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Suspect X Reviews

All along, Kapoor Khan resists the urge to stage Maya as the mastermind. Because there is no last laugh; even her manipulations are rooted in vulnerability.

Full Review | Sep 27, 2024

An engaging story told with a certain skill that keeps audiences hooked from the first scene until the last. It’s engaging, and ominous and creates an intense suspenseful atmosphere that prevents it from getting bogged down with its dreary and dark tone

Full Review | Sep 28, 2023

Suspect X, which is based on the Japanese novel The Devotion Of Suspect X, is a well-crafted, well-acted mystery in which you can never truly trust the nature of the relationships between any of the characters.

Full Review | Sep 26, 2023

Elevated tremendously by Kareena Kapoor Khan, Vijay Varma and Jaideep Ahlawat's central performances, Jaane Jaan is director Sujoy Ghosh's finest film yet.

Full Review | Sep 23, 2023

An accompanying predicament of watching Jaane Jaan is reckoning with this duality. The writing (Ghosh and Raj Vasant are credited) is patchy but the three actors on screen are so mesmerising that till the most part they make you take no notice of it.

Full Review | Sep 22, 2023

There is enough fun to be had here, especially if you don’t ask too many questions.

Few actors share Kareena's fearlessness for closeups in their 40s. A still force in a high-strung thriller, her marvellously opaque portrayal of a woman hiding skeletons in her closet turns a crafty police procedural into a wistful story of survival.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Sep 21, 2023

On Jaane Jaan, [Sujoy Ghosh is] working with the best material he’s ever had and two actors (in [Vijay] Varma and [Jaideep] Ahlawat) who can seem to do no wrong these days. ([Kareena] Kapoor Khan is solid too, but she’s not given enough sadly.)

Full Review | Sep 21, 2023

The performances in Jaane Jaan are its only saving grace.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Sep 21, 2023

Jaane Jaan (2023) Movie Review – A mind-boggling brainteaser with a jaw-dropping climax

A mind-boggling brainteaser with a jaw-dropping climax

Bollywood’s transition from Indian Cinema to OTT has been long but entertaining nevertheless. The rise of the streaming culture has brought many megastars to the screen and Kareena Kapoor Khan is the newest addition to the list as she makes her much-awaited Netflix debut with the Sujoy Ghosh film Jaane Jaan (often translated as Love of Life).

Jaane Jaan also stars Vijay Varma and Jaideep Ahlawat in the main roles and narrates a simple tale of murder in a small town. The movie has a runtime of 139 minutes and follows the story of Maya D’Souza, a single mother who is raising her daughter Tara in the small town of Kalimpong, West Bengal. After a visitor from her past shows up in her life and threatens to hinder her peace and safety, Maya is forced to commit murder.

However, things get out of hand when her neighbour, Naren, who harbours a secret crush on Maya offers to get rid of the body to save her. With Inspector Karan on the lookout for the deceased, he comes in contact with Maya and Naren only to realise that the latter of the two is his childhood friend. Will Karan find out who the real killer is?

The film looks like a simple criminal investigation at first but as the story slowly unfolds into something much bigger than that. There are three central characters namely Maya played by Kareena who does a good job of playing the serious single mother who will go to any extent to protect her daughter.

Next, we have Naren, an odd but interesting character who is brilliantly portrayed by Jaideep Ahlawat. Actor Vijay Varma is another amazing actor on the project that is enjoying immense popularity after his recent performances and his portrayal of Inspector Karan proves that he is well deserving of this.

The film is mind-boggling to say it lightly as it keeps you thinking you know everything until the very final moments that will leave you with your haw dropped, trying to understand what exactly went down.

Jaane Jaan is an official Hindi adaptation of the 2005 Japanese novel, The Devotion of Suspect X which has already been adapted into films in various other languages.

While most fans of Kareena and Vijay would have started watching the movie for their respective performances, it is Jaideep Ahlawat who steals the show as Naren Vyas, a troubled mathematician and teacher who is the brain behind the ongoing menace.

The cinematography is intriguing too, as the monotone, damp vicinity of Kalimpong does a good job of amplifying the mystery around the film.

Ultimately, Jaane Jaan is a compelling thriller which keeps you glued to the screen, making it an absolute must-watch over the weekend. 

Read More: Jaane Jaan (2023) — Ending Explained

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Jaane Jaan movie review: A moody noir for the ages

Directed by sujoy ghosh, jaane jaan stars kareena kapoor khan, vijay varma, and jaideep ahlawat in key roles. it is available for streaming on netflix..

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Refrain from posting comments that are obscene, defamatory or inflammatory, and do not indulge in personal attacks, name calling or inciting hatred against any community. Help us delete comments that do not follow these guidelines by marking them offensive . Let's work together to keep the conversation civil.

6192877 367 days ago

Selvakathirvel 367 days ago.

there is frequent change of angles in the first few scenes makes big eye strain in TV viewing. dont know what is the need for such short bursts of frequent change of camera. editor should have seen the movie in tv screen.

Anand Katke 367 days ago

Leena Bhanot 369 days ago

It was definitely different and Ahlawat was really good. But I am not sure about Kareena Kapoor. There were times when I thought she was either nervous of the new medium or she was hamming it. I did not feel she became Mrs. D'Souza. She somewhere remained Kareena Kapoor...All in all, definitely a one time watch....

Shanti Subra 369 days ago

Why Kareena looks so old and her make-up is horrible. Also is it her own voice or dubbed? The voice is not good to hear. The movie is well taken and Jaidep and Vijay have done their best. Photography excellent.

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'Jaane Jaan' movie review: Jaideep Ahlawat towers over this shaky thriller 

More than the killer, it is fun to catch the themes that are hiding in plain sight in a murder mystery. Bong Joon Ho’s masterpiece Memories of Murder (2003) is not only about the motivations of a repressed serial killer, but also sheds light on the apathetic policing structure of South Korea. Knives Out: Glass Onion (2022) is as much a capitalism critique as it is a whodunit. Seven (1995) while being an investigation procedural, delves into the depth of man’s capacity for evil. Last month, before the release of Jaane Jaan, its director Sujoy Ghosh thanked writer Kiego Higashino for letting him adapt his bestseller The Devotion of Suspect X into a film. What caught my eye was how Ghosh described the book after, “Have you read? read. read. best love story ever.” It was evident what the director was interested in and that’s what I went looking for in the Netflix film. The love story between a genius maths teacher, insecure about his looks, and a damsel in distress. Let’s just say what I got was less killing and even less loving.

A balding, blemish-faced Jaideep Ahlawat plays Naren Vyas, a loner math teacher at a school in West Bengal’s Kalimpong. He must be a genius as evidenced by the books and papers scattered in his room. If you still have doubts, he plays chess with himself. Naren drops his eyes in front of his neighbour, Maya D’Souza (Kareena Kapoor Khan), a single mother who works at a local food joint. Her little world is turned upside down when her ex-husband, Ajit (OTT omnipresent Saurabh Sachdeva), a cop, comes knocking for money. It doesn’t end well and Maya strangles Ajit to death. Naren steps up to help, scribbles some math formulae on the wall (won’t that be evidence?) and ultimately disposes of the body. Handling the case is Karan Anand (an easygoing Vijay Varma), who was college mates with Naren. “Bro, what are the chances?” he exclaims when he meets him.

Casting FTII batchmates Ahlawat and Varma works in favour of Jaane Jaan. In certain scenes their cheeky camaraderie is visible. They shine as individual performers too. Five years back, Varma would have played Naren, the lovelorn genius but now, as the investigating cop, he adds a fresh ease to the character. In a funny scene, he even ridicules the creepy image his previous roles have made him infamous for. He peeps at Kareena’s Maya as she changes clothes, before shutting the door softly. Then he taps himself on the head and says, “Sudhar ja (Grow up).”

The one whose performance towers above the film is Ahlawat. He emotes enough with just a twitch of his lips and deftly plays a sociopath in love. The writing, however, lets him down at times but Ahlawat somehow still manages to level the material. Being marketed as Kareena Kapoor’s OTT debut, the actor’s performance in the film remains mostly serviceable. She fits well but doesn’t stand out and her jittery expressions felt tiring after a while.

Jaane Jaan is a performance vehicle unsure of the route it’s taking. It had more potential of being a moody drama than a fast-paced thriller. The setting of a misty Kalimpong could have been instrumental but Sujoy Ghosh’s direction doesn’t interact with its surroundings. The three lead characters are immigrants and the film lacks a sense of rootedness. Moreover, the love story Ghosh hinted at is as hazy as the hills of Kalimpong. The spark is there but it gets extinguished in the whirlwind of a pacing plot. Sometimes in the horde to weave a brainy plot we omit what is in plain sight. The beauty of a love story.

Director: Sujoy Ghosh Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Jaideep Ahlawat, Vijay Varma, Saurabh Sachdeva Streaming on: Netflix

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Jaane Jaan Movie Review: Kareena Kapoor, Vijay Varma Jaideep Ahlawat's 'Mathematical' Moody Thriller Is A Winner

Updated Sep 23, 2023, 11:47 IST

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About Jaane Jaan

Jaane jaan review : storyline, jaane jaan: performances, jaane jaan review: direction, jaane jaan review: music, jaane jaan review: verdict.

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Jaane Jaan Movie Review: Kareena, Jaideep Steal Show in Drishyam-like Thriller

The movie "Jaane Jaan," skilfully directed and written by Sujoy Ghosh, combines the principles of mathematics with the complexities of human behaviour, resulting in a gripping mystery thriller that leaves audiences enthralled.

Centered around a single mother and her 13-year-old daughter, the film delves into a meticulously planned cover-up and a subsequent police investigation that teeters on the edge of going cold.

With a sharp script, crisp dialogues co-authored by Ghosh and Raj Vasant, stellar performances, and a keen sense of place, "Jaane Jaan" intricately weaves a tale around a solitary math teacher who leads a mechanical existence, and a woman who becomes the object of silent obsession for him after moving in next door.

Based on Keigo Higashino's novel "The Devotion of Suspect X," the film swiftly establishes a pivotal moment from which the entire plot unfolds. The suspense revolves around a series of events triggered by an unfortunate incident, challenging the genius of the math teacher and casting a shadow over his neighbor's future. "Jaane Jaan" is not your typical whodunit; it is a genre-defying police procedural that dissects the minds of its three central characters.

Maya D'Souza (played by Kareena Kapoor in her OTT debut) has escaped her troubled past and built a stable life for herself and her daughter Tara (played by Naisha Khanna) in Kalimpong. Naren Vyas (Jaideep Ahlawat), on the other hand, is more in love with mathematics than anything else in the world. Mumbai Police detective Karan Anand (Vijay Varma) arrives in Kalimpong on a mission, and his relentless pursuit leads him to uncovering the truth.

The film skilfully builds its world and features measured dialogues, steering clear of explicit language typically found in Hindi crime dramas. The battle of wits between Karan and Naren, even though the audience is privy to the information being concealed, remains consistently gripping.

"Jaane Jaan" explores themes of love, infatuation, obsession, jealousy, and anguish as the trio navigates ethically murky waters. It vividly portrays the isolation of a man lost in his own world and the challenges faced by a woman striving to overcome her troubled past. The film is rife with dualities, such as protector-predator, victim-perpetrator, friend-foe, and genius-oddball, all of which play pivotal roles in the intricate plot.

The film's title, derived from a rare cabaret number sung by Lata Mangeshkar, adds depth to Maya's backstory. Kareena Kapoor delivers a nuanced performance, portraying a wide range of emotions with remarkable restraint. Jaideep Ahlawat effortlessly embodies the complex character of Naren, while Vijay Varma elevates his role with subtle behavioral nuances.

"Jaane Jaan" remains faithful to its source material, with minor alterations and a notable departure in its conclusion. It intelligently subverts conventional crime drama tropes, resulting in a thought-provoking and gripping cinematic experience. With a talented team of writers, directors, technicians, musicians, and actors at its helm, "Jaane Jaan" stands as a resounding success in the world of cinema.

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Jaane Jaan Movie Review: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Jaideep Ahlawat, Vijay Varma Add Depth To Sujoy Ghosh's Enigmatic Suspense Thriller

Jaane jaan Movie review: Sujoy Ghosh's latest release Jaane Jaan, starring Kareena Kapoor Khan, Jaideep Ahlawat and Vijay Varma in the lead, draws its inspiration from the pages of the internationally acclaimed Japanese masterpiece, 'The Devotion of Suspect X' penned by the literary virtuoso, Keigo Higashino.

• By Swati Singh
• Published: Thu, 21 Sep 2023 04:27 PM (IST)
• Source: JND
• Google News

A great screenplay has the intrinsic potential to weave complex stories and convey a lifelike cinematic universe, but its real magic is brought to life when combined with the skills of outstanding performers. In the field of narrative, Sujoy Ghosh stands out as a unique visionary in his latest release ‘Jaane Jaan’.

‘Jaane Jaan’ is currently streaming on Netflix. It is a captivating cinematic creation that draws its inspiration from the pages of the internationally acclaimed Japanese masterpiece, 'The Devotion of Suspect X' penned by the literary virtuoso, Keigo Higashino. This remarkable novel, celebrated worldwide for its intricate narrative and profound themes, has sparked the creative imaginations of storytellers across the globe, leading to a rich tapestry of adaptations in diverse tongues. From the spellbinding mysteries of South Korean cinema to the enigmatic allure of Chinese storytelling, from the nuanced depths of Japanese cinema to the vibrant narrative palette of Tamil cinema, this singular tale has transcended cultural boundaries and language barriers.

Jaane Jaan: Cast

Kareena Kapoor Khan as Maya D'Souza Jaideep Ahlawat as Naren Vijay Varma as Inspector Karan Anand Saurabh Sachdeva Karma Takapa as Sundar Naisha Khanna as Tara D'Souza Lin Laishram

Jaane Jaan Movie Review

In the mysterious opening of ‘Jaane Jaan’, Jaideep Ahlawat, who plays the enigmatic "Teacher," finds himself entangled in the ominous tendrils of a dream and muses on a grim future that he has brought upon himself. The room, once a sanctuary of calm, is now adorned with scattered pages, mirroring the chaos within him as panic courses through his veins. However, amidst this maelstrom, a glimmer of hope materializes in the form of his neighbor, Kareena Kapoor Khan portraying 'Maya D'Souza.' Her presence serves as an unexpected beacon, casting a transformative light upon his world.

In the movie 'Jaane Jaan', Kareena Kapoor Khan's character, also known as Maya or Sonia D'Souza, is abruptly confronted by a troubling chapter from her past that she has avoided for the previous 14 years. The story's central conflict, however, is revealed in what happens next as it explores the complex chain of events and revelations that this encounter sets off. Vijay Varma plays a determined and clever police officer who is tasked with the difficult task of looking into a missing person case. The central intrigue revolves around whether his investigative acumen will ultimately lead him to the elusive truth or if the shadows cast by secrets and mysteries will remain insurmountable, shaping the very heart of the story's suspense and tension.

Jaane Jaan: What Works?

As soon as one steps onto the canvas for 'Jaane Jaan,' they are struck by the well chosen color scheme that perfectly complements the thriller-suspense subgenre. Kareena Kapoor Khan successfully captures the aura needed for her role by being simply perfect in her portrayal. Alongside her, Jaideep Ahlawat's quiet yet captivating presence adds a mysterious depth to the story that is completely in sync with the mood of the film.

A melodic heartbeat echoes throughout the film, courtesy of the haunting refrain of 'Jaane Jaan', serving as a recurring motif that injects even more drama into the storyline. This thoughtfully crafted musical score enhances the audience's emotional connection to the story as it develops, bringing anticipation and intensity to important moments.

PERFECT CASTING…

The perfect casting of this cinematic treasure, a tapestry stitched with the threads of talent and charisma, is where the genuine gem rests. Kareena Kapoor Khan, Jaideep Ahlawat, and Vijay Varma work together as a team to give each of their performances a sense of depth and realism.

Jaane Jaan: What Doesn’t Work?

The movie's run time could have been cut down, perhaps by half an hour. Such a change may have given the story a more dynamic rhythm, upping the level of interest and guaranteeing a more seamless flow. After immersing oneself in the cinematic realm of 'Jaane Jaan' for over an hour and a half, the gradual pace of the story's development may lead one to cast a curious glance at their watch. An intelligent length reduction may have produced a more engrossing and immersive viewing experience.

Jaane Jaan: Final Verdict

Sujoy Ghosh emerges as a singular visionary in his latest creation ‘Jaane Jaan’. His remarkable ability to infuse characters with vivid life and authenticity is truly enchanting. Guided by Ghosh's adept direction, the actors, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Vijay Varma and Jaideep Ahlawat, seamlessly blend art and reality, blurring the boundaries between fiction and the tangible world. This riveting voyage into the world of hardcore suspense is a one-of-a-kind cinematic adventure that demands your attention, making it a must-watch for anybody looking for an edge-of-the-seat narrative.

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Home » Review » Jaane Jaan review: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Jaideep Ahlawat, Vijay Varma's dramatic brilliance anchors this 'Drishyam' with loopholes »

Jaane Jaan review: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Jaideep Ahlawat, Vijay Varma's dramatic brilliance anchors this 'Drishyam' with loopholes

Sujoy Ghosh's Jaane Jaan offers moments of intrigue but lacks originality; his attempt at reimagining a classic story with Kareena Kapoor, Jaideep Ahlawat, and Vijay Varma falls short of expectations.

• Aishwarya Vasudevan

Last Updated: 01.08 PM, Sep 21, 2023

Kareena Kapoor Khan plays a single mother who becomes embroiled in a criminal inquiry with the help of her neighbour, a talented math teacher (Jaideep Ahlawat), and the dogged investigation of a police officer (Vijay Varma).

Three extremely talented actors from different schools of thought about the acting world come together in Sujoy Ghosh's Jaane Jaan . The filmmaker himself is a unique persona who, in the past two decades, went from creating a musical film to deep diving into the thriller genre. Jaane Jaan , the film based on the bestselling Japanese novel Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino, is not something you might have not seen onscreen.

You have seen it in different languages since starting the journey a decade ago. Yes, we are talking about Jeethu Joseph's inspiration for one of the best films ever made, Drishyam (2013), which has been remade in so many languages now. So what makes Jaane Jaan different, if any? Well, it's a new take on a new set-up, where the place makes the story more mystical.

The story is quite simple and doesn't waste time or wait until the second half to show that a perfect crime has been committed or where the investigation takes a turn.

Jaane Jaan starts with Naren, a strict math teacher, being neighbours with Maya D'Souza and her teenage daughter Tara. She has eloped from Mumbai in a set-up where, let's say, Simran/Rosy from Talaash is living in a parallel universe and saving herself from the murky world. However, the ghosts of the past come uninvited, which leads the mother and daughter to take matters into their own hands.

However, the math teacher is exactly as he looks—a mysterious, no-nonsense person who keeps all his feelings to himself. He is a stalker who is a neighbour, and like one of Maya's friends says, " Sooraj ki tarah roz nikalta hai Maya ko dekhne ."

This goes on for years, where he silently falls for Maya and keeps building these imaginary bonds with her, but in reality, he doesn't even have the guts to talk to her, despite sharing a wall. But things take a drastic turn when a crime is committed and he becomes an accessory to it by taking the overall charge.

ALSO READ: Jaane Jaan release date: When and where to watch Kareena Kapoor, Jaideep Ahlawat, Vijay Varma's mystery thriller on OTT

As mentioned above, we know what has happened, as most of us have seen Drishyam . A police officer comes in and starts an investigation, only to realise that it's a small town and the obvious suspects are also limited. So Karan Anand from Mumbai Police enters this Kalimpong world, only to realise it's small but not shallow.

The unfolding gets intriguing to an extent, but we eventually have to run out of patience to know this story's new conclusion. Sujoy's attempt to make this story work well in the beginning and towards the end. There's no novelty factor except Jaideep showing his incredible prowess as an actor, Kareena's downplay leaving an impressive mark, and Vijay being a good cop with a repetition of " hot padosan " and imagining getting intimate with Maya. The Dahaad man might take time to leave, as Sujoy kept that flavour intact in Lust Stories 2 and now in Jaane Jaan , although minimalistically.

Jaane Jaan is Drishyam with loopholes, and mainly it comes with the characters rather than the perfect crime. Maya and Tara bring normalcy into their lives; however, the pretentiousness becomes so much reality that there's hardly any fear shown in their faces. Because the dramatic effects are so underwhelming, it gives the feeling that they did not commit any crime at all. The constant "teacher sab thik kar denge" makes them believe the stress is all gone and will never bite them back.

Kareena Kapoor Khan in drama is a genre I enjoy the most, where her eyes and actions do most of the talking. The actor excels at it incredibly, and it feels like she is going to be the showstealer. However, not to blame the actor, the character becomes a little weaker as the story progresses, and it seems like she is hardly there in the second half of the story.

When this happens, the only actor who emerges as the best of the lot is Jaideep Ahlawat. From the look to the character arc to the fabulous performance, it's his show all the way. He uplifts the climax entirely with his monologue, and if Jaideep looks straight into the camera or screams abruptly, you might skip a beat. And it doesn't come with the intention to scare the viewers, but deep dives into the mental health conversation that gets on the surface.

Vijay, on the other hand, is a soft character, but the actor's comic timing is impeccable, with deadpan humour that has jokes, which lands well. In one scene, when Naren asks him how he knew he was a math teacher, Karan replies that everyone has been saying "Good morning, teacher," to you like it's some school attendance. This might not have made you laugh, but the scene will. His scenes with both Kareena and Jaideep bring out a great deal of chemistry, and it's a pure treat to watch that.

Sujoy Ghosh, with cinematographer Avik Mukhopadhyay, brings so many close-up shots that you might feel your screen is zoomed in, but it's actually a deliberate move to bring out the raw emotions, even if it's slightly uncomfortable.

Jaane Jaan is a flawed film with moments that are enjoyable, but definitely not with the character arcs given. The slow-burn narrative fails to work when the twist is already known and the revelation takes time to come to life on screen. The false narrative of the recreation of the infamous scene from Drishyam is done and dusted, and you just have to sail through it.

ALSO READ: Jaane Jaan on Netflix: Story of The Devotion of Suspect X, the Japanese novel that Kareena Kapoor Khan’s film is based on

However, editor Urvashi Saxena does a fine job of cutting the film, with the storytelling being compact and not overstaying its welcome.

Like Sujoy Ghosh mentions, Jaane Jaan is indeed a love story, but the impact of it comes only in the last few minutes and during the course of the film.

Jaane Jaan presents an engaging narrative, although it doesn't fully capitalise on its potential. It tries to carve its own niche as a competent thriller but works only works to an extent.

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Jaane Jaan Review: Mesmerising Kareena Steals The Show

Few actors share Kareena's fearlessness for closeups in their 40s. A still force in a high-strung thriller, her marvellously opaque portrayal of a woman hiding skeletons in her closet turns a crafty police procedural into a wistful story of survival, observes Sukanya Verma.

Kareena Kapoor Khan is like an unputdownable book, a page turner in Jaane Jaan .

The more you read her, the more mysterious she grows.

I found myself mesmerised by her Maya D'Souza in Sujoy Ghosh's adaptation of Keigo Higashino's The Devotion of Suspect X where she plays a single working mom determined to protect her teenage daughter (Naisha Khanna) from harm's way.

Maya's stoic exterior may hold back a history of domestic damage and despair, but the sadness in her eyes instantly gives her away. As does her tearfully and tightly holding her kid against her chest. Few actors share Kareena's fearlessness for closeups in their 40s.

A still force in a high-strung thriller, her marvellously opaque portrayal of a woman hiding skeletons in her closet turns a crafty police procedural into a wistful story of survival.

Higashino's bestseller often comes up during any mention of Jeethu Joseph's Drishyam , of which it is often cited as an inspiration in context of its airtight alibi. Numerous remakes and sequels, including a rather successful one in Hindi, have robbed the premise of novelty.

Ghosh, wanting to adapt the book to screen for a decade now, realises the need for refreshed perspective and wisely shifts the focus from intellectual duelling to human pathos. Neither 'why' nor 'how' matters in his scheme of things as he goes about creating a mood and mystery around his three primary characters.

More than the suspense or smarts, it's studying Maya that fuels his drama as it hopes to gain access to her innermost thoughts should her guard ever drop.

Set in the foggy hill station town of Kalimpong, the overcast weather could be a metaphor for all that she conceals underneath that steely reserve.

Within the movie itself, Maya is subject to intense scrutiny.

Between a socially-awkward neighbour keeping a watchful eye and a cockily charming cop suspecting foul play, there's hardly any breathing space.

Ghosh captures the claustrophobia well, especially after an unwelcome guest (Saurabh Sachdeva) from her woeful past surfaces on the scene.

The events that follow bring Naren (Jaideep Ahlawat), a school teacher-next-door and his mathematics genius to the fore. But Jaane Jaan doesn't want us to form opinions about anyone too easily.

And the 'Teacher', as Maya addresses him, teases our perceptions over the course of his modest manners and magnanimous deeds.

Applying the logic in Maths to his life's philosophies, Naren's love for the subject regularly shows up in his intelligent analogies and high standards of excellence. But the burden of knowledge comes with its own battle against inner demons.

A grey, gloomy air envelopes quaint Kalimpong's cosy streets and colonial architecture (captured evocatively in Avik Mukhopadhyay's atmospheric photography), until a policeman from Mumbai arrives at the scene of crime and infuses it with charm and curiosity.

If Naren is a smart cookie, Karan Anand (Vijay Varma), his college classmate-turned-cop is nothing less than a sly dog.

They both carry a torch of mutual admiration in their hearts as well as a love for martial arts, which is gradually revealed during a sparring session in a nearby dojo and nostalgia over a Bruce Lee poster, stolen in their student days, still adorning Naren's wall.

There's a hint of envy too.

Naren's hair, like a rapidly balding Anton Chigurh of No Country for Old Men , notes how nicely Karan has 'maintained' himself while the latter appears distracted by his Mathematical reasoning and Maya-next-door.

Ghosh doesn't always stick to the book and changes its mathematician versus physicist narrative to fixate on Karan's conceit, confidence and cunning as a cop trying to get inside people's heads.

As the game of hide-and-seek progresses, there's attraction all around but admission from none.

Between a wanted man, a charred corpse, an investigation underway, a seemingly open-and-shut case connecting a mother, a man of Maths and a man on a mission, Jaane Jaan becomes a sum of their collective moments.

Instead of masterminds though, Ghosh gives us repressed recluses and lonely souls.

When Kareena performs the Laxmikant-Pyarelal song (from the 1969 film Intequam ) inspiring the film's title in a stunning karaoke scene, it's a poignant glimpse into her bottled-up passion and pain.

What makes it masterful is how Ghosh doesn't confirm its genuineness.

He prefers his audience to draw their own conclusions about the characters, their motives and morals. Find your own solution or accept what is fed to you, Naren explains at one point almost like a clue dropped by Ghosh.

Purely as a thriller, Jaane Jaan is wanting and unsurprising.

There's a general abruptness and incoherence in how evidence is tucked away and matters are resolved.

A teenager groaning about life and death matters in the same tone as wanting a new dress for prom is an instance of clumsiness in an otherwise superbly casted drama.

Truth be told, Jaane Jaan 's artistic prowess shines best in the fascinating encounters between its leading troika.

At first, Jaideep Ahlawat's drastic physical transformation deflects us from his person. But his tremendous skills show in how easily he settles in the role alternating between creepy and dignified. More than the script, it's the faint smile that follows after he's spoken some of the smartest lines in Jaane Jaan that tell us about his fondness and frustration for Maths.

Vijay Varma's raffish charisma and offhand humour loosens up the stiff setting and gives it a sense of lightness whether he's sampling Kalimpong's famed dragon momos and super spicy chutneys or flirting with suspects.

If his sharp tongue survives the spice, his smooth talker wins over a henchman with his Mithun da trivia, Varma brings his own attitude to Jaane Jaan 's cryptic energy.

Thrillers become a game not just a genre in Ghosh's vision.

It's like a coin trick Naren plays with his student where retrieving a penny is of greater significance than defeating the opponent.

In Jaane Jaan , the director sets the rules where subtext is spoiler and everybody must reveal themselves without disclosing anything.

All his three actors rise to that challenge spectacularly and share numerous stories to be read in between the lines.

How's that for devotion?

Jaane Jaan streams on Netflix.

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‘Jaane Jaan’ movie review: Jaideep Ahlawat shines next to Kareena Kapoor and Vijay Varma in this hillside thriller

Jaideep ahlawat steals a march on kareena kapoor khan and vijay varma in sujoy ghosh’s pulpy adaptation of keigo higashino’s crime novel ‘the devotion of suspect x’.

September 21, 2023 01:44 pm | Updated 03:09 pm IST

Jaideep Ahlawat and Kareena Kapoor Khan in ‘Jaane Jaan’

When the title of Sujoy Ghosh’s new film was announced about a month ago, my heart sank. Another Netflix India thriller named after an iconic Hindi film song? I remember muttering to myself. This is assembly-line thinking taken to a comical extreme. Raat Akeli Hai , Haseen Dillruba , Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein and Monica, O My Darling are all India original titles currently streaming on the platform. And now comes Jaane Jaan , which — like last year’s Monica... — has been adapted from a book by Japanese mystery writer Keigo Higashino . Granted, ‘The Devotion of Suspect X’ does not translate verbatim into a great Hindi title. Still, the lack of apparent effort was startling, until I finally saw the film.

There is, it turns out, some resonance between new film and original song. Featured in the 1969 thriller Intaqam , ‘Aa Jaan-E-Jaan’ was a rare cabaret number from Lata Mangeshkar — picturized on Helen — and, in this film, Maya D’Souza (Kareena Kapoor Khan), the central character, is a former nightclub dancer who has escaped her past. Rajendra Krishan’s teasing, fatalistic lyrics chime well with Maya’s current predicament and the two men pulled headlong into her life. We see her sing out the words at a karaoke, Kapoor Khan framed against visuals of a costumed Helen on a telescreen, a cross-generational affinity that started with the ‘Yeh Mera Dil’ number in Don (2006).

Jaane Jaan (Hindi)

Maya was once Soniya, wife to Ajit (Saurabh Sachdeva), an abusive, money-grubbing cop. She had left him 14 years ago and moved to Kalimpong, a misty hill station in northern West Bengal. She’s focused ever since on raising her daughter, running a little cafe that serves coffee and Chinese to get by. One day, out of the blue, Ajit turns up at the cafe; spurned, he barges into Maya’s home. Open and intrusive threats to mother and daughter escalate into a messy scuffle. Before the throbbing soundtrack has a chance to cool off, Ajit is dead on the floor, choked on the cord of an immersion water heater, the handiest murder weapon in Himalayan towns.

Sujoy’s best film Kahaani (2012) would be nothing if it was all Vidya Balan, no Nawazuddin Siddiqui or Saswata Chatterjee. Likewise, Jaane Jaan is powered by two performers who bring blazingly diverse energies to the table. As a distraught Maya — by no means a professional criminal — is figuring out her next move, help arrives in the form of Naren (Jaideep Ahlawat), a brilliant but lonely math teacher who lives next door. He promptly takes care of the body, issues instructions and alibis, acts all-around nice guy. He likes Maya, obviously, an open secret she had hitherto brushed off, but — noting his resourcefulness — she feels compelled to leverage.

Things get further complicated when a sharp-nosed inspector, Karan (Vijay Varma), arrives in town. Sujoy has fun playing these disparate characters — and actors — off each other, two FTII graduates lining up to outfox each other over the star who played Poo in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001). What lends an additional edge to the narrative is the latent sexual tension between the characters. Though Naren keeps his distance, he is compared (not inaccurately, barring the hair) to Shah Rukh Khan from Darr . Karan, too, has a roving eye; his descriptions of Maya as Naren’s ‘hot’ neighbour are pointedly crude. It all pays off in a cunningly plotted scene, all our guesswork about character motivations and progress scrambled in a flash.

Jaane Jaan has been marketed as Kareena Kapoor Khan’s streaming debut. It’s a relief, therefore, that the film still feels like an ensemble piece. Khan, smartly and reassuringly, plays as part of a team, complementing instead of trying to commandeer scenes. It is a brisk, unfussy performance, almost toe-to-toe with Varma’s. The film, however, belongs to Ahlawat. This is one of his most physically absorbed roles. He plays a gentle giant, his hulking frame cutting bewitchingly through the evening mist. At times, a smile appears unexpectedly on his pockmarked face, like rainclouds in the desert. I also loved the absolute serenity — and, it must be added, sensuality — with which Ahlawat performs a jujutsu drill. He looks, to cite Bruce Lee, ‘like water making its way through cracks’.

Jaane Jaan is currently streaming on Netflix

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Jaane Jaan (2023) ‘Netflix’ Movie Ending Explained: Why did Naren surrender himself to the police?

‘ Jaane Jaan ’ (2023), the new Netflix mystery thriller starring Kareena Kapoor Khan, Jaideep Ahlawat, and Vijay Varma, is directed by Kahaani fame Sujoy Ghosh. An official adaptation of the famous novel ‘The Devotion of Suspect X’ by Keigo Higashino, ‘ Jaane Jaan ’ lifts the entire story and tries to ground it into an Indian context. Since the story has been adapted half a dozen times, including serving as the skeleton of Jeethu Joseph’s Drishyam , it’s difficult to understand why another iteration was needed. While it is a fairly serviceable thriller, the film fails to leave a mark despite interesting turns from its lead actors.

However, it has its fair share of twists and turns, which can be confusing for a more casual audience. In the following article, I have tried to discuss the film, explaining what happens at the film’s end. The article contains spoilers ; hence, read it at your discretion. 

Jaane Jaan (2023) ‘Netflix’ Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:

Maya D’Souza is a single mother living with her 14-year-old daughter, Tara, in Kalimpong. She runs a café called Tiffin and feels really whole in her life. Naren is an introverted math teacher at the local school, and people fondly call him “teacher.” Karan works in the Mumbai police with a very cheerful but unapologetic personality. The lives of these three characters intertwine when one of the police inspectors, Ajit, goes missing after his money laundering case. Karan is tasked with working on the missing case, and when Ajit’s last location points to Kalimpong, Karan arrives in the scenic town.

Who is Ajit, and what does he want from Maya?

Maya lives a very quiet life with her daughter, Tara, often keeping to themselves in their daily routines. However, when Ajit comes to see Maya at her café, we understand that the two share a tumultuous past. She asks him to leave and meet her at a secluded bar to avoid conflict at her workplace. Maya then meets him, and we learn that Ajit manipulated her into marrying him and sold her off to a local pub as a dancer. Now that Ajit knows that Tara is his daughter, Maya feels insecure because she is aware of his tactics and intentions to disrupt her peaceful life.

Later in the night, Ajit comes unannounced, knocking at their door while the mother and daughter are together. Maya asks Tara to hide and goes to confront him. However, he manages to enter and tries to gaslight her into doing what he wishes. Maya has had enough of him in her life. Annoyed by his demeaning behavior, she offers him whatever money she has and asks him to leave – even promising to pay him every month to avoid any interaction among them.

However, Ajit has plans of his own and intends to stay and spend time with his daughter, blackmailing Maya to take her away the same way he did to her. When he starts to misbehave with Maya, Tara intervenes and hits him with an immersion water heater rod, which makes Ajit furious. In a rage, he raises his hand on Tara, causing Maya to lose her calm, and in self-defense, the two women mistakenly end up killing him. While Maya is shocked and says she will come clean to the police, Tara is afraid of being separated from her mother.

Why does Naren help Maya?

Before we delve further into the story, it is essential to understand how Naren comes into the picture. He has a deep fondness for Maya. His apartment shares a wall with her house, but he claims to have come to the conclusion that there is a dead body by doing basic maths.  He steps up to offer his help when he finds them helpless.

Upon entering their house, he examines everything and swiftly takes charge of the situation, instructing Maya with details to take care of. While Maya suggests she should tell everything to the police, Naren explains to her the cons of the entire situation and how it can affect her daughter and now him as well. Instead, he suggests Maya and Tara should keep it low but continue with their lives as if nothing happened. He further gives them instructions about how, from now on, they will have a different narrative of everything, including the death of Ajit.

Why is Maya Karan’s only suspect?

The following day, while Karan tries to find the area where Ajit’s phone had transmitted the last signal, he becomes hungry and lands up at Maya’s Tiffin. He shows Ajit’s photo to Maya as a routine job, but she casually refuses to know him. When Naren visits the café for his usual takeout order, Karan recognizes him, and we learn the two were classmates back in their college days. Later, when Karan learns Ajit’s phone signal was last found somewhere near Maya’s house, he follows her and keeps track of her daughter.

The police, in the meantime, find a burnt body with a face completely smashed into a pulp so no one can identify it. However, Karan finds Ajit’s ID card in the pile of half-burnt clothes beside the body and immediately sends it for postmortem. After matching a chunk of hair strands from the comb found in the hotel room Ajit was staying in, the pathologist confirms Ajit’s death took place on the 10th. Meanwhile, when Naren sees that Maya is susceptible to the police investigation, he calls her from a pay phone and warns her about presenting a narrative that will keep the police away.

However, Karan’s suspicion of Maya becomes more apparent when, after questioning her, he learns that Ajit did meet Maya. He then interrogates her whereabouts on the 10th, and she tells him a detailed itinerary of the day, including going to a movie – Pets 2 with Tara, and then having dinner at a restaurant followed by a brief visit to the karaoke bar. While Karan keeps his eyes on Maya, the only suspect in Ajit’s death, all his efforts and investigation go in vain when all the evidence repeatedly points to Maya’s innocence. When the forensic confirms that the weapon used to kill Ajit is a heater rod that doesn’t match the one found in Maya’s house, Karan decides to work on the matter from Mumbai.

Why does Karan suspect Naren?

Right before he is about to close the case in Kalimpong, he finds out from Tiffin’s employee that Naren is a usual customer with a huge crush on Maya, contrary to his claim of only visiting her occasionally. It leads Karan to run through Naren’s movement on the 10th. He learns that in his tenure as a school teacher, it was the first time he had taken a day off from school, leading him to believe there is a new suspect in the case. When Karan confronts Naren about the day off, he reveals that he took off since he wasn’t feeling well and was upset after discovering that someone else had solved the math equation he had been working on for almost a decade.

Jaane Jaan (2023) ‘Netflix’ Movie Ending Explained:

What does naren confess to the police.

Realizing that Karan would eventually get his equation right about finding Ajit’s murderer, and Maya doesn’t feel romantically inclined to him, Naren decides to take things one step further. He goes to the police station and confesses that he killed Ajit.

Karan is stunned to see Naren come up with this narrative, but soon, things take a different turn as Naren starts to reveal his side of the story. He claims to the police that he is Maya’s bodyguard, and she would often tell him details about her life. They even made sure never to interact in public to avoid any attention. He further added that Maya would talk to her daughter, and he would listen closely from the hole the two neighbors shared in the wall of their apartment.

It is when he learns that Ajit, Maya’s husband, had followed her to the apartment on the 10th night with dubious intentions. Naren had taken Ajit to the mountains around the monastery and killed him with his heater rod to protect Maya. He even describes how he burned the body to eliminate the evidence that made Karan think that Naren is the culprit, who can only explain the gritty details of the murder since he killed Ajit. During cross-examination, all the alibis for Maya continue to prove her innocence, and Naren has nothing to prove as evidence except for the details of the murder that make Karan point him as the murderer.

Why did Naren surrender himself to the police?

Ever since Naren realized that Karan would do everything he could to prove Maya the culprit, he had to devise a plan to weigh towards Maya’s innocence. He had to make a believable story, so he had to first change the date of Ajit’s death, which was on the 9th and not the 10th.

Right after Ajit’s death, Naren helped Maya hide the body and implanted a decoy dead body in the mountain to lure the police. It turns out that he took a homeless man to Ajit’s hotel and offered him food and a bath so he could plant evidence all over the room with the man’s DNA that would match the body found in the mountain after killing him.

He then leaves Ajit’s ID on the pile of burnt clothes so the police can take the body as Ajit’s. In the meantime, Maya has an entire day to plan her evidence by following his instructions of going to the movies with Tara, having dinner, and visiting a karaoke bar that will work as her alibi. The plan obviously works because Karan believes Ajit’s murder occurred on the 10th, preventing Maya from Karan’s allegations and proving Naren as the murderer.

What made Naren go all this length to prove Maya’s innocence?

Before leaving the station after her interrogation, Maya requests Karan to allow her to speak to Naren to understand the why behind all this. In one of the film’s initial shots, we see Maya knocking on Naren’s door, asking for a plumber’s contact when he is contemplating taking his own life because of wasting years of his life to solve a math problem that someone was able to do only two days before him. Her knock at the door somehow saved him, and he felt like his life was indebted to her. 

Naren’s heart was broken when he realized that she had not disclosed all the details when Maya and Karan visited the karaoke bar; he felt betrayed. However, despite how he looked, her unchanged kindness and empathy towards him made him forgive her instantly, especially when she was the reason he stopped himself from committing suicide. Since she saved his life, he wanted Maya and Tara to lead the life they deserved, so he offered his help. The ending of Jaane Jaan (2023) shows Naren in jail with the walls of his cell covered with Mathematics solution. He claims to be happy because he is now alone with his first love, i.e., Mathematics – a love that would not break his heart. 

Read More: Jaane Jaan (2023) ‘Netflix’ Movie Review –  Sloppy as a standalone mystery and abysmal as an adaptation

Jaane jaan (2023) ‘netflix’ movie trailer.

Jaane Jaan (2023) ‘Netflix’ Movie Links:  IMDb Jaane Jaan (2023) ‘Netflix’ Movie Cast: Kareena Kapoor , Jaideep Ahlawat, Vijay Varma

Where to watch jaane jaan.

Quit my job to watch movies with my husband and occasionally write about it. I am also a social media and momo tasting expert, who loves Masala Dosa and Tilda Swinton.

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Jaane Jaan Review: Kareena Kapoor Conveys Wide Gamut Of Emotions In Mystery Thriller

Jaane jaan review: jaideep ahlawat makes light work of an extremely demanding character. vijay varma, who has to work the hardest because his policeman is bereft of the layers that the single mother and the math teacher have, lifts the character well above the ordinary..

Be it a retaliatory, spur-of-the-moment act or a pre-planned strike aimed at eliminating a threat, a murder is a murder. But when the principles of mathematics are employed to either disclose or obfuscate the truth, can a killer escape the noose? That is the question that writer-director Sujoy Ghosh's deftly crafted, superbly acted mystery thriller Jaane Jaan answers.

The Netflix film hinges on a single mother and her 13-year-old school-going daughter who are drawn into a calculated but risky cover-up attempt and a police investigation that hits a trail that nearly goes cold.

A taut script, spiffy dialogues (by Ghosh and Raj Vasant), first-rate performances and a keen sense of place serve to enhance the mystery that surrounds a lonesome math teacher who goes about his daily chores with mechanical detachment and a woman who moves in next door and becomes an object of silent, obsession for the reclusive man.

Based on the third novel of Keigo Higashino's Detective Galileo series, The Devotion of Suspect X , Jaane Jaan takes only a few minutes to deliver the watershed moment from which everything else in the plot flows.

The suspense stems from the chain of events that are set in motion by an unfortunate incident that tests the math teacher's genius and puts his neighbour's future under a cloud. Jaane Jaan is a genre-bending police procedural that dissects the minds of three characters rather than play out like a standard whodunit (in any case, we know who from the very outset).

Maya D'Souza (Kareena Kapoor in her OTT debut) has escaped an unhappy past and settled into a stable life that revolves around her daughter and a thriving cafe in Kalimpong. Naren Vyas (Jaideep Ahlawat) is in love with mathematics more than with anything else in the world.

Mumbai Police detective Karan Anand (Vijay Varma), sent to Kalimpong on a mission, is the only one who puts all his cards on the table. He is in search of a wanted man. With no emotional or psychological baggage weighing him down, he gets down to work with a local policeman, Sub-inspector Sundar Singh (Karma Takapa, who loses no opportunity to make his presence felt).

When Maya's past returns to hound her, the well-being of her daughter Tara (Naisha Khanna) becomes her priority. She finds an unlikely ally in Naren, who is awkwardly trying to find a life beyond math and his evening jujitsu sessions.

It transpires that Karan and Naren were classmates. As the two men probe each other's susceptibilities, the cop is under increasing pressure from his boss to find a corrupt policeman and hawala racket kingpin, Ajit Mhatre (Saurabh Sachdeva in a terrific cameo), who was last seen in Kalimpong.

The precise world building and the measured dialogues - a Hindi crime drama for once steers clear of cuss words - make the battle of wits between the two men consistently gripping and intriguing despite the fact that the audience is in the know of what is being sought to be swept under the carpet.

Love or, to be precise, infatuation that inches dangerously close to stalking, finds an exceedingly strange way of expressing itself in Naren's case, while a hint of lust colours Karan's exchanges with Maya, his prime suspect. Obsession, jealousy and anguish are all at play as the trio tread on ethically slippery ground.

The wall around the uncommunicative math teacher, an inscrutable enigma locked in an unbreakable shell, is like the mist that hangs over f Kalimpong. It hides a great deal even as it constantly shifts to reveal hitherto hidden nooks and vistas. Karan nearly gives up on the case, having hit his head against the wall a few times.

Maya has to hold her ground through it all in the face of the dichotomies that confront her. Her assistant Prema (Lin Laishram) claims that their cafe makes the best momos in town. But it isn't for the dumplings that Naren makes his way to the eatery every day.

The staid, painfully shy Naren has a receding hairline, looks older than he is and walks like a man who would rather let time pass him by. He plays chess with himself and sets question papers so tough that the school authorities request him to take it easy. But he has his reasons. Pull yourself higher, the world will not descend to your level, Naren tells a student.

Jaane Jaan explores the debilitating isolation of a man lost in his own world as well as the pitfalls in the way of a woman determined to put her troubled past behind her. Multiple dualities - protector-predator, victim-perpetrator, friend-foe and genius-oddball - are central to the twisted plot.

The title, which might suggest that this is a story with an undercurrent of romance, comes from one of the rare cabaret numbers that Lata Mangeshkar sang (Intaqam, 1969, filmed on Helen). The song plays in a karaoke bar and provides a fleeting glimpse of Maya's back story.

Jaane Jaan is laced with a slew of retro songs from other decades of Hindi film music. Some of them play so faintly that they are almost inaudible. Anirban Sengupta's sound design and the background score by Shor Police (Clinton Cerejo and Bianca Gomes) add appreciable allure to the film's soundscape.

The choice of songs may seem a tad arbitrary, but they together hark back to an era of perennially popular Hindi film music even as it points to - at least a handful of the numbers do - what the female protagonist of Jaane Jaan is running away from.

Editor Urvashi Saxena creates crisp and aptly complex patterns as she intercuts scenes into each other all through the film. Cinematographer Avik Mukhopadhyay locates the mystique of Kalimpong in everyday settings without resorting to any obtrusive means.

Kareena Kapoor's conveys a wide gamut of emotions in a performance marked by remarkable restraint. Jaideep Ahlawat makes light work of an extremely demanding character, capturing the man's interiority and body language to stunning effect.

Vijay Varma, who has to work the hardest because his policeman is bereft of the layers that the single mother and the math teacher have, lifts the character well above the ordinary by imparting to it the subtlest of behavioural nuances.

Jaane Jaan stays true to the text it is based on (but for minor tweaks here and there and a major departure from how the novel ends) - and to its genre - but it consciously and intelligently waters down the conventional crime drama tropes.

With the writer-director, the technicians, the music team and the actors at their very best, Jaane Jaan is an all-round triumph.

• Cast Kareena Kapoor, Jaideep Ahlawat, Vijay Varma and Saurabh Sachdeva
• Director Sujoy Ghosh

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Warning: SPOILERS ahead for the ending of Jaane Jaan.

• Jaane Jaan is a thrilling mystery movie on Netflix, starring Kareena Kapoor and featuring a shocking ending that keeps audiences on edge.
• Naren, the math teacher next door, helps Maya cover up the murder of her husband by killing another person and planting false evidence.
• Naren takes the blame for Maya's crime out of gratitude for her saving his life and finds solace in math while serving his prison sentence.

Jaane Jaan has been a Netflix success, and the movie's ending is both juicy and shocking. The movie is a mystery-thriller, completely in Hindi, that stars Bollywood superstar Kareena Kapoor and marks her streaming debut. It follows her character, Maya, who is a single mother to a daughter named Tara. Maya escaped from her husband Ajit years prior, who forced her to work as a stripper. Her world is turned upside down when he returns and threatens to subject Tara to the same fate. Maya kills Ajit to protect her daughter. The gifted math teacher next door — Naren — vows to help her cover it up.

Thus begins a complicated case where a determined police officer named Karan views Maya as his only suspect. Naren proves how strong his logic skills are, as he is able to outmaneuver Karan and constantly remain one step ahead of him in his quest to protect Maya. Jaane Jaan is full of twists and turns that keep audiences on edge from beginning to end. The last 20 minutes, in particular, drop bombshell after bombshell, and some might need the reveals broken down.

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Whose Body The Police Actually Find In Jaane Jaan's Ending

Way before the conclusion of Jaane Jaan , the police uncover a dead body that allows them to learn the date, time, and method of Ajit's murder. At the end of the film, it is revealed that this was not Ajit's body but an unhoused person's. Naren lured the unsuspecting man with food and then killed him the same way that Maya killed Ajit. He hid Ajit's actual body and burned the other man's to a crisp. However, Naren made sure that his victim's clothes didn't completely burn and placed Ajit's ID inside of them. Karan never truly suspects that this isn't Ajit's body, and that's due to Naren's careful planning.

Naren's Plan & Murder Twist Explained

The reason Naren murders the unhoused man all comes down to the date. Naren understands that if it comes out that the crime occurred on May 9, Maya has no alibi. By murdering the other man on May 10, Naren allows the forensic investigation team to conclude that the death occurred on that day. This creates a new timeline for the crime, which Maya can share with the police to free herself from suspicion.

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In the end, Naren decides to take the fall for Maya, absolving Maya and Tara from any blame. He does this in a very calculated way, as he makes a big scene and claims that Maya asked him to murder Ajit. He lies and claims that he and Maya were having a secret relationship, declaring that her safety is his number one priority. He explains that there is a hole in the wall between his and Maya's apartment. He says that Maya used this to communicate with him and tell him she wanted Ajit dead.

When Maya is questioned about this secret relationship, the hole, and the murder, she obviously knows nothing about it. She tells the police exactly that. This makes Naren seem like an obsessed stalker who murdered Ajit due to jealousy. Ultimately, Naren is sent to prison for 25 years. Meanwhile, the ending of Jaane Jaan sees Maya walking away from the situation scot-free.

Why Naren Took The Blame For Maya's Crime

Viewers are quickly clued in to Naren's massive crush on Maya in Jaane Jaan . He comes to visit her every day at work and even practices what he's going to say to her in front of a mirror. However, his crush alone is not enough to make him take the fall for Maya's crime. He does so because he wants to repay her for saving his life. In the first five minutes of Jaane Jaan , audiences see Maya going to Naren's apartment and asking for the phone number of a plumber. Naren is about to kill himself, but Maya's visit prevents him from doing so.

The Real Meaning Of Naren Solving Math Problems In Prison

If not for Maya, Naren would have taken his own life due to his frustration over a math problem. He had been working on solving a complex equation for 10 years, and when he finally was able to do so, he learned some unfortunate news. Another mathematician was able to solve it as well, and they did so 46 hours before him. Naren is used to being ahead of the game when it comes to mathematics, so this makes him question his entire life.

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After he goes to prison at the ending of Jaane Jaan , Naren is still solving math problems on the chalkboards that surround him. This is used to signify that Naren has reunited with his original love: math. Maya offers to visit him every day to keep him company while he serves his unearned sentence, but he refuses. He wants to spend the next 15 years working on a new math problem. This moment shows that Naren has a new lease on life and is ready to tackle a new challenge. Viewers get to see Naren years in the future, looking elatedly at his chalkboard, seemingly because he's solved the problem.

Did Karan Ever Find Out The Truth Behind Maya & Naren's Crimes?

In Jaane Jaan , Karan is never able to learn the truth of Maya and Naren's crimes. He believes Naren is a mad man who murdered Ajit all on his own. In the last scene of the movie, Naren repeats something he says earlier: " I gave you an answer, and you accepted it. Had you applied logic, you'd realize there'd be no birds remaining, as they would fly away upon hearing the gunshot, simple as that. The truth was right in front of you." This is his coy way of pointing out that because Karan accepted his answer about what happened, he never uncovered the simple truth in front of him.

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If a sequel to Jaane Jaan is ever made, perhaps Karan will eventually be able to uncover what really happened to Ajit. This would allow audiences to see what happens after the ending of Jaane Jaan and whether Naren would still be willing to go to such lengths to protect and repay Maya. Until then, Maya is a free woman, as she's now able to put her husband's murder behind her. Given Ajit's actions, it's unlikely Maya's feeling too badly about her newfound freedom. However, Karan's unanswered questions are sure to plague the detective, which may elicit sympathy from viewers and spur a follow-up.