Jawan (2023) Review – Shah Rukh Khan in Full Mass-Action Mode

★★★★☆ Our Rating: 7.5/10

2023 belonged to Shah Rukh Khan in a way few comeback years ever have, and Jawan was the louder, angrier half of that story. Where his previous release that year was a glossy spy adventure, this one aims straight at the frustrations ordinary people carry every day: hospitals that fail the poor, loans that crush farmers, systems that protect the powerful. It wraps those frustrations in the packaging of a big South-style mass entertainer, complete with stylised entries, thunderous background music and a hero who seems to be everywhere at once.

The film marked director Atlee’s first Hindi feature after a run of major Tamil hits, and he brought his full toolkit with him: emotional flashbacks, rousing speeches, whistle-worthy hero moments and action designed to be watched with a cheering crowd. Pair that with Shah Rukh Khan in a double role, a formidable villain played by Vijay Sethupathi, and music by Anirudh Ravichander at the peak of his popularity, and you have an event film in the truest sense.

Does event status guarantee a great film? Not quite. Jawan is thrilling in stretches, moving in others, and overstuffed in between. At nearly three hours, it throws a lot at the wall. Most of it sticks, some of it slides. But when it works, it reminds you why a packed cinema, a beloved star and a righteous cause remain such a potent combination.

Here is our honest breakdown of the story, the performances, the spectacle and the places where the film overreaches.

Quick Facts: Jawan at a Glance

The Story: A Hijack With a Message (Spoiler-Free)

The film opens with a striking act of defiance. A Mumbai metro train is taken over by a group led by a masked man who seems calm, prepared and completely unafraid. His team is made up of women, each with a personal history that will matter later. His demand is not simply money. He forces a conversation, live and public, about who the system listens to and who it ignores, and he makes a powerful businessman answer questions most people only ask in private.

Leading the response on the ground is Narmada Rai, a sharp and fearless police officer played by Nayanthara. She tries to outthink the hijackers while protecting the passengers, and quickly realises this is no ordinary criminal gang. Their planning is precise, their cause is public, and their leader always appears to be one step ahead.

In parallel, the film introduces Azad, a jailer at a women’s prison who is loved by the inmates he oversees. Azad runs welfare programmes, encourages reform, and treats the women in his care with unusual dignity. How the jailer and the masked vigilante connect, and what past tragedy links them to arms dealer Kalee Gaikwad, forms the spine of the film. Kalee, played by Vijay Sethupathi, is wealthy, politically connected and ruthless, a man whose business profits from the very failures the vigilante is exposing.

The story unfolds through present-day missions and an emotional backstory set decades earlier, involving an honest soldier, a wrongful disgrace and a promise made in the darkest of circumstances. We will not reveal how those threads join, because the film’s mid-point revelations are among its most satisfying pleasures.

What we can say is that each mission targets a different public wound, from healthcare to agriculture to corruption in defence deals. The structure sometimes feels like separate episodes stitched together, but the emotional thread, a son carrying his parents’ unfinished fight, holds it together.

Performances: Khan Doubles the Impact

Shah Rukh Khan as Vikram Rathore and Azad is the film’s engine, and Atlee uses his star power intelligently. As Azad, Khan is playful, warm and swaggering, delivering the mass moments audiences came for. As the older Vikram Rathore, he brings a rugged, weathered intensity that gives the flashback real gravity. The two characters feel distinct in body language and voice, not just in hairstyle. Khan’s greatest strength here is conviction: whether he is dancing, grieving or delivering a speech directly about voting and accountability, he never seems to be coasting. For a star nearly three decades into leading-man status, his energy is remarkable.

Vijay Sethupathi as Kalee Gaikwad is a fascinating casting choice that mostly pays off. Sethupathi plays the villain with a quiet, almost casual menace, mixing dark humour with sudden cruelty. His laid-back delivery contrasts nicely with the hero’s intensity. The limitation is dubbing and language rhythm: in a few scenes his Hindi delivery feels slightly detached, which softens the threat. Even so, his face-offs with Khan crackle, and his character’s arrogance makes his eventual confrontations satisfying.

Nayanthara as Narmada Rai makes a strong Hindi cinema debut in a role that gives her authority and action, not just a romantic track. She commands the negotiation scenes, handles the physical demands convincingly, and shares easy chemistry with Khan. The film could have given her investigation more wins; too often she learns things when the plot is ready rather than through her own breakthroughs. Still, she leaves a clear impression.

Deepika Padukone appears in a special appearance that is far more than a cameo in impact. Her portion carries the film’s emotional core, and she brings grace and steel to it. Priyamani and Sanya Malhotra lead the supporting team of women with conviction, each getting a moment that explains why her character fights. Sunil Grover is effective in a serious supporting role, and Sanjay Dutt pops up late in a brief, crowd-pleasing appearance.

Direction and Technical Spectacle

Atlee directs for the back row, and that is meant as praise with a small warning attached. Every emotion is underlined, every entry is an occasion, and every injustice is presented at full volume. Cinematographer G. K. Vishnu gives the film a rich, high-contrast look, with the prison, the metro and the villain’s world all visually distinct. The action sequences, staged with scale and clarity, are the highlight: a highway chase, an interval block designed purely to send the audience out buzzing, and a climax that piles confrontation upon confrontation.

Editor Ruben keeps a long film moving by cutting missions tightly and using the flashback as an emotional reset just when the present-day plot risks feeling repetitive. At 169 minutes, however, the film still feels its length in the second half, where one mission too many and an extended detour test your patience before the finale pulls everything back together.

The visual effects are serviceable rather than seamless. Most action relies on practical staging and star presence, which ages better than digital spectacle, but a few large-scale shots look noticeably artificial. Production design, particularly the prison and the metro set pieces, is strong and helps sell the scale Atlee is chasing.

Music and Background Score

Anirudh Ravichander’s work is central to why Jawan feels as big as it does. His background score is the film’s heartbeat, announcing the hero, raising the stakes in negotiations, and giving the flashback its ache. Few composers working today understand the mass moment better: he knows exactly when to drop the music out and when to let it roar.

The songs cover the full commercial range. The celebratory dance number built around the hero and his team is pure energy and became an instant crowd favourite in cinemas. The romantic track with Nayanthara is soft and melodic, giving the film a breather and Khan a chance to dial back into his classic romantic charm. The nostalgic dance number later in the film leans deliberately on old-school flavour and works as a joyful pause before the final stretch. A tender track tied to the flashback adds emotional depth without slowing the film.

If there is a complaint, it is placement rather than quality. One or two songs arrive because a big film is expected to have them, rather than because the story needs them at that exact moment, and they stretch an already long runtime. Taken as an album, though, this is one of the strongest commercial soundtracks of its year, and the score alone justifies watching the film in a good sound system.

What Works and What Doesn’t

What we loved:

• Shah Rukh Khan’s double performance balances mass swagger with genuine emotion, carrying both timelines with total commitment.
• The action set pieces and interval block are staged for maximum crowd impact and deliver some of the year’s most memorable big-screen moments.
• Anirudh Ravichander’s score and songs give the film its pulse and elevate even familiar scenes.
• The core message about citizens asking questions is delivered with sincerity, and the team of women fighters gives the spectacle a human foundation.

What could be better:

• At 169 minutes the film is overlong, with the second half repeating its mission structure once too often.
• Vijay Sethupathi’s menace is occasionally softened by delivery and dubbing issues in key scenes.
• Some emotional turns are underlined so heavily that subtler writing would have trusted the audience more.

Box Office: A Record-Breaking Run

Jawan was a commercial phenomenon. Produced on a reported budget of ₹300 crore, it grossed around ₹1,150 crore worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing Hindi film of its time and surpassing the record set earlier the same year by Khan’s own previous release. Its opening day in India set new benchmarks for a Hindi film, and it performed powerfully across both mass circuits and multiplexes, as well as in overseas markets and in dubbed versions in Tamil and Telugu.

The significance went beyond one star’s record. After a difficult few years for Hindi cinema attendance, 2023’s back-to-back successes showed that audiences would return in huge numbers for event films that gave them scale, emotion and a reason to watch together. Jawan also cemented the growing exchange between industries, with a Tamil director, a Tamil composer and major South Indian stars driving a Hindi blockbuster. That cross-industry collaboration is now a template others are following.

Verdict: Should You Watch It?

If you enjoy big, emotional, crowd-pleasing action cinema, Jawan is essential viewing. It is too long and occasionally too loud in making its points, but its heart, its star performances and its best set pieces more than compensate. Watch it on the largest screen you can, with the sound turned up, and let its sincerity win you over even when its plotting creaks. Viewers who prefer restrained, realistic thrillers may find its style overwhelming, and that is a fair response to a film that never does anything quietly.

For everyone else, this is Shah Rukh Khan embracing the mass hero avatar with complete conviction, backed by a director and composer who know exactly how to serve that avatar.

Our rating: 7.5/10 — An overlong but rousing mass entertainer powered by Khan’s charisma and Anirudh’s thunderous score.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Jawan based on a true story?
No. It is a fictional story, though its missions are inspired by real public issues such as healthcare failures, farmer distress and corruption that audiences will recognise.

Is Jawan connected to Pathaan or the YRF Spy Universe?
No. Jawan is a standalone film produced by Red Chillies Entertainment and is not part of the YRF Spy Universe.

What languages is Jawan available in?
It was released primarily in Hindi, with dubbed versions in Tamil and Telugu. Subtitled versions are widely available for other audiences.

How long is Jawan and what is its certification?
The runtime is 169 minutes and it was certified U/A in India. It contains stylised action violence throughout.

Where can I watch Jawan?
Streaming and rental availability varies by country and changes over time. Check the major streaming and rental services in your region for current options.