‘Jigra’ review: Sister act simply does not fly

The gobsmacking things that go on in Jigra, particular in its last hour, might have worked in a spy thriller. But we’re not in Mission: Impossible – Courage Unleashed. We are in a Hindi movie, where we expect the creators to lay out the emotional bricks for the plot before leaping off the roof.

Why make a film about an unshakeable sibling bond and remix the Raksha Bandhan standard Phoolon Ka Taron Ka if you aren’t planning to wring out the tears? Where are the heart-tugging moments that convince us that when a young man is jailed in a foreign prison, his sister will move heaven and earth to rescue him?

Vasan Bala’s Jigra is a retooling of Mahesh Bhatt’s Gumraah (1993), itself ripped off from the Australian television series Bangkok Hilton. Jigra has the cool mien favoured by contemporary filmmakers as well as their elephantine memory for older movies and Hindi film songs. The Quentin Tarantino-style referencing, quoting and anachronistic use of music has worked well for Bala in the past, but in his new movie provides only needless padding.

Satya (Alia Bhatt) is fiercely protective of her younger brother Ankur (Vedang Raina). When Ankur is convicted of carrying drugs in a fictitious country, Satya straps on her invisible armour and devotes everything to saving him.

Hanshi Dao, which is a...

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