In the mid 90s, Akshay was doing great despite have many flops. In 1994, he had 5 hits and 7 flops but the 5 hits were big ones so the flops didn't damage his career. Akshay Kumar and double role didn't quite bond well because most of his films involving double roles haven't worked. Yes, Jai Kishan(1994) was a flop at the box office but it was decent and the typical concept was somewhat entertaining. This was also the first film where Akshay did martial arts with a sword which is a new concept for Bollywood action.
Jai Kishan tells the typical story of two brothers who were separated at birth because of a tragic event. Their father got killed by 3 escaped convicts, Jai lost his eyesight while Kishan disappeared. Jai grows up to be a honest man, he has mastered self defense so his blindness doesn't make him a weak person. Meanwhile, Kishan is a career thief. Kishan double crosses these dons and because he accidentally kills the brother of a big don(the same villain who killed his father), he is on their hit list. They want him dead and when they know that Kishan has a brother and a mother, they are also put into this trouble. When Jai learns his father's death, he decides to kill the villains who ruined his childhood. The rest of the film is how Kishan poses as Jai to fool the law while Jai murders the villains and this is followed by an action packed climax.
Direction by Sunil Agnihotri is okay, his handling is decent though. The film never drags because of forced comedy, the main focus is the action and this is one really good thing. It is a delight to watch Akshay perform martial arts. Despite some typical romance, the film still works because of the typically well handled plot of revenge. The second half is even better with more important dialogs and action sequences. The only problem is the fact that Kishan doesn't do much but pretend to be Jai, Jai is the one fighting and he has to do everything. I was expecting both the brothers to fight together but that just didn't happen till the climax. The climax is prolonged but Jai wielding a sword to kill the villain is super cool to watch.
Akshay Kumar performs well in both roles and despite some overacting, he does a brilliant job. As Jai, Akshay attempts something new with action and his dialog delivery is fabulous. Akshay's expressions while fighting are fantastic while his expressions while romancing Ayesha Jhulka is decent. As Kishan, Akshay repeats his typical act of a reformed thief. Kishan should've gotten more action scenes but fans like me weren't disappointed because Akshay as Jai was just fantastic. If Akshay just had Kishan and Jai was played by some other hero, the film would've been disappointing. Ayesha Jhulka is good but she is completely sidelined in the second half of the film. The other heroine is ordinary and has done what is required. Tinnu Anand has done a decent job as the villain but he tends to overact when he is angry, Deepak Shirke is OK. The rest provide decent support.
Music is OK, the only good song is the one which is repeated twice. In the beginning, the song is played and you can see Jai practicing martial arts near the beach which is a delight to watch. When it is played again, it is before the murder of Shirke. The song is called Jhule Lal Dam Mast Kalandar and it is a pretty good song. The rest of the songs are OK .
On the whole, Jai Kishan is a decent entertainer which works mainly because of Akshay Kumar's action and the well handled typical story. For Akshay Kumar fans(like me), this is a must watch because the action is just amazing.
4 out of 4 found this helpful