Jog 101 movie review: Vijay Raghavendra’s quest to find a missing friend is a borefest

1.5/5

Jog 101 movie story: For IT professional Vikram (Vijay Raghavendra), his friend Amar (Tilak Shekar) and the latter’s sister Sushma, mean the world to him. But when Sushma and her husband Rakesh go missing after celebrating their first wedding anniversary near Jog Falls, and the police deem it a case of suicide, Vikram sets out to find out what really transpired. Can he find Sushma and crack the mystery behind a spate of unexplained disappearances in the area?

Jog 101 movie review: When the memory of an actor’s work in a good film is still fresh and the expectation is that he’d follow that up with something on similar lines, only to find yourself watching a movie that has you scratching your head in disbelief at the disparity in quality, well, that was the case with Jog 101. Leading man Vijay Raghavendra’s last release was the very watchable thriller Case of Kondana, which is what I kept telling myself while heading out for Jog 101. I even chose to disregard the little voice in my head that said ‘just because an actor has done one good film, his next doesn’t have to be’. Not everyone can be Mammootty, right!

The central premise of Jog 101 is the case of a missing couple, who, as it turns out, are only 2 of the 131 people missing and presumed dead in the vicinity of the Jog Falls. While the bodies of 33 have been recovered, there’s been no trace of the other 98 till date. Were all of them really suicidal, or is there something more sinister at play? That is what Vijay Raghavendra, as Vikram, has to crack. But how? He is only an IT professional, who has been entrusted with getting to the bottom of a case that the police has written off as suicide, by the missing girl’s brother, Vikram’s pal Amar. What powers of deduction or the means to it does Vikram have?

Apparently, staring at a map of the area, checking out the local goons and riding around town romancing a pretty girl is all it takes to put this mystery to bed. Sigh! So much of the narrative is about Vikram’s budding romance that the reason he is there is almost forgotten. It also doesn’t help that the final reveal feels familiar. ‘Where have I seen this before?’ was the nagging question I had as the mystery unfolded; it just isn’t original. That the culprits got away with crimes spanning several decades just seems incredulous.

The pet peeve I had about Jog 101 is in the choice of playback singer for Vijay Raghavendra. For several years now, Sanjith Hegde has been the new Sonu Nigam of Kannada cinema. No film’s soundtrack is complete without at least one song by Sanjith. I am no music expert, but even the most tone-deaf person will realize that the talented singer sounds similar in a lot of his ‘romantic numbers’. But that’s not his fault and this is not a comment about his singing; rather, it is about having him sing playback for Vijay - such a woeful mismatch.

Jog 101 movie verdict: Vijay Raghavendra’s latest is neither a full-fledged thriller or a romantic drama. It’s a misfire on all counts.