Jigra review: Alia Bhatt’s sparkle can’t save this dull film

‘How do I look ?’, Satya (Alia Bhatt) asks an officer before walking into a room to meet her brother Ankur (Vedang Raina), who has been wrongly implicated in a drug scam on a remote South East Asian island in Jigra. Satya’s relationship with her brother is special. She’s unlike any other sister. Vasan Bala then introduces us to a younger Satya and Ankur, giving us a glimpse into their bond. So, when the story forges ahead to become dark and tense, there is enough foundation for these characters to go ahead and make certain choices.
Alia’s performance in Jigra is a departure from her chiffon-clad avatar in Rocky Rani or even the unfiltered Gangubai. As Satya, she finds material that gives her enough scope to explore new space. Alia’s trajectory in Jigra is terrific. Her scenes of anger don’t feel like she’s playing them out from words printed on paper, but the reactions feel very real and organic.
A lot of this has to do with Bala’s approach to mounting the film. Despite having one of the biggest stars as the face of the film, Bala puts more focus on keeping things simple, which makes the first half more likeable.
On the flip side, Jigra could have been a much better film if the story wasn’t so linear. As an audience, you want to be invested in a revenge drama. Bala starts the film alright, but in no time it starts looking like a one-dimensional exercise to build and create big moments around his lead actress. The brother-sister angle around which the crux of the entire film hangs is so feeble that it doesn’t take too long for the thread to break.

Once the narrative loses steam, and you know where the climax is heading, the film becomes tedious. Supporting characters like Manoj Pahwa have a better written backstory and character arc than Vedang, who is sincere in whatever little (and it’s really not much) is given to him. The last 20 minutes of the climax feels tiring and stretched out to a point where you just want the film to end.
Jigra offers Alia a lot of scope to create some solid moments. But most of the film feels like an exercise to cash in on her star power rather than create an interesting premise around her. My biggest grouse is the fact that we never get to see Alia’s character meet the family that wronged her brother. The film ends on a sentimental note, but emotions can only work if you are invested in the storyline. Jigra is a great addition to Alia’s resume, but as a film it fails to drive home the point.