We all have to agree that Vikramaditya Motwane is a genius, and with his latest series, “Jubilee,” he proves the command he has over the craft and how efficiently he can transport you back in time and give you an immersive and unparalleled experience. A special shout-out has to be given to the entire production design, art direction, and costume design team for paying attention to the smallest of details and recreating the era in an unbelievably realistic manner. If you look at each department individually, you will realize that the entire cast and crew has done a scintillating job, but somehow cumulatively, “Jubilee” falls short of expectations and isn’t able to captivate you in the manner you would have liked. Maybe it’s because of its sluggish pace or the excruciating amount of time the editor and the director give each emotion to establish itself. In the end, you realize that “Jubilee” is a masterpiece from a technical viewpoint, but it still isn’t able to leave the kind of impact that you would have expected from a work of such exceptional quality.
Spoilers Ahead
Jay’s First Film Gets Critical Acclamation
It had been a year since Shamsher Singh Walia decided to fund Jay Khanna’s film, Taxi Driver, but still, the film was under production, and everybody working on the project knew that if they went at the same pace, then they would never be able to complete it. Walia was getting paranoid, and the dark clouds of the film being shelved were looming over the entire project. The problem was that Jay and Nilofer were not exactly getting along with each other; the other cast members and crew were getting frustrated by the fights they had almost every day over petty issues. Walia tried to instill some sense in Jay, but he wasn’t ready to accept his fault. But something changed inside Jay when he went to see the rushes in Raghu Jalani’s theater. He realized that beneath all that frustration and anger, he actually loved Nilofer, and that was when he decided to reconcile with her, hasten the production, and bring their film to the screen as soon as possible.
Jay went to meet Nilofer at her home and apologized to her for his bad behavior on set. He accepted that he had been unnecessarily rude to her for no fault of hers. Nilofer and Jay struck a chord after that reconciliation session, and both became quite close during the shooting of “Taxi Driver.” Walia was relieved to see the film released in theaters and get good reviews from the critics. Though the film didn’t become a box office hit and didn’t earn as much as compared to the films of Roy Talkies, the industry knew that Nilofer and Jay were going to achieve stardom in the near future. Meanwhile, Sumitra was still striving to find the truth, as she was in the first part of “Jubilee.” She was finally able to meet Jay Khanna when she read an article about him and his upcoming film in an entertainment magazine. Sumitra had no clue that the Jay Khanna she was searching for had been working in her studio itself for a long time, and her husband, Mr. Srikant Roy knew about his identity but still had hidden it from her. Jay accepted in front of Sumitra that he had met Jamshed once in Lucknow, but he didn’t say anything about the involvement of Madan Kumar or the nitty-gritty of the incident that had happened on that fateful night when the country was having a tryst with destiny.
Madan Kumar was trying to develop a new story with a new director named Asghar Ali, who had recently been brought on board by Roy Talkies. Madan Kumar’s inspiration for the story was the entire incident that led to Jamshed Khan’s death, and it seemed as if he wanted to get freedom from his guilt by accepting his crime in front of the whole world. Acting had become a means of catharsis for Madan Kumar, as he knew that in real life, he couldn’t afford to speak the truth, as it would have ruined his entire life.
Jay Signs A Deal With The Soviet Union
The Soviet Union wanted to make propaganda films in India, in exchange for releasing Hindi films in their country. They first approached Srikant Roy for this arrangement, and they wanted Madan Kumar as the lead in their films. Mr. Roy might have been a true-blue capitalist, but he also had a strong inclination toward the art of filmmaking. He knew he could always invest in the stock market and earn money, and he didn’t want to compromise on the kind of stories he wanted to tell. Mr. Roy felt that cinema had the power to empower people, and that is why it was very important to use it wisely. He believed that it was important for filmmakers to take a stand against the regime if they felt that it was misusing its powers. The character of Madan Kumar might have been stylish and opulent in its own way but still it resonated with the common people because he was always morally correct and at times wasn’t scared to raise his voice against the oppressive system. Vladimir Sayadyants, the spokesperson of the Soviet Union, realized that Mr. Roy wouldn’t support them in their endeavor, and so, instead of the kingmaker, he decided to try his luck with the King itself. Vladimir tried talking to Madan, but he stayed loyal to Roy. Finally, Vladimir struck gold, and he signed a deal with Jay and Walia for three films. All this while, Vladimir and Nanik Jotwani were tapping Madan Kumar’s phone lines, and their suspicion that he was involved in the death of Jamshed Khan was slowly proving right.
Though “Jubilee” made us privy to the dark side of the film world, nothing ever came into the public’s purview, and the masses still held a lot of reverence for their beloved film stars. No actor wanted that illusion to be ruined, but sometimes the situations went out of their hands. Jay and Madan had a heated argument at the party organized by the Soviet delegation that quickly turned into an ugly scuffle. Madan Kumar was having an affair with Nilofer, and Vladimir and Jotwani had the entire details as they had tapped the phone lines. They gave the recording to Sumitra, who later disclosed the secret to Jay. Jay lost his temper, and the next day, the entire world knew that Madan Kumar was cheating on his wife and having an illicit affair with his next co-star. Madan’s wife, Ratna, was disheartened when she learned about it. She had never asked her husband for anything in life except loyalty, which he wasn’t able to give her. Srikant knew that the affair would deal a severe blow to Madan’s image, so he wanted to make some last-minute changes in the upcoming film, Rajmahal, to do some damage control and once again, portray Madan Kumar as the flagbearer of hope.
Jay And Srikant Make A Deal
Rajmahal was a flop, and Roy Talkies incurred heavy losses because of its failure at the box office. The people just couldn’t relate to the ending, and they questioned the morality of their role model. Srikant Roy hatched a plan to sabotage the success of Baiju Awara, a film that was helmed by Sumitra and Jay and financed by Walia. Roy instructed his men to make pirated copies of the film and distribute it in the Tier II towns. Walia had planned a distribution strategy where he wanted to release his films only in Tier 1 cities, as he presumed that the village crowd would travel to the big towns on the weekends and watch the film there. Now, with the illicit distribution, what happened was that, though people were watching the films, revenue was not being generated as the sale of tickets was off the books. Walia and Jay knew that they would have to take immediate action and conduct a ground inspection to see for themselves what was happening. When they went to the cinema halls, they discovered that they had been tricked by Srikant. They were about to stop the screening when Raghu Jalani noticed something. He heard people hooting and screaming with joy, and their reaction made it very clear that they had accepted Jay as a star. Raghu told Walia and Jay to look at the bigger picture. Jay had earned the applause, and his popularity was on par with Madan Kumar. Jay and Walia went inside the theater, and the people lifted them on their shoulders, and their film was declared a hit.
Srikant’s plan had backfired, and he made a new strategy to revive his studio and produce a hit film. He made a call to Madan’s nemesis, Jay, as he knew that he needed a new face to row his ship ashore. Up until then, in “Jubilee,” Jay’s plan was pretty simple: he wanted to do the three propaganda films as per the contract he had signed with the Soviet Union and not look out for any other collaborations. But the call with Srikant Roy changed everything, and Jay decided to do a film produced by Roy Talkies. Srikant had told him that he was not opposed to the idea of the Soviets also putting their money into his film, but he surely wasn’t going to make what they wanted. Walia was devastated when he learned about Jay’s decision. Walia knew that the United States of America was funding Srikant’s project, and that is why the Soviet Union would never get involved in it. Walia and Jay parted ways, and the former decided to stay loyal to the Soviet Union and deliver what he had promised.
What Was The Reason Behind Srikant’s Death?
The Soviet Union delegation once again approached Madan Kumar and told him what had been happening behind his back. As we approached the end of “Jubilee,” we realized that nobody could be trusted in the entertainment fraternity. Jotwani and Vladimir told Madan that they would gladly sign a project with him and give him the rights to distribute his film overseas if he somehow managed to destroy Srikant and bankrupt his company. Madan hatched a plan to destroy the hand that once fed him. He took the accountant of the Roy Talkies, Mr. Majumdar, in confidence, and gave him a lucrative offer that he just couldn’t ignore. He told him that if he did as he was told, he would be given a huge sum of money, and additionally, his son’s entire education abroad would be financed by them. The accountant came on board, and he gave Srikant Roy a false tip and told him to invest in cotton stocks. He said that the tip came directly from the foreign ministry, and because the information seemed credible, Roy decided to invest the entire liquid funds of his company into it. Obviously, the stock didn’t rise, and the income tax department conducted a raid to seize all assets of Roy Talkies. Srikant would have been arrested, but Madan had already filed for anticipatory bail, and he asked the income tax officers to leave Roy.
In “Jubilee” we were made privy to many betrayals throughout the course of the narrative, but nothing came close to what Madan did to Srikant Roy. Srikant had always considered himself to be a pioneer in the world of cinema, and he believed that he was way ahead of his time. Srikant Roy committed suicide towards the end of the ninth episode, as he not only felt disheartened by the betrayal but also lost the will to stand up again and fight for the cause. Srikant left the pictures for his wife, Sumitra, that the detective had given him back in the day. The pictures were evidence of the fact that Madan Kumar was not only present with Jamshed the night he died, but he was the main perpetrator who enabled his murder.
‘Jubilee’ Ending Explained: Was Madan Kumar Charged For The Murder Of Jamshed Khan?
The hunt for the murderer of her beloved Jamshed Khan finally came to an end towards the end of “Jubilee” when Sumitra got the pictures. She knew that she had proper evidence and could file a case against Madan Kumar. The legal battle commenced, and both parties made a series of allegations against each other. Madan Kumar realized that because of the pictures and the testimony of the detective who had taken them, his case was getting weak. He had no option but to take the name of Jay Khanna to prove his innocence and he told the court of law that the famous actor was also present with him on that night. At that point in Jubilee, Jay was already going through a lot in his personal life, and the summons from the court increased his troubles even more. Jay wanted to marry Nilofer, but his father wanted him to marry Kiran, as he had given his word to her father, Pratap Singh. The Americans who were backing Khanna Studio had told Jay very clearly that they could not afford another scandal and if it happened, they would not fund the project. Jay’s father told him that if he went with Nilofer, whatever he had been able to achieve up until then would be destroyed. Jay was in a fix, and he no longer knew if he should listen to his mind or his heart. Jay had struggled for most of his life to reach where he was now, and the thought of going back to the refugee camps and living an impoverished life sent shivers down his spine. Jay married Kiran, and Nilofer was once again abandoned, and she knew that she had no option but to surrender to the situation and accept her fate.
Jay appeared in court and told the judge and the jury that Madan Kumar had not killed Jamshed Khan but, in fact, saved him from a painful death. He said that they were both at the scene and that no matter how hard they would have tried, they wouldn’t have been able to save Jamshed. The court acquitted Madan Kumar of all his charges and came to the conclusion that Jamshed had been killed by the rioters. Sumitra was heartbroken, as she had lost everything in the battle and still couldn’t get justice for the love of her life. Sumitra committed suicide as she, too, like her husband, realized that she had nothing left to look forward to in her life. Madan Kumar had to hand over his house to Jotwani and Vladimir as he couldn’t keep his promise, and their film was shelved since his brother, Naren, was still missing and loitering on the streets like a beggar. Towards the end of “Jubilee,” everybody lost, and nobody could gain anything from the entire ordeal. Some lost their love, some lost their lives, and some were left stranded in the darkness, not knowing what to do or where to go.
