Cast: Sai Dharam Tej, Mehreen, Prasanna Kumar, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Eswari Rao
Director: B.V.S. Ravi
Jawaan is not a cop or an Army man, but The Ideal Indian with all the right credentials - RSS man, patriot who puts nation before family and self and prospective defence scientist. Problem is, his friend is not any of these. Indeed Keshav (Prasanna Kumar) wants to steal 'Octopus', a DRDO missile, for Rs 500 crore. Keshav is an old friend, and lands up in the Jai's (Sai Dharam Tej) house. Now, Jai's family is in trouble, so he has quite a bit on his hands. Especially as he does not know that the villain of the piece is in his own house. Jawaan, director B.V.S. Ravi's second offering after his Wanted flopped, belongs to the category of films like the Ram Charan-Aravind Swamy starrer Dhruva where the hero and the villain are intelligent people. The film is about mind games, and the fight director gets a well deserved break.
Ravi starts off well but soon meanders into songs and romance and similar fluff. That kind of leaves him little time for the climax which seems a little rushed. The second half definitely needed more attention. Sai Dharam Tej changes his style and looks authentic, a good change for him from the usual. Prasanna Kumar, known to Tamil audiences, starts an impressive journey in Telugu too as a handsome villain. Mehreen filles in for the songs and romantic scenes. Subba Raju and Kota Srinivasa Rao make their presence felt. In a film of this type, there are the mandatory patriotic dialogues and emotional scenes. Lost under the masala elements is a thriller.
