'Jackpot' review: Just another glorified stage show

Javed Sheikh-starrer is replete with crass, toilet humour and fails to illicit more than a few chuckles

KARACHI: A dialogue in the film Jackpot goes something like, “Jojo ke do hi shauq hain… (Jojo only likes two things).” Javed Sheikh plays Jojo, a gangster. But to borrow from the dialogue (as all great art is borrowed), Jojo does only like two things: signing every film that comes his way and making an entry in the scene, with a close-up of him smoking a cigarette or cigar.

It is quite telling of the ability of most Pakistani film-makers when this is the only way they see the star make an entrance. In fact, it stopped being funny (maybe not) when I noticed almost exactly similar shots of Sheikh in no less than two films this Eid. It became a cause of concern when the veteran actor himself did the same in his directorial project Wajood. I am still in confused about whether it’s his fault, the film-maker’s or both.

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Sheikh’s latest acting venture Jackpot doesn’t do anything different. It puts him in the same boots he has been wearing for the last several years. The film, directed and produced by Shoaib Khan, revolves around a winning lottery ticket of Rs100 crores in Jojo’s lost coat which the cast, comprising of Adnan Shah Tipu, Sana, Noor Hassan and Sanam Chaudhary, searches for it. It’s a simple plot and has characters with interesting stories: a waiter and a receptionist at a hotel looking to get married, a gangster with an obvious attraction for money, and others who get caught up in the process. Jackpot’s strengths include decent production values, the thread that connects the storyline from the beginning to end and well-defined characters. In that, the film succeeds. But that’s about the only aspect.

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The film’s content is crass and the humour relies on toilet jokes and low grade slapstick. Yes, there are a few genuinely funny lines but they are so few and far between that one feels cheated. It film might do well in single screen cinemas but that’s the ceiling for Jackpot.

In the first 15 minutes, Jackpot already feels like it’s overcompensating for its below average content with constantly moving camerawork, funky transitions and forced and jarring background music which calls attention to itself instead of enhancing the scene.

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Granted the film doesn’t pretend to be more than that. Its content is a parody of itself and even goes meta by poking fun at its own limitations. The problem with Jackpot is not the subject matter or the storyline but its treatment. Most of the jokes fall flat not because they are not funny at all, thanks to Babar Kashmiri’s lazy writing.

Jackpot even drags by the end and it’s confusing why one of the major scenes before the film’s payoff was edited out. The comedy does get a few things right but ends up trying too hard to be funny, with constant one-liners that might work on paper but not on screen. Essentially, Jackpot is a glorified cinematic adaptation of a local stage show and it’s proud to be one. There is nothing wrong with that, except that the substandard humour simply isn’t worth the money.

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Verdict: If your idea of comedy is overdone, slapstick, toilet humour, go watch Jackpot. If not, stay home. You are not exactly winning the Jackpot anyway.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars