Pretty Good

Absolutely Brilliant!

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Considering most of the Bollywood films with imaginary stories, songs as well as dance sequences in the gardens, I was pretty much reluctant for this movie. But happened to see it on TV. Really impressive work, later found out the director is Madhur Bhandarkar, no doubt there are really very few directors to create such kind of magic.Very real and strong script, with superb direction. The movie progresses stage by stage with a charm. It was such a treat to watch this movie. Loved every part of it and the best part is touching one of the most sensitive areas in India. Never had so much sympathy for Indian jail convicts so far. This is for sure a movie of international standards.A must watch.

Madhur Bandarkar returns after the very commercial n decent FASHION with JAIL which is yet another attempt of his to show realismThe film depicts how an innocent faces problems in a jail and several other characters tooThe film starts off well and keeps you engrossed though there are several stock characters and the film does get predictable but you are engrossed and the film is well handled by MadhurDirection by Madhur is good Music is okayNeil excels in his part and conveys it all very well Mughda is good Arya Babbar finally shows he has potential Rahul Singh is good too Manoj Bajpai returns after the flop JUGAAD.etc with a flawless performance

Madhu Bhandarkar in this movie brings out some remarkable characters and one of them is Kabir. Shown as the pawn of a Baba Bhai, a mean character with overbearing friendliness. He turns to help the protagonist just to have him recruited in the Mafia. There is another character of Ghalib who pleads money from another inmate for his mother's operation and uses it to bribe his way to freedom. This movie is full of such characters who are good and bad at the same time.The movie begin slowly and picks up pace later, you almost feel bored with the predictable turn of events initially, only when the jail life begins to settle in the real plot unfolds. Also the later part in which the protagonist is released is probably added to soothe the moviegoer. The fees of a lawyer were probably hugely padded with 75K of one hearing for a lower court is unheard off.

With Jail, Madhur Bhandarkar continues his take on reality. This time, he looks behind the closed bars of a jail to look at the stories that reside there.Parag Dixit (Neil Nitin Mukesh), a financial whiz- makes money by the plenty and lives life to the fullest with his air-hostess girlfriend Mansi (Mugdha Godse) in tow. Unfortunately for him, his roommate turns out to be a drug peddler and operates without his knowledge. The police catch Neil and accuse him of co-conspiring with his roommate, who lies in an ICU, in a coma.Falling prey to the notoriously slow judicial system, Parag ends up in jail, still pending trial. How he handles this new environment, and the stories of other individuals that inhabit the world behind bars, makes up the crux of the story.The basic premise of 'Jail' is one that can be claimed to have been lifted from a Jeffrey Archer novel, or the countless masala movies that are churned out of Bollywood every year. Where it differs is in the portrayal of the jail, forever consigned to be fairly open cells housing 1-2 prisoners, 'Jail' shows them for being what they really are. But unlike some of his earlier ventures, the exposes and the inside look ends there. There is nothing new that Madhur uncovers here: the underworld, the wrongfully-in-jail characters, the politicians holding court have all been seen before. Another problem is that the characters are too stereotypical. The good boy, the bhai's henchman, the gay couple seem out of a story and not real life. And that is where 'Jail' falters.Madhur Bhandarkar is known for his brilliant direction that keeps us motivated to sit through potentially depressing themes and stories. While this is his least depressing venture till date, he fails to deliver the same brilliant speed and sense as always.Neil Nitin Mukesh does a good job of portraying Parag, the man who is wrongfully incarcerated. It takes an immensely brave man to take up a role which is so challenging in nature. He's on screen for more than 90% of the screen time, going through so many different emotions, and also the much-talked about nude scene. He makes Parag believable. Kudos to Neil.Mugdha Godse gets very less scope as Mansi, but manages to do a decent job. Manoj Bajpayee as Parag's sympathizing co-inmate is the narrator of the movie, but somehow gets only a perennially sad expression to work with. He manages to still pitch in a good performance. His performance in the flashback sequence is his high point. This has to be expected though, with the film showcasing and focusing on Neil throughout.The music in 'Jail' is simply there to make up the numbers. Even the legendary Lata Mangeshkar's 'Daata Sun Le', though rendered as well as her songs are, could have been done without. 'Bareily ke Bazar mein' is absolutely useless placement wise and is only just bearable in terms of song quality.Kalpesh Bhandarkar captures the jail well on screen, giving the viewer as if he's looking at a sea of humanity and brings home the gruesomeness of the jail. Nitin Desai should bag the award for the best art direction unless a Sawariya or Devdas like set comes up in the movies coming up in the next month. The jail is incredibly well etched out, right down to the wall carvings.Final Verdict: Overall, Jail is only slightly above average. Watch it on the big screen only if you must. Wait for a TV release in my opinion.