Spoiler alert: Sunny Leone doesn’t strip. Oops, did I just make you cancel your Sunday evening plans? Sunny Leone has excited everyone in India because she’s the closest we’ve got to porn on the big screen. And since we’re so deprived of any kind of skin show in cinema, we’ll take what we can get, even if it’s only shots of her bare back, signifying her state of toplessness.
Anyway, Jackpot has been marketed as an erotic thriller. There’s no thrill, and even less erotica, unless you’re turned on by the sight of money. You see a lot of banknotes, which is what you’d expect anyway, in a film that is set in a casino in Goa.
The film supposedly lasts only for one-and-a-half hours. I didn’t realise, because the plot – or whatever the director calls a ‘plot’ – is so confusing, going back and forth in time until you stop caring about anyone and anything.
The storyline is as simple as this – Boss (Naseeruddin Shah) needs a lot of money, probably to fund his wardrobe and hair stylist. You’ll know what I mean if you brave the film – or, even brave the poster. Some money goes missing, and so he sends his in-house seductress (Sunny Leone) and some guy who seems to be a bouncer (Sachiin Joshi) after it.
En route to recovering the money, the two of them spend a lot of time on boats in the rain. They also spend a lot of time making out. And, to keep us occupied while they have all the fun, the filmmakers tell us the back stories of all the characters who could possibly play any role in this film.
Now, remember this is the first film Kaizad Gustad has made since he directed Boom 10 years ago. And that film was most famous for Katrina Kaif’s “controversial” scene, where she crawls on a table and then sort of strips. Clearly, Gustad uses his films to live out some sort of adolescent fantasy of his own. Thankfully for us, I have a feeling this will be his last film. And if he takes 10 more years to come out with yet another supposed thriller, I, hopefully, will not be reviewing movies anymore.
There are two big mysteries in this film, and neither of them has to do with the story. One is, why do producers even bother funding such obviously doomed ventures? And the second one is, what on earth is Naseeruddin Shah doing in a film like this? Let’s not even get into what he’s doing in purple coat, purple sunglasses and blonde hair. Unless he wants to fund a trip into space, there’s no excuse for appearing in this film.
The Verdict: Save your Sunday. Stay home.