Jaane Jaan
Official release poster
Directed by	Sujoy Ghosh
Written by	Dialogues: Sujoy Ghosh Raj Vasant
Screenplay by	Sujoy Ghosh
Based on	The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino
Produced by	Jay Shewakramani Akshai Puri Hyunwoo Thomas Kim Shobha Kapoor Ekta Kapoor
Starring	Kareena Kapoor Khan Jaideep Ahlawat Vijay Varma
Cinematography	Avik Mukhopadhyay
Edited by	Urvashi Saxena
Music by	Songs: Sachin-Jigar Score: Clinton Cerejo
Production companies	Balaji Motion Pictures 12th Street Entertainment Kross Pictures Boundscript Miracle Pictures Northern Lights Films
Distributed by	Netflix
Release date	21 September 2023 (2023-09-21)
Running time	139 minutes
Country	India
Language	Hindi

Jaane Jaan (transl. Beloved), released internationally as Suspect X,^[1] is a 2023 Indian Hindi-language mystery thriller film written and directed by Sujoy Ghosh.^[2][3] The film is an adaptation of the 2005 Japanese novel The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino.^[4][5]

It stars Kareena Kapoor Khan as a single mother involved in a murder, alongside Jaideep Ahlawat and Vijay Varma.^[6][7] The film is produced under the banner 12th Street Entertainment and Northern Lights Films in association with Kross Pictures and Balaji Motion Pictures.^[8] It released on 21 September 2023 on Netflix.^[9][10]

Plot

In Kalimpong, Maya D'Souza is a divorced, single mother who works at a cafeteria. Naren Vyas is a reclusive, but brilliant mathematics teacher, who lives next door to Maya and Tara (Maya's daughter). Naren is solemn and introverted, and his morning exchanges with Maya from whose cafeteria he buys lunch, is the brightest part of his day.

When Ajit, Maya's abusive ex-husband & a policeman, shows up one night to extort money from Maya, threatening both her and Tara, the situation quickly escalates into violence and Ajit is killed by mother and daughter on the apartment floor.

Overhearing the commotion from his room and deducing that Ajit has been killed, Naren offers his help to the mother and daughter. He not only disposes the body, but also plots the cover-up step-by-step.

Inspector Karan Anand, a former classmate of Naren, is assigned to track the missing Ajit, which leads him to Kalimpong. There he runs into his old classmate Naren, along with burned remains with Ajit's credentials. Karan's suspicions immediately fall to Maya. Autopsy shows that the murder occurred on the 10th. Maya and Tara have a detailed alibi. Karan tries his best to poke holes in it.

Unable to poke any holes in Maya's holiday, he is ready to go back. Maya's employee tells Karan about Naren's crush on Maya. Karan becomes suspicious of Naren, who had previously claimed to not know Maya very well. Karan finds incriminating evidence against Naren, who does not have an alibi for the 10th.

Maya apologizes to Naren when she finds out that her employee told Karan that Naren has a crush on Maya. She told him that she clarified that there is nothing romantic between the two. A heartbroken Naren goes to the police station and confesses to Ajit's murder, saying he did it at Maya's behest.

Naren starts to frame himself as delusional. He has set up evidence against himself. Maya confirms the evidence, including cryptic messages sent to Maya. The murder weapon is also found in Naren's house. Karan accepts that Naren killed Ajit in a delusional state to protect Maya and Tara.

A guilt-ridden Maya asks Naren why he took the blame for her. Naren tells her that he had spent 10 years of his life on one of the Millennium Prize Problems, which he solved. However someone else has reached the solution 46 hours before him. Depressed, he was going to commit suicide. Right then, Maya had knocked on Naren's door, giving him a new lease on life.

In a flashback, it shows how Naren covered up the murder. Since Ajit's murder occurred on the 9th and Maya did not have an alibi for the 9th, he killed a homeless man on the 10th on a day Maya and Tara had meticulously created an alibi. Karan had previously noted that the burned remains had a smashed face and burned fingerprints to hide Ajit's identity so the dead body would not be connected to Maya. In reality, it was done to make sure that no one would realize that the dead body was not Ajit's.

Naren is sentenced to 25 years in prison, which he used to solve another of the Millennium Prize Problems.

Cast

• Kareena Kapoor Khan as Maya D'Souza née Soneeya Tawde, waitress at Tifin lounge and Bar, Kalimpong. Teacher Naren Vyas's and Inspector Karan Anand's love interest.
• Jaideep Ahlawat as Naren Vyas aka Naru, gold medalist and PhD in mathematics, maths teacher at Mount George school, Kalimpong. An expert practitioner and Red belt in Jujitsu. College mate of Karan at KG Somaya Science, Arts and commerce college, Bombay.
• Vijay Varma as Inspector Karan Anand, Chief investigating officer of Mumbai police in disappearance case of ASI Mhatre, expert practitioner of Kurash, college mate of Naren Vyas.
• Saurabh Sachdeva as ASI Ajit Mhatre,Mumbai police, Maya's husband, Tara's father ^[11]
• Lin Laishram as Prema Kami, Nepali waitress at Tiffin bar and lounge, Kalimpong
• Naisha Khanna as Tara D'Souza, daughter of Maya and Ajit Mhatre, student of Teacher Naren Vyas^[12]
• Uditi Singh as Young Soneeya Tawde, works at Shabnaam dance bar, Bombay

Production

Announcement and filming

The film was officially announced in March 2022.^[13] Principal photography commenced from May 2022 onwards in Kalimpong, West Bengal.^[14]

Marketing and release

On 25 August 2023, the teaser with a release date was announced by Netflix.^[15] The makers planned to release the film on 21 September 2023, which was the birthday of the film's lead actress, Kareena Kapoor Khan.^[16] The film was selected to be screened at the Himalayan Film Festival 2023.^[17]

Soundtrack

The music for the movie are composed by Sachin–Jigar.

The first single "Jaane Jaan (Title Track)" was released on 11 September 2023.^[18] The second single "Doriyaan" was released on 18 September 2023.^[19]

Reception

Viewership

During 18–24 September 2023, Jaane Jaan was the most-watched non-English film on Netflix globally with 8.1 million views.^[20][21] The film had the biggest opening weekend viewership for an Indian film with 18.8 million viewing hours from 8.1 million views.^[22] It was trending at number-one in 13 countries and was among the top ten most-watched films across 52 countries.^[23]

Critical response

Jaane Jaan received positive reviews from the film critics with particular praise directed towards the performance of the main cast.^[24][25] On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 75% based on 8 reviews.^[26]

Saibal Chatterjee from NDTV rated 3.5 out of 5 stars praising the plot of the film and called, "With the writer-director, the technicians, the music team and the actors at their very best, Jaane Jaan is an all-round triumph."^[27] Devesh Sharma from Filmfare rated 3.5/5 stars and wrote, "The film rests hugely on the shoulders of its three principal protagonists. You tend to sympathise with the protagonists, wanting them to win, wanting them to stretch their bluff till the very end. Watch the film for the masterful performances by Varma, Ahlawat and Kapoor Khan".^[28] Rishil Jogani from Pinkvilla rated 3.5/5 stars and opined, "Jaane Jaan is a great adaptation of the book, 'The Devotion Of Suspect X'. It is a must watch for those who enjoy films in the thriller space. It is also strongly recommended for all those who haven't read the book or watched the Japanese adaptation of the book."^[29]

Sukanya Verma from Rediff rated 3.5/5 stars and opined, "In Jaane Jaan, the director sets the rules where subtext is spoiler and everybody must reveal themselves without disclosing anything. All his three lead actors rise to that challenge spectacularly and share numerous stories to be read in between the lines."^[30] Anvita Singh from India Today rated 3.5/5 stars and stated, "When you have a solid screenplay to rely on, it is half the battle won for everyone involved. Then all you need to do is cast the right actors. In 'Jaane Jaan's' case, both these demands were met by Sujoy Ghosh ably."^[31] Bollywood Hungama rated the film 3 stars and stated, "Jaane Jaan is a gripping film and works due to the execution, unexpected twists and turns and terrific performances of Kareena Kapoor Khan, Jaideep Ahlawat and Vijay Varma."^[32]

Times of India rated with 3/5 stars and wrote, "If you have an affinity for the kind of cinema that exudes a melancholic, enigmatic, and contemplative atmosphere, Jaane Jaan will strike a chord with you. However, the film falls short of keeping up with the grip and fast pace of the book that was unputdownable."^[33] Lachmi Deb Roy from First Post rated 3/5 stars and wrote, "The story is unique, engaging and the best thing about it is the minute details that he has paid attention to starting from the look of the apartments to the look of the actors. Kapoor have done justice to her role trying to show the hardships of a single mother and the stress that she goes through because of her dark past. both Ahlawat and Varma have slayed their roles to perfection."^[34]

See also

• List of Netflix India originals
• List of Hindi films of 2023

References

External links

• Jaane Jaan at IMDb