Jail (2009)

Disappointment for a huge fan!

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

One of those movie experiences that is so good it makes you realize you've been grading everything else on a curve.

The premise of this film is one that the average individual must have seen once of twice in their lifetime (in the wildest dreams/nightmares). Mr A and Mr B are traveling along when suddenly they are stopped by the police. Mr A (a law abiding citizen who just got promoted at work and is engaged to his girlfriend another happy-go-lucky individual) is instructed by Mr B (his shady room-mate) to outrun the cops but when they are caught, Mr B tries to make a run for it and is shot leaving Mr A at the mercy of the police who soon find a stash of illegal drugs in the vehicle. This is the sort of thing that everybody prays never happens to them. I kept having the feeling that this was 'Ek Haseena Thi' with a male protagonist but as the movie progressed I saw that while it had shades of the afore mentioned film then again it was so much more. The movie carries the message of false imprisonment and illegal conduct that takes place in India (I can't remember the exact statistic but it was something like 70%-80% of inmates in Indian jails are either men or women taking the fall for someone else or still awaiting trial for a crime that they have yet to be convicted of). Neil Nitin Mukesh proves once again with this one that he is not only an actor, he is a serious one. Mugha Godse seemed disinterested in her role and it showed but not enough to take away from the film.

Madhur Bandarkar returns after the very commercial n decent FASHION with JAIL which is yet another attempt of his to show realismThe film depicts how an innocent faces problems in a jail and several other characters tooThe film starts off well and keeps you engrossed though there are several stock characters and the film does get predictable but you are engrossed and the film is well handled by MadhurDirection by Madhur is good Music is okayNeil excels in his part and conveys it all very well Mughda is good Arya Babbar finally shows he has potential Rahul Singh is good too Manoj Bajpai returns after the flop JUGAAD.etc with a flawless performance

With Jail, Madhur Bhandarkar continues his take on reality. This time, he looks behind the closed bars of a jail to look at the stories that reside there.Parag Dixit (Neil Nitin Mukesh), a financial whiz- makes money by the plenty and lives life to the fullest with his air-hostess girlfriend Mansi (Mugdha Godse) in tow. Unfortunately for him, his roommate turns out to be a drug peddler and operates without his knowledge. The police catch Neil and accuse him of co-conspiring with his roommate, who lies in an ICU, in a coma.Falling prey to the notoriously slow judicial system, Parag ends up in jail, still pending trial. How he handles this new environment, and the stories of other individuals that inhabit the world behind bars, makes up the crux of the story.The basic premise of 'Jail' is one that can be claimed to have been lifted from a Jeffrey Archer novel, or the countless masala movies that are churned out of Bollywood every year. Where it differs is in the portrayal of the jail, forever consigned to be fairly open cells housing 1-2 prisoners, 'Jail' shows them for being what they really are. But unlike some of his earlier ventures, the exposes and the inside look ends there. There is nothing new that Madhur uncovers here: the underworld, the wrongfully-in-jail characters, the politicians holding court have all been seen before. Another problem is that the characters are too stereotypical. The good boy, the bhai's henchman, the gay couple seem out of a story and not real life. And that is where 'Jail' falters.Madhur Bhandarkar is known for his brilliant direction that keeps us motivated to sit through potentially depressing themes and stories. While this is his least depressing venture till date, he fails to deliver the same brilliant speed and sense as always.Neil Nitin Mukesh does a good job of portraying Parag, the man who is wrongfully incarcerated. It takes an immensely brave man to take up a role which is so challenging in nature. He's on screen for more than 90% of the screen time, going through so many different emotions, and also the much-talked about nude scene. He makes Parag believable. Kudos to Neil.Mugdha Godse gets very less scope as Mansi, but manages to do a decent job. Manoj Bajpayee as Parag's sympathizing co-inmate is the narrator of the movie, but somehow gets only a perennially sad expression to work with. He manages to still pitch in a good performance. His performance in the flashback sequence is his high point. This has to be expected though, with the film showcasing and focusing on Neil throughout.The music in 'Jail' is simply there to make up the numbers. Even the legendary Lata Mangeshkar's 'Daata Sun Le', though rendered as well as her songs are, could have been done without. 'Bareily ke Bazar mein' is absolutely useless placement wise and is only just bearable in terms of song quality.Kalpesh Bhandarkar captures the jail well on screen, giving the viewer as if he's looking at a sea of humanity and brings home the gruesomeness of the jail. Nitin Desai should bag the award for the best art direction unless a Sawariya or Devdas like set comes up in the movies coming up in the next month. The jail is incredibly well etched out, right down to the wall carvings.Final Verdict: Overall, Jail is only slightly above average. Watch it on the big screen only if you must. Wait for a TV release in my opinion.

If any one can depict a "bewildered" "why-me?" look, that would be clearly-Neil Nitin Mukesh as Parag Dixit. The look is familiar since his Debut in "New York". He takes the look further with some depth and dexterity under the baton of Madhur Bhandarkar. The other good actor is Arya Babbar-as Kabir. The look he gives when Parag tells him, that he could kill, is fine piece of acting. Mughda Godse's who made her Debut in "Page 3", as Parag's fiancé has acting skills akin to Konkana Sen Sharma, with buxom expressive eyes. The movie has a thriller quality to it with sub-plots that keep you on the edge. Manoj Bajpai as Nawab, comes across like a Halloween scary character on the surface appears to have a devious agenda but he is one character that the viewer will have most sympathy for-even though he is in for a serious crime. He also has the best diction for narration in fact he should have narrated the whole movie as Morgan Freeman did in "Shashank Redemption". The movie has few similarities to "Shashank Redemption" but the similarities are more generic since the theme is a Jail irrespective of the geography. Madhur Bhandarkar has a flair for showing the raw-edge of the society, where as the other film makers would shun away from. He is one of the best self made "Casting Agent" in India. He would never hire meat-head actors like Salman Khan, Aamir Khan who have absolutely nothing to offer to the Indian Cinema.Bhandarkar,invariably has a deep message ("behind bars but not beyond justice") as in "Traffic Signal", "Chandini Bar" "Satta" and other fine movies. I am sure he has other "Themes" in the pipeline that would wake up the Society from Slumber. Suffice to say, I have become a devote fan of this director-more so after this movie.