Almost 13 years ago, Prakash Jha made a film called Gangaajal about cops and powerful criminals in Bihar. There, in one scene a cop had said ,”Kutta ki zindagi hain sala, kuch na kijiye toh public marein, kuch kijiye toh saheb marein. Hum se zyada izzat toh criminal ka hain.” (It’s a dog’s life. If you do nothing the public hits you, if you do something the boss does. A criminal enjoys more respect)
According to Anupama Chopra, not much has changed in Jai Gangaajal from its previous film. Set in the hinterlands of Madhya Pradesh the film has characters like Bablu Pandey, Munna Mardani and Moti Pehelwaan who run the show.
Women get raped, farmers hang themselves, cops and politicians actively collude. In this den of vipers arrives Abha Mathur ( Priyanka Chopra) the first female superintendent of Bankipur who turns out to be brave, headstrong and honest.
“So the trouble with Jai Gangajaal isn’t the lack of authenticity, it’s repetition. Jha who also writes and acts isn’t giving us any new insights into these hinterlands. It’s the same old story of an upright officer against the system,” said Chopra.
That is why she gave it two and a half stars. See the complete review hereh: