Film: Jaatiwad
Cast: Sayaji Shinde, Manoj Joshi, Jitendra Yadav, Akhilesh Verma, Hrishitaa Bhatt
Director: Sabir Sheikh
A low-grade Bollywood potboiler using caste politics as it’s central theme in order to gain mainstream attention, this film has little to offer than its raw, rural appeal. Set in Jaunpur, this film tells a tale of a righteous Robin hood (Jitendra yadav) who uses his might to fight against all sorts of political and caste based oppression. His love for a Muslim girl is set on the backburner so that he can achieve his aim of a casteless society.
Unfortunately too many complications come in his way – the elections to the college unions are on and the local politicians are taking keen interest. So votes are being forced and ballot boxes stolen on counting day. Our hero and his friends of course manage to save the day with his valiant fight back.
The narrative is pounded with audio repeats of the title every few minutes. It’s irritating and completely off-putting. The music, performances and direction are unremarkable. Every aspect is pedestrian here.
Sabir (Karar The Deal) Sheikh is a past master at fashioning a viable product out of the smallest of budgets and this he does with the canny understanding of niche market needs. This film has been cast and designed to appeal to a specific target group. Whether that objective will be achieved is anyone’s guess!
