Jai Bolo Telangana Review

One of the proven ways to make someone take you seriously is by displaying supreme intellect or outwitting him in a battle of talent. Another way, of course, is by getting your 7-year-old kid to threaten him with powerful lines like "Kallu peektha; kalla tho goteeladtha"; a philosophy that Jai Bolo Telangana strongly advocates.

Jai Bolo Telangana has been in the news because of its issues with the censors, who apparently thought the movie could flame passions and trigger law-and-order problems in the state. Plus, KCR reportedly shot a few scenes for for it (which he did not - the film features only his TV footage). Which is all good, since this one needs all the PR it can get. Nothing else can save it.

Actually, make that, nothing can save it.

A disastrous venture, Jai Bolo Telangana consists of a love story set in the backdrop of the Telangana agitation - the plan, it appears, was to portray a Veer-Zaara/Salim-Anarkali kind of romance in the backdrop of great sacrifices. Instead, what you have is a silly romance in a largely unidimensional flick. The script itself lacks creativity: it has been pieced together from what you already knew of the Telangana agitation from TV, and stitched up with generic protagonists and standard-issue slogan-shouting.

JBT is mostly an amateur production that lacks in basic thought in writing. A zillion scenes depicting the "utter neglect of Telangana" and the region's "exploitation by evil politicians and industrialists" don't help matters. This is because the film doesn't have any depth beyond the oft-repeated "Telangana will progress if it is a separate state" line - there's zero reasoning to show us how things will get better as claimed.

Overall, what Shankar seems to be talking about is how Hyderabad is so much more developed than interior Telangana, and thus becomes nothing different from a rural-vs-urban divide - the socio-economic imbalance that rapid urbanization brings in any part of the world. What, then, is Shankar's idea of the agitation? Is it the Telangana commoner's battle to break away from the big city and set up his own state flourishing in its own commerce and governance? Or is it the Telangana villager's struggle to assert his identity and celebrate his glorious culture?

Neither - logical analysis of any degree is way beyond the scope of what is essentially a B-grade flick that revels in its own shallowness. All the film manages to show about the Telangana movement is mobs of students breaking into protests, violent dialogues, Jagapati Babu (his 15-minute role comprises different scenes of him playing 3 "freedom fighters" over 3 generations) screaming his guts out, Smriti Irani in a Gandhi-esque role, and voices of recent leaders. On the other side, the villains are the caricaturish leaders and businessmen out to protect insane amounts of money invested in the region.

And all the film can do showcase the culture of the region is to include a few token festivals and throw in some jargon. That's a lot of rich cinematic material - and potential to endear viewers - thrown down the drain. The accent, though, is intact.

The lead pair romancing away in the middle of all the commotion is quite talented. Jagapati Babu, however, hams away. Smriti Irani is given a lot of screen space but her character is rendered ridiculous towards the end, diluting the already insipid story. In general, everyone is in a badly-written role, and the performances are pretty uninspired. AVS helps matters somewhat.

Chakri's music and some well-picturized songs are the film's key strengths. Indeed, there should have been more folk numbers and probably a lot more of Gaddar, to up the mood, instead of mere sloganeering.

Whatever you're looking for, JBT adds no value to your time, and should be stayed away from for best results.