Jawan prevue ! The good, the bad and the ugly of Shah Rukh Khan – Beyond Bollywood

The prevue appears to present different shades to SRK in a high-octane action-packed Atlee film. From Darkman to Deadpool, the Hollywood inspirations are hard to miss.  SRK is perhaps leading a gang of girls. Jeez, female assassins also rekindle memories of Muammar Ali Gaddafi’s Amazonian bodyguards.

By Mayur Lookhar

The teaser or title announcement was out last year, but it drew mixed response. One of the criticisms was that SRK, face covered in bandage, was compared with Liam Neeson’s Darkman [1990].  Few months later, came the news that Jawan [2023] was going to be delayed. The film will now release on 7 September. Actor-producer Shah Rukh Khan has finally released the Jawan prevue today.

Prevue is perhaps a fancy word but the meaning still remains the same – i.e. teaser. However, at 2 minutes, 12 seconds in duration, can it really be called a teaser? How does this prevue fare though?

Pathaan [2023] was a gigantic success, a career redefining film for Shah Rukh Khan. It propelled him from King of hearts to King of Guns.  So, Jawan was naturally going to be an extension to that all-new brand SRK. An action thriller directed by a top young South director Atlee.  Jawan leverages brand SRK like never before.

There is reference to SRK’s Raj avtaar frok Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge [1995]. Brand King Khan is optimized through a rapid soundtrack by Anirudh. Then the probability of Khan playing both the hero and also the villain is risky but exciting. “Jab main villain bana hun, acche acche hero bhi nahi tiktey” (Each time I played a villain, no hero could stand up to me). These words rekindle memories of Khan’s grey characters in films like Darr [1993], Anjaam [1994].

In short, we get to see the good clean-shaven, sexy SRK. The bad is perhaps the half-ashen face Khan with the hairdo reminding of Krrish.  The ugly is the mummy-faced, later revealed to be a bad and bald Khan. 

Early visuals from the prevue suggest that perhaps this Jawan was born among a cult. Some nasty thing happened. Years later, the character perhaps served in the Indian Armed Forces and later formed a vigilante group, where he is the chief and the only man. The likes of Nayanthara, Sanya Malhotra, Deepika Padukone, Sanjeeta Bhattacharya all appear to be part of this group. Nayanthara is the leading heroine while Padukone has a guest appearance. Women assassins serving one man also rekindle memories of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi’s Amazonian bodyguards.

We get a sense that SRK’s protagonist character, and his women assassins, have taken up vigilantism for the safety of all women, including those oppressed regularly. Is the story here anyway remotely related to the controversial, rapist godmen?

Vijay Sethupathi has a brief appearance in the prevue. We all thought that he is the main villain, but the bald SRK puts us in a bind.

The trailer is fast-paced, full of action, guns, gun-toting women and loads of brand SRK.  The bald SRK singing in a train holding knives is so Deadpool-like.

If you are a die hard SRK fan, naturally you will love the prevue. And to be fair to SRK, Atlee, this prevue is certainly more appealing than the first teaser/title announcement.  The high-octane action is for the masses, but there is an intrigue around the story/stories and the different shades to SRK in Jawan.

It’s never easy to say whether this will be a winner, but trust social media to be abuzz with Jawan prevue tales for the next few days. 

Watch the Jawan prevue below.