him are the annual wishes which the latter sends him on his birthday Jagga grows up in the boarding. Unsolved mysteries intrigue him and he begins helping the local police inspector in solving cases.
One day, Jagga meets Shruti Sengupta (Katrina), a journalist who has written a couple of articles against illegal arms trading. Shruti , who is working on an arms story, is framed for a crime she didn’t commit, and Jagga bails her out. Shruti is so indebted to Jagga for coming to her rescue that she promises to help him if he ever needed her. One day, Jagga gets the news that Bagchi is dead.
Intelligence officer Sinha (Saurabh Shukla), for whom Bagchi used to work, had actually ordered his men to kill Bagchi after he (Bagchi) had delivered a VHS cassette which would expose the illegal arms dealers. Meanwhile, Jagga gets a clue which convinces him that Bagchi isn’t dead. He takes Shruti and goes to foreign land Mombaka in search of Bagchi. The rest of the film is about Shruti and Jagga's search for his father and unravelling the mystery as to where did his father go. The story of a son solving the mystery of his missing father may be nothing new .
However, what makes 'Jagga Jasoos' unique is its innovative style of storytelling. In the very beginning of the film, Bagchi is shown explaining to Jagga, who stammers while speaking, that those who stammer while talking don’t stammer while singing, and so, he should sing to express himself uninhibitedly. So, Jagga is shown to be singing more than talking. The film has thus been narrated in an operatic style. This, together with its brilliant cinematography and its breathtaking locations, lend a 'fantastical feel' to it.
In fact, the film seems straight out of 'comic book' mysteries and adventures like Tintin and Sherlock Holmes that many of us have grown up on. The intriguing mystery of the disappearance of Bagchi and the arms racket keeps the viewer engaged throughout the length of the film though it seems a bit stretched in the second half. The direction by Anurag Basu is brilliant with its unique narrative style of an out and out musical making it seem like a Hollywood film.
The music by Pritam is excellent. By effortlessly putting the dialogues with the music, he has justified the film's premise of being a musical. The song 'Galti se mistake' is the highlight of the film. The cinematography is another USP of the film with picturesque shots of the North east . After 'Azab prem ki gazab kahani' and 'Ae Dil Hae Mushkil', Ranbir comes up with another classy act as Jagga. As the stammering yet sharp youngster, he has an enduring presence in the film. He also makes the audience laugh with his animated expressions. As the school teacher Shruti Katrina does a fine job. She comes across as cute with her amateurish yet successful attempts at investigation.
Saswata Chatterjee is brilliant as Tuti-futi Bagchi and is one of the highlights of the film. Saurabh Shukla , however, fails to impress as the antagonist. The rest of the cast does a fine job. In a nutshell, 'Jagga jasoos ' is a 'fantasical' drama taking the viewers on a musical adventure ride. Rating : 4.5/5: one for the unique screenplay that brilliantly enterwines the dialogues with music, one for Anurag Basu's direction, one for Pritam's Music, one for Ranbir's classy act and 0.5 for the cinematography.