This is no straight-forward sob story, observes Mayur Sanap.
It's always exciting to see a talented film-maker making a leap into the world of big budget, mainstream cinema and put their fresh, distinctive approach to good use.
Director Vasan Bala gets that opportunity in Jigra, which has Alia Bhatt serving a dual role as the film's leading star and co-producer.
After a slew of intriguing posters, the teaser reveals that Jigra is a sophisticated thriller with a strong emotional undercurrent of a sibling bond. While Alia is expectedly impressive in yet another fiery outing, it is Bala's unique film-making voice that is felt strongly in Jigra's first glimpse.
The teaser opens with Alia drinking in a bar and narrating her sorrowful life story to someone sitting across the table. Shorn of any glamour, she is speaking in a more restrained manner.
We learn that she is an orphan and her younger brother, played by Vedang Raina, is the only family member she is left with. She is distraught because her brother is imprisoned.
When a character suggests breaking into the prison to save her brother, Alia gives a dejected smile.
But this is no straight-forward sob story.
The tension builds up as we see Alia in an elaborate plan carrying sharp weapons and driving through flames as she defies a foreign prison system, presumably to save her brother.
There is a strange mix of grimness and grandeur and it only adds to the appeal of this crackerjack premise.
It does have flashes of the American thriller series Prison Break, but the tightened dramatic focus hints that Jigra might be more of a relationship drama than an action thriller.
The mood, style and some really good looking shots remind of Bala's sleek actioner Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota. And he may have kept the gritty spirit of his 2012 debut feature Peddlers, which remains unreleased.
All this is followed by a sombre rendition of the R D Burman classic Phoolon Ka Taaro Ka to steer the emotional weight of the story.
The last shot of Alia hugging Vedang tightly as he is about to leave is so palpable that it has me feeling already invested in their sibling bond. Now that is something!
Jigra arrives in cinemas on October 11.
