Franchise films are a trend these days and successful ones like to keep milking the brand till it gets worthless. However, there are also some films for which you don't mind sequels and this 'Jolly Universe' is one of those. The first film in 2013, featuring Arshad Warsi, wasn't that big a success theatrically. However, it earned enough goodwill that benefited its sequel Jolly LLB 2 (2017) which had Akshay Kumar in the lead. Both films were courtroom dramas that dealt with a serious theme, headlined by a wacky lawyer whose imperfections are what defined his persona in the court. After eight years, the franchise comes with its third film Jolly LLB 3 and this time, Warsi and Kumar are both in it. Sounds like a potential blockbuster, eh?
The film is based in Delhi where Jagdish Tyagi (Arshad Warsi) and Jagdishwar Mishra (Akshay Kumar) both ply their trade in the same court under the same pet name 'Jolly'. Tyagi believes that he is the original Jolly and the initial portions of the film revolve around the Tom-and-Jerry equation that the two share, with Mishra keen to capitalise on his namesake's clients and vice-versa. When the equation turns sour, they find themselves on opposite sides of a land acquisition case filed by Janki Rajaram Solanki (Seema Biswas), wife of a farmer Rajaram Solanki who had committed suicide in Rajasthan. The case is against a high-profile businessman Haribhai Khaitan (Gajraj Rao) who is keen on building an ambitious project in Bikaner.
Now, the case comes to the jurisdiction of Judge Sundarlal Tripathi (Saurabh Shukla), who is terrified at the prospect of handling not one but two Jollys at the same time. Given their personal squabbles, this is the right opportunity for Tyagi and Mishra to settle their scores in the perfect manner. However, destiny takes them on a different route, one that forces them to take decisions that could change their lives forever. Like the previous two installments, Jolly LLB 3 is also based on a real-life incident, the 2011 land acquisition case in Uttar Pradesh but the disclaimer at the start of the film states that the makers have taken cinematic liberty in telling the story. Writer-Director Subash Kapoor has added a mix of facts and fiction to drive this social drama through to the finish line.
Making films in a franchise is a double-edged sword. The Jolly LLB series has its fans but then, people also know the template of the film by now. Also, by having the actors of both the previous installments in one film, the task for Kapoor gets magnified when it comes to setting the tempo of the film right. The theme of the film is solid and relevant, given the farmer's struggles in the country at the moment and Kapoor's attempt is to be a mouthpiece for them by using the real-life incident as a tool for the narration. The film has its heart in the right place but the problem is that it gets too preachy beyond a point. The key to such films is to enlighten the audience without making them feel like they are listening to a lecture. The final 30 minutes of the film are probably the best-written part in the film and these sequences ensure that the film doesn't completely lose its way.
Humour, whether slapstick or satirical, were the key points of Jolly LLB and Jolly LLB 2. It infused life into the proceedings and moved the story forward. That element is severely lacking in Jolly LLB 3 where the comic sequences mostly miss the mark. To their credit, Kumar and Warsi try their best to make the proceedings appear respectable, but are let down by Kapoor's writing. Once the film gets deeper into its core theme, there are some strong moments that give both protagonists, particularly Kumar, scope for emoting. One wishes that Kapoor had also fleshed out Warsi's character a bit more as the actor's screen time in the film, especially in the second half is minimal. Gajraj Rao as the antagonist is a refreshing change from his usual roles, but his character looks like a caricature, much like most other characters in the film.
Kumar and Warsi put in earnest performances, and try to prop up the half-baked screenplay which fails to strike the balance between content and entertainment. There are some hard-hitting dialogues and court room sequences that work but mostly, it seems like we are listening to a social lecture rather than witnessing an engaging film. This is where Jolly LLB 3 falls behind Jolly LLB and Jolly LLB 2. Seema Biswas, a veteran actress with high range of versatility, is reduced to a one-dimensional character that has nothing much to do in the film. Amrita Rao and Huma Qureshi, who played the spouses of the two Jollys in previous installments, are back again and they too have barely much to do.
Shukla, though, is iconic in his performance and is probably the only person who has delivered the same level of performance when compared to the previous films in the franchise. Ram Kapoor as the menacing advocate Vikram looks a bit out of place but that's probably because we have been used to his feel-good roles all the time. For this genre, music doesn't really have much of an impact but there aren't any notable soundtracks that linger in your memory and if anything, act as speedbreakers in the film. Rangarajan Ramabadran's cinematography and Chandrashekhar Prajapati's editing are on point, but Kapoor's screenplay has an uneven pace to it, thereby impacting the overall efficiency of the film. The premise is solid but the sub-plots are too predictable, something a legal drama cannot afford to be.
The problem with Jolly LLB 3 is that it gets stuck between a social documentary and court room drama, doing justice to neither. As a result, the noble intentions of the film misfire due to half-baked writing. Kapoor was in total command of his craft in Jolly LLB and Jolly LLB 2 but that is sorely missing in the third installment. You can't fault his intent and to be fair, his leading men have also poured their souls into the characters but at the end of the day, there is only so much that can be done if the screenplay doesn't hit the target.
On the whole, Jolly LLB 3 is a social drama that has its moments for sure but mostly ends up as a preachy lecture than an engaging film.
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Arshad Warsi, Saurabh Shukla, Seems Biswas, Huma Qureshi, Amrita Rao, Gajraj Rao, Ram Kapoor
Director: Subash Kapoor
Producer: Alok Jain, Ajit Andhare
Rating: 3/5
