Jawan (film)

Jawan is a 2023 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film co-written and directed by Atlee in his Hindi film debut. It is produced by Gauri Khan and Gaurav Verma under Red Chillies Entertainment. The film stars Shah Rukh Khan in a dual role as father and son who team up to rectify corruption in society. Nayanthara, Vijay Sethupathi, Deepika Padukone, Priyamani and Sanya Malhotra appear in supporting roles.

Principal photography commenced in September 2021 with filming taking place in Pune, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Rajasthan and Aurangabad. The film's soundtrack and background score were composed by Anirudh Ravichander, with cinematography by G. K. Vishnu and editing by Ruben. A few scenes were simultaneously re-shot for the Tamil version of the film, particularly Khan's appearance in the song "Zinda Banda" ("Vandha Edam" in Tamil), Sethupathi's portions and scenes featuring Yogi Babu.

Jawan was initially planned for release on 2 June 2023, but was postponed due to unfinished post-production work. It was theatrically released on 7 September 2023 in standard, IMAX, 4DX and other premium formats, coinciding with Janmashtami. Jawan received positive reviews from critics who praised its cast performances, screenwriting, action sequences and musical score. The film set several box-office records for a Hindi film, overtaking those set by Khan's previous release Pathaan (2023). Grossing over inr 11483200000, it emerged as the highest-grossing Indian film of 2023, the second-highest-grossing Hindi film and the fifth highest-grossing Indian film. At the 69th Filmfare Awards, the film received 14 nominations, including Best Film and Best Director.

Plot
Azad is the jailer of a women's prison in Mumbai who hijacks a Mumbai Metro train with a group of six inmates: Lakshmi, Eeram, Ishkra, Kalki, Helena and Janhvi, holding the passengers hostage. Upon enquiry, Azad narrates how Kalki's father, a farmer, committed suicide over his failure to pay loans. Azad negotiates with NSG officer Narmada Rai to ask the Agriculture Minister to send ₹40,000 crore in exchange for the hostages' lives. Kalee Gaikwad, a global arms dealer, learns that his daughter Alia is one of the captives and agrees to fund the deal. Azad plans to donate that money toward the loan waiver of 700,000 impoverished farmers in the country. Azad and his gang transfer the funds into the farmers' bank accounts and escape. Through Alia, he reveals his name as Vikram Rathore to Kalee.

Narmada's daughter Suchi, looks for a potential father and husband to her mother and gets impressed by Azad. Upon her daughter's request, Narmada marries Azad, unaware of his true identity. Azad and his gang next kidnap the Health Minister and demand better infrastructure at government hospitals in exchange for the Health Minister's life. He reveals how Eeram, who was a doctor at that hospital, demanded oxygen cylinders for children suffering from Encephalitis, but was denied the supply due to negligence by the health secretary. The infrastructure is immediately upgraded and Azad and his gang escape again. After their wedding, Narmada discovers Azad's true identity, and Kalee's brother Manish captures and tortures the couple. Azad is saved by his doppelgänger, Vikram Rathore. Narmada confronts Azad's accomplices in the jail by disguising herself as an inmate. Here, she learns about Azad and Vikram's connection.

In 1986, Captain Vikram Rathore was a commando in the Special Ops unit of the Indian Army. He was sent on an operation in which his team faced casualties caused by malfunctioning weaponry. Vikram and his team filed a complaint against a young Kalee, who was then the supplier of the weapons. That same night, Kalee attacked Vikram and his wife, Aishwarya, separating them and shooting Vikram off a plane. Aishwarya was sentenced to prison for killing three cops on Kalee's payroll who were threatening her. Vikram was declared a national traitor; Aishwarya gave birth to their child, Azad, in prison. When Azad turned five, Aishwarya asked him to prove his father's innocence and provide justice to the oppressed, before she was hanged. Unknown to the world, Vikram survived the attack but lost his memory. He was found and rescued by a tribal group in northeast India.

In the present, Narmada's subordinate Irani is revealed to be on Kalee's payroll. He tries to shoot them all; Lakshmi is killed in the crossfire. Azad kills Irani and steals Kalee's trucks, joined by his father, his team, and his father's friends. The trucks contain money for the upcoming elections that will be used to boost Kalee's political ambitions. Vikram and his team get captured by Kalee's henchmen. Azad releases a video to the public and states that he has stolen voting machines; he demands the sealing of 253 factories in the country responsible for air and water pollution. The factories are sealed by the government. Kalee arrives and a fight ensues wherein Vikram finally recovers his memory. He and Azad fight together and hang Kalee to death. In the post-credits scene, it is shown a few months later, STF officer Madhavan Naik, who helped Azad in the completion of his missions, assigns him a new mission targeting Swiss banks.

Development
In October 2019, it was reported that Shah Rukh Khan would collaborate with Tamil film director Atlee for his film after Zero (2018). Harish Shankar, who was present at the promotion event for Bigil, confirmed the collaboration between Atlee and Khan. During COVID-19 lockdown in India, Atlee narrated the story to Khan in 2020, through Zoom call. In May 2021, it was reported that the filming would commence soon. The film is produced by Gauri Khan under Red Chillies Entertainment, while Gaurav Verma serves as a co-producer. The company made a public announcement on 3 June 2022, confirming the project. The film was made on a budget of ₹300 crores.

Atlee co-wrote the film's script along with S. Ramana Girivasan, in his fourth consecutive collaboration with the director. Sumit Arora contributed the dialogues. Atlee further retained most of his norm technicians including cinematographer G. K. Vishnu, editor Ruben, art director T. Muthuraj and stunt director Anal Arasu. Spiro Razatos, Craig Macrae, Yannick Ben, Kecha Khamphakdee and Sunil Rodrigues also were hired as stunt directors. Dance choreographers of the film includes Farah Khan, Vaibhavi Merchant, Shobi and Lalitha.

Casting
Mukesh Chhabra was the casting director. Khan was reported to play a dual role, as father and son, and would be seen in six different looks. Nayanthara was finalised as the female lead opposite Khan, thus marking her Hindi cinema debut. Priyamani, Sunil Grover, Sanya Malhotra and Yogi Babu later joined the cast. Reuniting with Khan after a decade, Babu last acted opposite Khan in Chennai Express (2013); however, he was only present in the Tamil version. Rana Daggubati was offered the antagonist role but declined citing health issues and thus the role went to Vijay Sethupathi. Deepika Padukone joined the cast in August 2022 in Chennai to shoot her special appearance. In September 2022, Vijay was reported to be making a cameo in the film, but later Atlee denied the news clarifying that he himself was making a cameo. In March 2023, Sanjay Dutt joined the cast to shoot for a cameo during an action scene. Allu Arjun was approached to play a cameo but declined the role citing commitments to Pushpa 2.

Filming
Principal photography commenced in September 2021 in Pune. Some scenes of Jawan were filmed at the Sant Tukaram Nagar metro station in Pune from 30 August to 15 September 2021. Filming took place on the Pune Metro. The station also appeared in the film's poster where Khan appears to sit at the metro station. It is the first film to be shot at Pune Metro. Khan resumed the shoot in June 2022 in Hyderabad. Shah Rukh Khan and Nayanthara joined the 10–days shoot. Nayanthara joined the Mumbai schedule on 26 June 2022, after her marriage. Some family sequences were shot during this schedule.

In August, the next schedule started in Chennai, where Deepika Padukone shot her cameo part. Later Vijay Sethupathi joined the shoot. Some action sequences between Khan and Sethupathi were taken in this schedule. The song "Zinda Banda" was shot during this schedule, in jail. The song, which shot for 5 days included 1000 dancers, and was choreographed by Shobi Paulraj. The song was also reshot for the Tamil version as "Vandha Edam". A month-long Chennai schedule was wrapped on 7 October.

The next schedule was held in Rajasthan, in October. Khan and Nayanthara joined this 20–day schedule. Next schedule was held in February 2023, where Khan shot some chase scenes. Sanjay Dutt joined the shoot on 20 March 2023, to shoot an action-packed cameo. In April 2023, a song titled "Chaleya" featuring Khan and Nayanthara was shot at Mumbai and Bandra–Worli Sea Link. Later the same month, the song "Faraatta" featuring Khan and Deepika Padukone, for her cameo appearance was shot at Film City, Mumbai. Both the songs were choreographed by Farah Khan. In mid July, song titled "Not Ramaiya Vastavaiya" featuring Khan and Nayanthara, choreographed by Vaibhavi Merchant was shot at the Yash Raj Studios in Mumbai.

Post-production
Post-production for the film began in January 2023 and went on for six months as the film involves extensive computer graphics and visual effects. Editing was handled by Ruben. The VFX work of the film is done by Red Chillies VFX. Harry Hingorani served as the visual effects supervisor with Keitan Yadav as the VFX producer of the film. In April, the company hired visual effects technicians to the team. Ken Metzker of Red Chillies Color did the colouring for the film. Kunal Rajan served as the sound designer.

Nayanthara dubbed for her character in early May 2023. Deepa Venkat dubbed for Nayanthara for the Tamil and Telugu versions of the film. Raveena Ravi dubbed for Deepika Padukone for the Tamil and Telugu versions of the film.

The final copy of the film was ready by early August 2023, and was submitted to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) that month. On 22 August 2023, the film received a U/A certificate from the Censor Board, with a finalised runtime of 169 minutes.

Themes and influences
According to Shah Rukh Khan, the film's theme is about "women empowerment". Agnivo Niyogi in The Telegraph argues that Jawan pays homage to several SRK films including Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani, Chak De! India, Swades, Chennai Express, and India Today also discusses how Chak De! India influenced Jawan. The Hindu adds that Jawan references Main Hoon Na, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, and Duplicate.

Dr. Eeram, who is one of the key characters in the film, is inspired by real-life events and individuals. Dr. Kafeel Khan, who hails from Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, serves as the inspiration for this character. Dr. Khan became widely known for his involvement in the 2017 Gorakhpur hospital deaths. Dr. Khan was arrested and faced legal troubles related to the incident, which brought attention to systemic issues within the healthcare system. In the film, Dr. Eeram's character likely explores themes of medical ethics, responsibility and the challenges faced by healthcare professionals. The film also explores factors contributing to farmers' suicides in India.

A scene featuring Vikram Rathore and Kalee Gaikwad draws inspiration from the Bofors scandal, which was a major political and financial controversy in India related to the purchase of Bofors Howitzer for the Indian army. The scandal revolved around allegations of corruption and kickbacks in the arms deal, which had a significant impact on Indian politics and defence procurement. In the film, this scene sheds light on issues of corruption, political intrigue, and the consequences of unethical decisions made in high-stakes situations. The character Kalee is referred to as AB Bofors, which likely signifies a symbolic representation of the scandal, emphasising the role of individuals and entities in larger scandals and controversies. Kalee's character serves as a metaphorical link to the scandal, exploring the themes of accountability, responsibility, and the impact of corruption in society.

Music
The soundtrack is composed by Anirudh Ravichander, working with Shah Rukh Khan and Atlee for the first time; this would also mark his debut as a solo composer in Bollywood, previously having composed a song for David and the background score for Jersey. Initially, A. R. Rahman was reportedly approached by director Atlee to compose for the film. Rahman subsequently declined the offer for reasons unknown, and Anirudh was chosen to compose for the film. The music rights were bagged by T-Series for ₹36 crore, which was a record price for a Hindi album.

The soundtrack consists of seven original songs composed by Anirudh, namely, "Zinda Banda", "Chaleya", "Not Ramaiya Vastavaiya", "Aararaari Raaro", "Jawan Title Track", "Faraatta" and "Chaleya" (Arabic). Lyrics are written by Irshad Kamil and Kumaar.

Marketing
On 3 June 2022, the film's title and release date were unveiled through a teaser video featuring Khan in a suspicious character, wounded and swathed in bandages, foreshadowing an intriguing tale of revenge. Later the film got postponed and a new release date was announced through a motion poster released on 6 May 2023. A teaser trailer, titled "Jawan Prevue" was released on 10 July 2023. It became the most watched Indian teaser in 24 hours with over 112 million views. Subsequently, the teaser was attached to the prints of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, Jailer and Gadar 2 for theatrical screenings.

In July 2023, when the song "Zinda Banda" was unveiled, the hook step, choreographed by Shobi Paulraj and performed by Khan in the music video, quickly went viral, adding to the song's popularity and becoming a social media sensation. Many people have recreated the hook step (signature step) by recording their own dance performances to the song and sharing these videos across social media platforms.

As a part of the film's promotions, carried by GM Modular, the marketing team designed the film's posters at the Mumbai Metro and subsequently, at the Kolkata Metro. The official merchandise of Jawan was launched by Fully Filmy on 25 August 2023.

On 30 August 2023, a grand pre-release event for the film took place in Chennai at Sri Sai Ram Engineering College, Chennai where Khan received wishes from Kamal Haasan and shared anecdotes. Mirchi Vijay and Bhavana Balakrishnan hosted the event. The television streaming rights for the event were acquired by Sun Network. The event was telecasted on Sun TV and Surya TV on 3 September.

The official trailer of the film was unveiled on 31 August 2023. On the same day, Khan arrived in Dubai to celebrate the release of the trailer with the fans and showcased it on the Burj Khalifa. Following the film's release, Google introduced an interactive doodle dedicated to the film, allowing users to engage with and explore the film's theme in a creative and fun way.

Theatrical
Jawan was theatrically released on 7 September 2023 in standard, IMAX, 4DX and other premium formats in Hindi along with dubbed versions of Tamil and Telugu languages. Initially, the film was slated for release on 2 June 2023. However, in May 2023, it was reported that the film is delayed to August 2023. Additionally, there were reports indicating that the film might still be released on its originally scheduled date. However, later it was confirmed that the film will release on 7 September 2023. Jawan is the first Indian film to release in the IMAX Leonberg, the largest IMAX theatre in the world. It is also the first Indian film to release in Bangladesh on the same day as its worldwide release, just like in other major countries.

Jawan premiered on over 10,000 screens worldwide, highest for a Hindi film and one of the highest for an Indian film. In India it released on over 5500 screens and 4500 screens in international markets. In Tamil Nadu it was reported to showcase on over 650 screens and in Kerala version on over 350 screens, highest for a Hindi film in the regions. The early morning shows, were held at 2:15 am across Bengal.

Jawan set the record for the largest advance bookings in Hindi cinema, surpassing the record previously held by Khan's own film, Pathaan released earlier in the year. This record was achieved in both single-screen theatres and multiplex chains. Booking sites of multiplex players crashed down due to high traffic.

The film was screened at the Himalayan Film Festival in Leh on 30 September 2023.

Distribution
Pen Studios acquired the theatrical rights for North India and West India under the Pen Marudhar Entertainment banner. Sree Gokulam Movies acquired theatrical distribution rights of the film in Tamil Nadu and Kerala for ₹50 crore, and released under Red Giant Movies in Tamil Nadu and Dream Big Films in Kerala. Sri Venkateswara Creations acquired the distribution rights for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Mysore territory rights have been acquired by Panorama Studios. SVF acquired the theatrical rights for West Bengal. Rajshri Productions distributed the film in Odisha, and Prakash Pictures in Bihar.

The overseas theatrical rights were sold to Yash Raj Films. Home Screen Entertainment bought Singapore distribution rights of the film, while Lighthouse Distribution acquired the distribution rights for Spain. Action Cut Entertainment together with Rongdhonu Group distributed the film in Bangladesh. Friday Entertainment distributed the film in France.

Home media
The digital streaming rights of Jawan were sold to Netflix for inr 2500000000. On the platform, the film's extended version was premiered on 2 November 2023 in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu coinciding Khan's 58th birthday. The satellite rights have been acquired by Zee Network.

Box office
, Jawan has grossed over inr 7619800000 in India and inr 3863399999.9999995 in overseas for a worldwide total of over inr 11483200000.

On its first day of release, the film's Hindi version netted a record-breaking inr 650000000 in India, with a further inr 100000000 from its dubbed Tamil and Telugu versions, for a net total of inr 750000000. Worldwide, all versions grossed inr 1290000000 on the opening day. It overtook Khan's previous release Pathaan to set several opening day records for a Hindi as well as an Indian film. In Australia, it became the first Indian film to top the box office, earning AU$400k on its first day. On its second day, the Hindi version netted ₹45 crore in India for a total net collection of ₹110 crore. It became the first Hindi film to net over ₹200 crore in 3 days domestically, overtaking Pathaan. It also became the fastest Hindi film to net over ₹300 crore in 5 days in India. It also became the first Hindi film to net over ₹400 crore in 9 days, and over ₹500 crore net in 13 days domestically. On the 17th day of its release, it became the highest net grossing Hindi film in India crossing his own Pathaan. On the 18th day of its release, Jawan became the sixth Indian film to gross over ₹1000 crore worldwide and only the third Hindi film to do so, also the fastest Hindi film to do so. It is also the highest grossing Hindi film in India. It has become the highest 4th weekend grosser of all time. It became the first Hindi film to net over ₹600 crore in India.

Outside India, Jawan's opening-weekend overseas gross totalled US$32.62 million. By 12 September, it collected US$8.64 million from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA regions), and a further US$8.22 million from the UK and European markets. Jawan has become the only Hindi film to have crossed ₹50 crore mark in its dubbed versions. On 4 October, it became the first Indian film to gross over US$16 million at the Middle East box office.

Critical response
Jawan received critical acclaim from critics who praised its cast performances, screenwriting, action sequences and musical score.

Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com gave 4/5 stars and commended Jawan political storytelling, writing that it "boldly and directly points fingers at the ineffective government and appeals to recognise the power of the finger and vote". Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote that the film delivered a timely political message despite being "fashioned as an unabashed massy entertainer". Monika Rawal Kukreja of Hindustan Times termed it a "massy, meaningful actioner". Nandini Ramnath of Scroll.in believed that the film worked primarily due to Khan, writing that his "screen image – expansive, suffused with love, heroic in an old-fashioned way without being aggressively macho, irreverent but also sincere – helps sell a conceit that might have crashed with any other actor". Tushar Joshi of India Today gave 3.5/5 stars and believed that Khan's performance and Atlee's direction had improved upon a typical, Robin Hood-esque story.

Sonil Dedhia of News18 gave 4/5 stars and labelled it a masala film, adding that it is an "ambitious vigilante action thriller that plays to the gallery and lives up to the hype. Far-fetched in writing but high on star power and style". Renuka Vyavahare of The Times of India gave 3.5/5 believed that Jawan had more of a story and purpose than Khan's previous release Pathaan. Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama awarded the film 4.5/5 stars and wrote "Jawan is a mass entertainer at its best with superlative performances, thrilling and clap worthy moments, larger-than-life action sequences, and a never-before-seen avatar of Shah Rukh Khan. At the box office, it will emerge as a blockbuster of epic proportions, setting new records and rewriting existing ones." Devesh Sharma of Filmfare gave 4/5 stars and noted that the action choreography was "on par with any high grade Hollywood film". Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave 3.5/5 stars and concluded, "Packed with all the ingredients that you would expect in a high-octane action film, Jawan is a strikingly meta vehicle in which a star communicates directly with his fan base and holds forth on themes that are crying out to be addressed." Uday Bhatia of Mint Lounge termed Jawan a "chaotic mess", writing that the film's story did not cohere despite Khan's best efforts.

Internationally, Manjusha Radhakrishnan of Gulf News gave 3.5/5 stars and compared an ageing Khan to George Clooney, praising the star power of Khan and Nayanthara and the chemistry between Khan and Padukone. Mike McCahill of The Guardian gave 3/5 stars also commended Khan's star power and opined, "Jawan covers a lot of ground in surprising fashion at full throttle – but that’s also a polite way of admitting it’s utterly all over the place." Proma Khosla of IndieWire praised Atlee's work, Anirudh's music and acting performances of lead actors. She felt that the film "must be experienced on a massive screen with a massive crowd". Alan Ng of Film Threat commented "Jawan is a reminder of what action movies used to be". Pete Volk of Polygon described the film as "Robin Hood meets Charlie's Angels." Simon Abrams of RogerEbert stated, Khan "looks especially comfortable in undemanding musical numbers".

Future
Post-release, it was reported that the film would have a second part. Owing to the film's success, Khan asserted the possibility of a sequel to the film. During an interview with Pinkvilla, Atlee officially confirmed that the film would indeed have a sequel and also revealed plans to create a spin-off film centered around the character Vikram Rathore. Later in September 2023, it was reported that Atlee had commenced work on the script for the sequel.