Jhund review: Gripping narrative propelled by hilarious dialogues is what makes Amitabh Bachchan’s Jhund a must watch

Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Rinku Rajguru, Akash Thosar and others

Director: Nagraj Popatrao Manjule

Rating: 4/5

Filmmaker Nagraj Popatrao Manjule, who has mastered the art of bringing to life real and unvarnished stories, is back with yet another film titled Jhund. The director is well-known for his work in blockbuster Marathi films Fandry and Sairat. The film marks Manjule’s debut in the Hindi film industry.

Jhund is based on the life of Vijay Barse, the founder of Nagpur’s NGO Slum Soccer.
In the film Big B is seen essaying the role of a football Coach Vijay Borade. He spots a few youngsters in the neighbouring slum and decides to train them, and make a football team with them. He decides to change the life of these kids living in the slum who resort to illegal activities. But attempting to make their life better wasn’t easy!
In this journey Vijay Borade faces many difficulties like lack of finances to convincing the society to accept these kids and let them play along.
Beautiful portrayal of these instances through gripping narrative propelled by hilarious dialogues is what makes the movie a masterpiece to watch.

There are times when the kids steal the show from Big B as well. Akash Thosar and Rinku Rajguru, who played leads in Sairat, have cameos in Jhund, and while Akash is decent in his cameo, Rinku leaves a strong impact. Another character who will definitely leave an indelible mark is of Ankush Gedam.

Peppy and fun songs composed by Ajay-Atul perfectly suit the theme of the film.

Manjule touches upon several subtexts during the course of the film. Religious bigotry, infidelity, casteism, and inequality are weaved into the plot organically through parallel conversations between supporting characters.

While moments like 20-minute football match the kids play against a college team, Amitabh Bachchan’s monologue and heart-wrenching struggle story of the kids will keep you glued, with the run time of 3 hours the movie gets is a bit exaggerated.

Whether you are a soccer fan or not, you will enjoy Jhund regardless.