The pre-intermission scene of ‘Jai Ho’ has Salman Khan mouthing a supposedly hard-hitting dialogue in his trademark style – “Aam aadmi sota hua sher hain… ungli mat kar… jaag gaya toh cheed phaad dega!” – His fans clap, whistle, roar and cheer for the superstar. I genuinely think Salman Khan has a league of his own; his mammoth superstardom is phenomenal. Most other stars need a good director and a decent script (good is rare these days hence I’m sticking to decent). They are also very conscious about their performances. And here is this guy who appears on the screen, plays himself (or 
sleepwalks through his role), bashes up hordes of baddies single-handedly or probably just shake his belt and his fans go crazy. The other such gentleman would be Akshay Kumar but let’s face it – Salman-ia has been at its peak since ‘Wanted’ and ‘Dabangg’. After over a year-long hiatus, Salman is back (after ‘Dabangg-2’). Here’s a trivia – what is common between Salman’s last release and this one? Both are the superstar’s successful attempts at resurrecting his two brothers’ careers – both of whom don’t have the slightest idea about either acting or direction.
Yet another remake of a South Indian film (Telegu film ‘Stalin’ which itself was inspired from ‘Pay It Forward’), ‘Jai Ho’ has Salman playing Jai – an ex-army officer who wants to make the world a better place to live in. He is an aam aadmi like us yet, you might wonder how he can thrash all the villains like a superhero. He begins a thought – you help a person and he doesn’t say you ‘thank you’; instead he helps three other people someday and ask them to continue the chain. Though not original, a noble thought indeed (Doesn’t it remind you of Network Marketing?)! But, ‘Jai Ho’ ends up as just another revenge saga when Jai angers a corrupt Home Minister (Danny Denzongpa) by beating up his guys and son-in-law.
To give its due where it deserves, ‘Jai Ho’ makes a point unlike most Salman Khan Starrers and other commercial potboilers these days. This could have really been a nice flick had it rested on a competent director’s shoulders. But… Director (?!?) Sohail Khan seems to just 
cash in on his brother’s exceptional superstardom. He could have as well taken a crash course on direction before filming ‘Jai Ho’ (whatever keeps him busy even if he has no work!). His work here is as bad as his previous directorial attempts. We should thank our stars he didn’t make an appearance here. But hang on… he has a whole bunch of people who are out of work – they are the supporting cast in a film which doesn’t require anyone but only Salman to pull the crowd. Not that we expect a script in a movie like this, but the writing is too lazy. Sohail Khan tends to emotionally manipulate you by focusing on the plight of the common people – what you may not want to understand is the need to draw your attention to or rather exploit a handicap, a little girl begging on the street helplessly or even show another little girl without a hand. Jai’s character itself, appears to be a confused mishmash between Munnabhai and Chulbul Pandey aka Dabangg. The love track wasn’t at all needed here; add to that, there is no chemistry between the leads. Music by Sajid-Wajid and Devi Sri Prasad (from down South) is stale and tuneless. The action is what is in vogue these days. Salman makes it look really good.
Salman Khan does what he is best at – playing himself. He fights, dances, fights, shouts, fights, fights, snarls, fights, dances and in this one, he goes a step ahead and roars quite often, badly imitating a lion (or may be a tiger) proving yet again he isn’t conscious about his lack of acting abilities; he doesn’t need it. This time, he even bites the villains. Oh yes, his fans will be happy to know that he takes off his shirt too in the climax. It’s an enjoyable performance but not half as good as Chulbul Pandey in ‘Dabangg’. Newcomer Daisy Shah 
is one of those actresses whom girls see and wonder how someone like her can be cast in a movie. Very plain and average to look at, her performance is the next bad thing to debut since that girl’s in ‘Besharam’ (Damn… I forgot her name but I still remember the disaster I watched!). It’s a pity to watch an actress like Tabu in a flimsy role as the hero’s sister. It’s also a pity that she must have had no option but to choose a role when hardly anything comes her way. Danny Denzongpa is okay in a small role yet the main villain. And then, there is the bunch of out-of-work people – Sunil Shetty, Aditya Pancholi, Sharad Kapoor, Mukul Dev, Vatsal Seth, Ashmit Patel, Nauheed Cyrusi, Tulip Joshi, Mohnish Bahl, etc. Sohail Khan surely understands the plight of an actor without work if not about the common man. Genelia, Mahesh Manjrekar and Pulkit Sharma (last seen in ‘Fukrey’) are wasted. Ditto for the remaining cast!
Watch it or not: A must-watch for Salman Khan fans. That’s what fans are there for! Others can watch it if you don’t mind some mindless, lazy but quite a good entertainment.
At the Box-Office: Blockbuster! A Salman Khan movie after a year-long hiatus – it will add up to the craze and numbers will pour in! 100 cr Domestic BO will be easily crossed. Whether or not it makes it to the 200 cr club is what remains to be seen. Business in single screens will be much better. Salman is a hero of the masses!
My Verdict: Much in the spirit of the movie, it ends with Salman showing three fingers to a huge crowd. I wondered if he was indicating his fans not to thank him but to bring three other people the next time they watched it. Jai Ho!
My Verdict
My Rating
1 for a few power-packed scenes and 1 for Salman Khan – a superstar who can rise above a poor movie and script.
