‘The music within’ is an apt tag line for ‘Jashnn’ for it effectively showcases the inner struggle of an aspirant who grapples with the demons of his personal life as he struggles along the thorny path to fame.

 The film revolves around Akash Verma, a struggling musician who wants to have the world applauding his talent. He and his sister live in their parent’s house, but the money to run it comes from a rich businessman Aman Bajaj, who ‘keeps’ his sister. Unhappy as he is with the treatment meted out to his sister, he incurs the wrath of Aman when it is discovered that Akash is dating Aman’s sister. A stubborn Akash refuses to let go of his love despite a warning given to both siblings. A vengeful Aman decides to do whatever he can to snuff out Akash’s career aspirations. The plot revolves around the effect of these changes in the lives of the principal characters and on whether Akash can fulfill his aspirations.

 ‘Jashnn’ is an emotionally intense film. Directors Raksha Mistry and Hasnain Hyderabadwala have given it a stark feel to the extent that a section of the audience may even feel disturbed by the goings on.  It does have its ‘Escape to Bollywood’ moments from time to time, but overall it comes across as a film that sincerely explores the psyche of the protagonist as he goes through his struggles. It does have story writer Mahesh Bhatt’s recurring theme of the protagonist being linked to an ‘other woman’. Earlier it was a son. This time it is a brother.

 A word of appreciation for Adhyayan Suman. He is a talented actor with raw intensity combined with sensitivity that can help him switch to any genre of film. With some work on his diction and posture, he can become a top notch actor. He could also have prepared for the role better by not sticking to playing G major even when he is supposed to be playing a lead riff.

Shahana Goswami as the sister delivers another strong performance post ‘Rock On!’ in a role that is a departure from the ‘pure’/’impure’ treatment that Hindi movies tend to give to the female characters. She is real. Humayun Saeed as the vengeful rich man is all subdued menace. A commendable performance. The weak link is Anjana Sukhani. She is very awkward and uncomfortable on screen and seems to stand out for the wrong reasons in an otherwise talented cast. A better casting effort could have helped the film further.

 One does feel that towards the end, the story tries to make up for all the darkness and drudgery of the principal characters with the redemption theme whereas a more realistic ending would have been in keeping with the core of the film. Nevertheless ‘Jashnn’ is worth watching for people who want to see a sincere attempt at narrating a good story with substance. It does not disappoint.