Janleva 555 movie review: Highly avoidable!

By IANS
| Updated: October 22, 2012 10:21 AM IST

With 10 newcomers in its cast, the film is a mish-mash and does not make sense

Film: Janleva 555 / Jaanleva 555 ; Cast: Kalpana Pandit, Anant Nag, Abrar Zahoor; Director: Sandeep Malani Also Read - Anil Kapoor accidentally likes a video on Janhvi Kapoor's alleged plastic surgeries; netizens call him 'Annoying uncle... '

Janleva 555 is like a slow poison that slowly consumes you, leaving you feeling wasted and annoyed. The theme and treatment of the film is outdated and difficult to digest from the word go. Also Read - Gadar 2 success effect: Sunny Deol credits all the new fortune to his bahu, ‘ghar ki Laxmi’ [Exclusive]

It has all the ingredients of movies of the bygone era. Reminiscent of films of the 1970 and 1980s with 'nagins', 'saperas' et al, Janleva 555 starts off as a snakebite awareness film and gradually morphs into an adventure-cum-romantic-cum-mystery movie - whatever the imagination of the filmmaker could encompass. To make matters worse, the 15 songs, dollops of reincarnation drama and elements of horror, make Janleva 555 a mish-mash of genres. Result - the viewer is thoroughly confused. Also Read - Sridevi birth anniversary: Janhvi Kapoor remembers her mom with a precious throwback; says, 'Hope you’re having lots of payasam...'

Apparently, India, known as the land of snake charmers, is also a country with the highest number of snakebite deaths. To highlight the fact, Neelam (Kalpana Pandit) along with her friends who share the same goal, decides to make a documentary on the subject. How noble! They zero in on a remote village and land in a dense forest to film snakes in their habitat. Romance brews between Neelam and Abrar Zahoor's character. Some songs later, suddenly Neelam recalls that she was a snake in one of her previous births, about 555 years ago. Then starts the reincarnation saga followed by mystery, revenge and an incessant headache for those watching.

After cliches, the plot stagnates. The situation and the songs seem strained and is probably the reason that audiences fail to get the crux of the story. If there is any, that is!

Kalpana as a producer and actor has left no stone unturned to show her histrionics. She is in every frame. Also, she seems to be in awe of Sridevi and imitates her, especially in the snake dance sequence. Co-incidently, Sridevi too was called Neelam in "Nigahen", where she played a snakewoman. Anant with his light and expressive eyes does a decent job of what's expected of him. In fact, with 10 fresh faces Janleva 555 seems to be a launchpad of sorts.

The songs sung mostly by newcomers are a strain on the ears. Longinus Fernandes' choreography is nothing to write home about.

Though Selvam and Kamal Lokhandwala have captured the locales brilliantly, and Santosh Chawla's editing is neat, Janleva 555 has anachronistic feel. Perhaps director Sundeep Malani lacked a clear vision. Don't waste your time. Janleva 555 is highly avoidable.

IANS Rating: 1/5.

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ByIANS
| Updated: October 22, 2012 10:21 AM IST