Jackson Bazaar Youth Review: Promising premise undone by a lackadaisical narrative

Jackson Bazaar Youth Review: Promising premise undone by a lackadaisical narrative

Shamal Sulaiman's debut film is a commentary against caste discrimination and custodial violence in the garb of a race-against-time thriller
Rating:(2.5 / 5)

Opening with Govind Vasantha's delightful trumpet-heavy music, the first few minutes of Jackson Bazaar Youth (JBY) exude the mood of a musical drama. But it doesn't take too long before we realise that the film aims to discuss something much more serious and relevant. Debutant Shamal Sulaiman seems to be inspired by the anti-caste and anti-establishment films, particularly from the Tamil industry. That aside, even the worldbuilding and aesthetics of JBY are reminiscent of the small-scale thrillers made in Tamil.

Cast: Lukman, Indrans, Jaffer Idukki, Chinnu Chandni

Directed by: Shamal Sulaiman

Jackson Bazaar, a ghetto situated in the government's poramboke land, is inhabited by around 15 families. For years, they have been fighting for the land's ownership, and these protests are spearheaded by the members of a brass band named Jackson Bazaar Youth. The cops counter these protests with iron fists resulting in clashes. It reaches a point where the police force is unleashed to hunt down a few men on the run.

Though the title Jackson Bazaar Youth suggests a story about youngsters, it is two seniors who stand tall and hold the film together. While it's Jaffer Idukki who impresses in the first half, the second half belongs to Indrans. Jaffer plays Jackson Velayyan (Jaffer Idukki), fondly called Paappan, who heads the band and the bazaar. It's a character that commands love and respect, and Jaffer gets it spot-on with his inimitable style. The narrative takes a turn when something drastic happens to him triggering a chain of events, which lead up to the arrival of Indrans. Though we generally don't associate Indrans with 'massy', ruthless characters, this film subverts all such notions. To start off with, he gets a kickass intro—the kind that's usually reserved for stars. By creating a mystery around him, Usman Maarath's writing succeeds in piquing our curiosity at the interval block. 

However, the film falters big time by not sustaining the momentum. In the second half, as most of the action is set within the confines of the police station, the makers introduce some new characters, which include cops of different shades, a young couple, and a rich loudmouth. By concentrating more on them and their interpersonal dynamics, the narrative shifts focus from the actual issue. Despite the fact that a few lives are at stake, there are hardly any tense moments. In this supposed race-against-time thriller, there are clear pacing issues, which gives the audience enough time to think and reflect on where things are going wrong. All this despite the runtime being just 111 minutes!

In spite of all the shortcomings, JBY warrants a few eyeballs for the fact that it showcases the discrimination faced by the underprivileged. It is also commendable a young team chose to expose caste and custodial violence—a rarity in Malayalam cinema.

Related Stories

No stories found.
Cinema Express
www.cinemaexpress.com