Jil entertainment nil

There’s a wonderful idea. And then there’s a wonderfully executed idea. ‘Jil’ is a film that desperately wants to fall in the latter category but sadly settles for the first.

Before telling you what the hits and misses of this film are, let’s brief you with the story outline. Jai (Gopichand) is an official from the fire department. A chance meeting with a certain Ranganath (Brahmaji) brings him in to a web of tussle that ultimately results in confrontation with the terror-inducing Chota Nayak (Kabir).

In the midst of all this is an engaging saga of his love with Savithri (Raashi Khanna).

‘Jil’ has a tale to tell, or so it feels. Director Radha Krishna tries to establish a factor of mystery throughout the first half but ends up leaving a vague confusion in the minds of the viewer. ‘What happened till now’ is the question that looms in the mind. There’s hope that the second half will make things easier to understand. But several lose ends and lack of clarity with regards to the conflict makes this a sour affair. An interesting twist towards the end is the only high in the entire film.

What’s first-rate is the picturisation of songs. While Sakthi Saravanan’s camera does justice to the colours, the direction is as fresh as daisies. However, at this juncture, definite thumbs up should be given to music director Ghibran who scored some youthful, peppy numbers that give us the invigorated and buoyant feels. But sadly, they are haphazardly inserted, thus making it look vague in the end.

While a lot was said about Gopichand’s new look, it didn’t catch our fancy as all eyes were on Raashi. It would be an understatement to say she looked gorgeous because ‘Jil’ captured the actress in her best avatar till date. Added to that is a screen space which is ample – though it does no justice to her acting abilities. Gopichand is the fearless ‘fire officer’ who doesn’t hesitate to show his emotional side. It’s nice to see that the machismo, a typical Telugu cinema hero is identified with, is subdued in this flick. Except for a couple of quirky lines, the writing doesn’t give him scope for powerful dialogue delivery.

Kabir, who plays the baddie, is a stylish villain you wouldn’t hate. Except when he is smashing people’s brains out, you are sure to wonder who his stylist is. He wears suspenders for his introduction scene and even with blood strewn all over his face, his looks shout out sheer perfection. Also, his role gives him an opportunity to showcase his acting prowess.

If coupled with an intense and gripping screenplay, ‘Jil’ that has decent performances by its cast and delightful music, could have been a potential engaging entertainer. But sadly, it falls short of all that. You may partially like this if you have a thing for commercial cinema but even then, you’ll be left wanting more.

Pranita Jonnalagedda