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In director Sriram Raghavan ’s debut feature Ek Hasina Thi, there is a decisive moment when Sarika (Urmila Matondkar), is coerced by a smug lawyer into confessing to crimes she did not commit. He persuades her with false assurances, claiming that an honest admission might sway the judiciary to show leniency and grant her bail. Sarika complies — not out of trust in the legal advice, but because of her love for the person she believes she’s protecting, someone she hopes will reciprocate by safeguarding her from a prison sentence. Predictably, her confession only exacerbates the situation, leading to harsher consequences. In that instant, as she grapples with the crushing betrayal by the person she believed loved her, Sarika loses herself entirely. Now, if you replace Sarika with Ankur (Vedang Raina) and Raghavan with Vasan Bala, you find a strikingly similar moment in the latter’s recent feature Jigra. This parallel is no accident: Jigra premeditatedly draws emotional depth from Ek Hasina Thi. And it is not simply a coincidence that these scenes are almost identical in their thematic essence. Because in Bala’s films, the viewer is made to think of countless other movies while still being anchored in their own unique diegesis. Bala’s cinephilia is present even when it appears absent, engulfing his work with a flair and urgency, cementing his place as one of the most distinctive directorial voices in contemporary Hindi cinema. Also read – Jigra: Vasan Bala weaponises Alia Bhatt in one of the best Hindi films of the year; Karan Johar better have his back The use of the term “distinctive” in relation to Bala is almost paradoxical, as much of his craft and narrative sensibility draws inspiration from revered master filmmakers. His works are not simply self-contained stories; they simultaneously engage in a dialogue with the broader cinematic landscape. Each moment serves as a tribute to the auteurs he deeply admires, each line of dialogue reverberates with the rich mythology of cinema, while every mise-en-scène serves as a homage to iconic moments that have shaped the art form. His cinema functions as a living, breathing device of nostalgia, replete with self-reflexivity that symbolises the artifice of storytelling. Perhaps “pastiche” is the most fitting term to encapsulate Bala’s craftsmanship, as he recognizes that the heights of cinematic achievement are often rooted in intertextuality. In this regard, he is a true worshipper of celluloid, willingly sacrificing auteurship at the altar of cinema’s multi-authored dynamism. With Jigra, a prison break triller set in the fictional nation of Hanshi Dao, Bala encounters significant struggles following a robust first hour. The shortcomings are manifold: a predictable plot, flat characterisations, a terrible antagonist (Vivek Gomber), a deficit of emotional resonance, and primarily, a dissonance in tonal cohesion. It is a complex entry in Bala’s filmography, especially when juxtaposed with his previous two outings. In both Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota and Monica, O My Darling, he crafted exuberant pastiches that pulsated with homage to a wide array of influences, from Bruce Lee to Abbas Mustan. However, in Jigra, he grapples with the uneasy task of merging disparate tones — straddling the conventions of the prison break genre while simultaneously developing a moving brother-sister bond. By the film’s conclusion, the structures he has painstakingly built begin to crumble, and the only thing that nearly salvages them is his unabashed cinephilia. The tongue-in-cheek meta references have become synonymous with Bala’s directorial style, but there’s more to his craft. Consider the fact that the bullies tormenting a young Ankur bear names like “Amrish, Jeevan, Ranjeet,” or that the prison inmates he later encounters are called “John Woo, Kim Ki-duk, Wong Kar-wai.” Or Sikander Kher’s appearance, once again in a “dynamic role,” and Manoj Pahwa’s character named Bhatia — an ode to the infamous role he played in the long-running Office Office — along with him sporting a T-shirt from the under-appreciated comedy Urf Professor, directed by the late Pankaj Advani. These are winks that cinephiles have come to expect from Bala, and they are indeed enjoyable. But the most exciting instances occur when he surpasses literal cinematic homages and ventures into more subtle references that, while not directly acknowledged, are present in spirit, looming large over the film. He channels his deep love for Bombay cinema to craft an intriguing exploration of what constitutes the idea of family. Take, for instance, the central character, Satya ( Alia Bhatt ) who witnessed the horrifying moment when her father took his own life in front of her and Ankur. From that day, she assumed the heavy burden of shielding Ankur from any and all perceived threats. Her internal world is ablaze with rage as she grapples with the fractured notion of family. While they find refuge under the roof of a wealthy uncle, the privilege of living in his opulent bungalow comes at a personal cost. During the film’s initial 30 minutes, the dialogues ring with sentiments of familial unity —“You’re part of the family,” “We are all one”— but Satya, who has grown keenly aware of the hollowness of such platitudes, understands these words for what they are: shallow assurances that crumble the moment these very people feel their positions are threatened. Read more – Jigra movie review: Alia Bhatt film is a stretch of both patience and credulity And to amplify Satya’s existential struggle for belonging, Bala juxtaposes her with the quintessential outsider of Hindi cinema — Amitabh Bachchan — evoking his iconic portrayals in Zanjeer and Agneepath. Satya, too, mirrors the emotional trajectory of Bachchan’s characters in those masala affairs. But the angry young man, characterised by righteousness and an anti-establishment ethos, is reinterpreted by Bala. As for better or worse, Satya deviates from this mould. Unlike Bachchan, she is more straightforward yet grey, as evidenced by her declaration, “I never said I was a hero.” However, just as Bachchan’s character in Zanjeer finds an unexpected ally and source of strength in Sher Khan (immortalised by Pran), Satya discovers her own Sher Khan in Bhatia. He becomes more than just a partner in crime: he represents the paternal figure she has long yearned for, a guide and protector. Bala, with remarkable economy, constructs this dynamic and delivers its emotional payoff in what is arguably the film’s most powerful moment. Bhatia, (whose pet name “Tiger” subtle nods to another of Bachchan’s iconic characters from Hum — a film also centred on the theme of a fractured family) arrives to rescue Satya, all while ‘Yaari Hai Imaan’ plays in the background. This, perhaps, marks Bala’s finest cinematic homage across his body of work, where his cinephilia doesn’t merely punctuate the narrative but propels it forward, transcending the film’s otherwise pedestrian diegesis. He does something similar in establishing the bond between Ankur and Satya, deriving mileage from the loglines of films such as Gumrah and Naam, and even referencing the song “Jhuki Jhuki Si Nazar” from Arth — all three directed by Bhatt’s father, Mahesh — while also nodding to the iconic basketball scene from her godfather (and Jigra co-producer) Karan Johar ’s Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. There comes a moment when Bhatia sees a dejected Satya and urges her to narrate the parable of the scorpion and the frog — a callback to Bhatt’s black comedy Darlings , which was based on the same tale. In a meta wink, she replies that she isn’t interested, having moved on. But it is fitting that the story holds true for Bala himself. In crafting Jigra, he initially positioned himself as the frog — ambitious but also caught up in the murky waters of genre confines. However, as the film unfolds, his indomitable cinephile scorpion spirit inevitably takes the reins, steering the narrative away from inevitable mediocrity. So what if the filmmaker faltered? The cinephile had the last laugh. Click for more updates and latest Bollywood news along with Entertainment updates . Also get latest news and top headlines from India and around the world at The Indian Express . None
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