Jubilee : Season 1 Dual Audio [Hindi ORG & Tamil] WEB-DL 480p & 720p | [Complete]

In a newly independent India, a studio boss, his movie-star wife, a trusted aide, a nautch girl and a refugee will have their paths cross in their pursuit of stardom and riches.

An ensemble of characters and the gambles they’re willing to take in pursuit of their dreams, passion and ambition.

JUBILEE SEASON 1 REVIEW : AN ENCHANTINGLY DARK TALE OF BOLLYWOOD’S GOLDEN ERA

Story: Set in the golden age of Hindi cinema, ‘Jubilee’ revisits the magical era of the 1940’s when the talkies culture ruled the silver screen and how one man’s dogged persuasion to become the country’s next superstar came with some unexpected and disastrous consequences.

Review: It’s a tale told with immense love. There is passion, politics, hate and competitiveness and all of it in the sepia-toned frames poetically depicting the time when a burgeoning Hindi film industry was also going through a massive churn. Shrikant Roy (Prosenjit Chatterjee) the honcho of Roy Talkies is looking for his next poster boy and superstar to play Madan Kumar. While he has the eye of an eagle for spotting talent, his reading of human beings and their intentions is questionable. There aren’t too many people in his life except his wife Sumitra, who is also a superstar and his spot boy and Man-Friday Binod Das (Aparshakti Khurana) – a shrewd and cunning small town boy living with his wife Ratna (Shweta Basu Prasad) and son. India and Pakistan are still one but not for long, as it’s a time when Hindustan is about to be divided. Cinema and radio are the only two mass mediums of entertainment and information that can also shape opinions. Amidst all this, the worlds of a courtesan Niloufer Qureshi (Wamiqa Gabbi) and a young refugee Jay Khanna (Sidhant Gupta) collide. He is harbouring the dream of becoming an actor and a filmmaker but is caught in a life-altering incident.

Recreated to perfection and with nuanced details, director Vikramaditya Motwane’s labour of love is filled with moments and characters that are complex, vulnerable, motivated and strong. These are the people who formed the very basis of the industry that has always been in the news as much for its deep dark secrets and ways, as it is for its power to entertain and enchant its audience. It wasn’t much different back even then. Motwane, his co-creator Soumik Sen and writer Atul Sabharwal give us fictional characters that remind us of the real life actors and filmmakers of the time. It’s so easy to draw parallels with them and hence many juicy twists and tales about their life and times become interesting anecdotes. These stories become contextual and are sure to resonate with any ardent Hindi cinema lover.

The careful recreation of that world through top notch production values, detailed set pieces and art direction (by Priti Gole and Yogesh Bansod), elegant and relevant costume design (by Shruti Kapoor) and a telling cinematography (by Pratik Shah) simply just enhance the overall experience, making it an immersive one. The music compositions (Alokananda Dasgupta) aren’t exactly chartbursting but they lend a perfect note to the ups and downs in tinsel town when the country is going through its most crucial phase. Kausar Munir’s lyrics also help uplift the mostly mediocre tunes. We also found it hard to digest some of the dialogues. Did people in those times also use such cuss words as today and speak in such a contemporary language?

Aparshakti Khuarana shows his mettle as the man with an unwavering commitment to his art. He looks the part of a commoner-turned-superstar. Sidhant Gupta excels as the troubled young man, who has learnt to make the best of the hand he has been dealt with. He does justice to the arc of his character that clearly has the best range for him to showcase his acting skills. Bengali superstar Prosenjit Chatterjee makes for an apt choice for his role of a man, who is wise beyond his years, decisive and principled in his own way. Aditi Rao Hydari doesn’t have a whole lot to work with but looks dreamy, as always. She plays the only female superstar in a male-dominated industry, who doesn’t enjoy the power she deserves. Wamiqa Gibba is a revelation in her debut role of a budding independent woman, who follows her heart no matter what. Seasoned actors like Ram Kapoor and Arun Govil lend good support.

In the OTT space, it’s hard not to get carried away with the luxury of time and the freedom of imagination. Surely enough, the makers of ‘Jubilee’ also give in to this temptation. As a consequence, the screenplay becomes stretched and bulky towards the climax. Some threads remain unexplained. As it is, it’s a busy narrative that packs in a gamut of the Hindi film industry cliches of the time, national and international politics over art – all of it unfolding against the backdrop of India’s independence. But even with so much going on, ‘Jubilee’ keeps its audience hooked with its bewitching old world charm and performances to match.