Kaveri Amma: Swades to ‘jawan’

(L-R) Kishori Ballal as Kaveri Amma in Swades; Ridhi Dogra as Kaveri Amma in Jawan

Ridhi Dogra plays a jailer in the women’s prison who ends up fostering Azad aka Shah Rukh Khan number 2. Ridhi, of course, is a good 20 years younger than SRK. When Aishwarya (played by Deepika Padukone) hands over Azad to Ridhi’s character before she goes to the gallows, she refers to the latter as ‘Kaveri Amma’. That, of course, is a hat-tip to Swades, one of SRK’s most impactful films in which he played a scientist (named Mohan Bhargav) who gives up a cushy job as a NASA scientist to return to his village and literally bring ‘light’ into the lives of its inhabitants.

In Swades, Kaveri Amma, played by the late Kishori Ballal, was the motherly figure who had brought up Mohan Bhargav. On an aside, Mohan Bhargav, in a meta tribute of sorts, was also the name of the scientist, played by SRK, in his rocking cameo in Brahmastra: Part One — Shiva.

The Matrix: To pill or not to pill?

The red pill-blue pill conundrum in The Matrix

Vijay Sethupathi plays crony capitalist Kaalee Gaekwad and claims to be “the fourth-largest weapons dealer in the world”. Kaalee, who looks like he raided Vijay Mallya’s closet, has a red pill-blue pill moment which is straight out of The Matrix. When one of Kaalee’s workers points out that his factories are causing environmental pollution, he opens a box consisting of red and blue pills. As per his doctor’s suggestion, Kaalee takes the blue pill whenever he is angered by someone and gives the one who has angered him the red pill which causes instant death.

In The Matrix, Neo (played by Keanu Reeves) is offered the choice between a red pill and a blue pill by rebel leader Morpheus (played by Laurence Fishburne). Morpheus tells Neo: “You take the blue pill... the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill... you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.” Neo, of course, opts for the red pill.

It’s all yellow!

(Top) Shah Rukh Khan’s girl gang channelling Uma Thurman in Kill Bill; Uma Thurman in Kill Bill (bottom)

In the song Zinda banda, the dancers flanking SRK, including his girl gang of fighters and strategists, sport yellow jumpsuits reminiscent of the iconic yellow tracksuit that Uma Thurman’s the Bride wears in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill. The Bride’s yellow outfit, in turn, was inspired by the outfit worn by Bruce Lee in his final film, Game of Death (1978).

What’s in a name? Naam toh suna hoga!

“Naam toh suna hoga?” — SRK as Vikram Rathore

SRK’s famous line: “Rahul... naam toh suna hoga?” by way of introduction in his 1997 smash-hit Dil To Pagal Hai makes its way to Jawan when Shah Rukh Khan number 1 aka Vikram Rathore appears in a whistle-worthy scene in one of the best interval blocks in recent times, with the line: “Naam toh suna hoga?”

A dad’s roar...
The Lion King

Simba and Mufasa in The Lion King

Even as “bete ko haath lagaane se pehle baap se baat kar” finds both resonance and roars among the audience as it travels from real to reel, we also love The Lion King reference in Jawan where Vikram Rathore (“baap”) is referred to as Mufasa and Azad (“beta”) as Simba. Interestingly, Shah Rukh voiced Mufasa and his son Aryan was the voice of Simba in the Hindi dub of the 2019 reboot of The Lion King.

Raquel & The Professor = Narmada & Azad

(L-R) The Professor and Raquel in Money Heist; Narmada and Azad in Jawan

Some early conjecture surrounding Jawan hinted that it could be a remake/ version of the Netflix series Money Heist. Now we know that it definitely isn’t, but special agent Narmada (Nayanthara), initially tasked with hunting down Azad and his gang of vigilantes, doing a turnaround and joining hands with them, clearly references the dynamic between The Professor and Raquel in Money Heist. Raquel, who is assigned the case of tracking down and arresting the thieves, eventually crosses over to the other side, courtesy of her relationship with the Professor, and becomes the gang’s Lisbon.

Masks to Mission (Impossible)

Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible

From 3D masks to that nice little touch at the end where Sanjay Dutt’s Madhavan Nayak (aka “Khalnayak”) hands over a new case to Azad (and Vikram, in vacay mode) as their new mission (“should they choose to accept it”) has more than a passing nod to Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible films.

Moon Knight ode

(L-R) The Marvel hero Moon Knight; A bandaged SRK in Jawan

Shah Rukh’s introduction sequence in Jawan, a brilliantly choreographed and excellently shot scene in which the man, mummified with a bandage beyond recognition, appears at the top of a hill, his shadow falling on a temple deity in an example of striking imagery where his silhouette resembles the many hands of the idol, is a hat-tip to Moon Knight, the Marvel hero.

Batman reloaded

(L-R) Bane in The Dark Knight Rises; The Bane ‘maskalike’ in Jawan

In the middle of so much meta-ness, can Batman be left behind? SRK’s silver mask, which covers one eye and a bit of his face, is reminiscent of Two-Face/ Harvey Dent in the Batman comics. Harvey Dent’s downward spiral from a cop came swiftly after a criminal threw acid on his face, leaving half of it horribly scarred. Seeking refuge in the underbelly of Gotham, the name Harvey Dent and all the good it stood for was lost… and Two-Face rose from the darkness. The name mostly had to do with his half-scarred face, which looks a lot like the mask SRK sports in Jawan.

(L-R) Two-Face/ Harvey Dent in the Batmancomics; Shah Rukh’s mask in Jawan

Also, we have a Bane in Jawan! Kaalee is seen doing business with an international dealer whose distinctive mask is a straightforward ode to the Batman villain’s mask. Bane’s mask supplies him with analgesic gas which relieves him from the chronic pain he endured in The Pit. Whatever happened to the Bane mask-alike in Jawan? Well, let’s hope he pops up, mask and all, in the sequel.