Jolly LLB 3 Movie Review: Akshay Kumar Takes Center Stage, Arshad Warsi Gets Sidelined
Rating: 3/5
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Arshad Warsi, Saurabh Shukla, Gajraj Rao
Director: Subhash Kapoor
Storyline:
It’s objection after objection in the courtroom as two Jollys.. Akshay Kumar’s Jolly Mishra and Arshad Warsi’s Jolly Tyagi, keep vying for the title of the original Jolly. These two lawyers are constantly locking horns, swiping each other’s cases, always looking for a chance to one-up the other.
But things take a serious turn when they stumble onto a case that makes them put their rivalry on hold, at least temporarily. Enter Janki Rajaram Solanki (Seema Biswas), an old farmer’s widow, who’s fighting to protect her late husband’s farmland. Standing in her way is Haribhai Khaitan (Gajraj Rao), a ruthless businessman with dreams of building his flashy ‘Bikaner to Boston’ project, no matter the cost.
Presiding over the gavel-banging chaos is none other than Judge Sunder Lal Tripathi (Saurabh Shukla), where the courtroom becomes both a battleground and a comedy circus.
Jolly LLB 3 Movie Review:
Jolly LLB 3 lands somewhere in the middle of the courtroom drama scale; not quite guilty of being boring, but not winning any awards for brilliance either. It is decently entertaining for sure, yet this time around the humour feels surprisingly weak.
Compared to the sharp punches and hilarious chaos of the first two instalments, the comedy here just does not hit with the same force. The jokes land occasionally, but often feel a little too forced, especially when it comes to the so-called rivalry.
On paper, the banter and one-upmanship between Akshay-Arshad had great potential, but on screen the back and forth feels forced rather than flowing smoothly. You will find yourself wishing the writers had sharpened that angle better, because these two actors deserved meatier sparring sessions.
Screentime-wise, Akshay Kumar takes up the center stage. He is comfortable in the comedy-drama space, but ends hamming it up a little extra in the comic scenes. Kumar is compelling during the courtroom sequences though.
Arshad Warsi, on the other hand, is more natural with his comedy. But sadly, he feels sidelined and underutilised throughout the film. He gets his moments to shine and he does deliver in the climax, yet overall, it feels like he doesn’t get his due.
The stellar Gajraj Rao makes for a formidable antagonist. Seema Biswas is excellent as always, balancing out the silliness in the film with her depth, while Saurabh Shukla continues to bring dependable charm as the judge. Huma Qureshi and Amrita Rao are effective in the minimal screentime they get as the wives.
The first half drags its feet until the interval, testing your patience a little. Thankfully, the second half picks up speed with more courtroom fireworks, which makes things livelier. All said and done, Jolly LLB 3 works as a one-time watch; nothing objectionable, just not a landmark judgment either.
