Vidyut Jammwal excels in the maidan of Extreme Sports – Beyond Bollywood

Despite the fault in the screenplay, the Vidyut Jammwal produced action extravaganza will appeal to youth and fellow action-adventure junkies.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️💫 (2.5 / 5)

By Mayur Lookhar

A few days ago, we received a video of a title song. The daring visuals left us stunned. Here is Vidyut Jammwal pulling off mind boggling daredevilry in a Mumbai local. Yes, it has its visual effects, but seeing Jammwal do such dangerous stuff made you question the motive behind his production Crakk aka Crakk: Jeetegaa Toh Jiyegaa [2024]. Many commuters have lost their lives due to callous conduct in jam-packed Mumbai trains or while crossing the tracks. Doesn’t a Crakk then encourage irresponsible commuter behaviour?

Fortunately, director Aditya Datt, his writers Rehan Khan, Sarim Momim are wise in calling out the dangers of such stunts. Their protagonist Siddhart Dikshit [Jammwal] has been reprimanded, locked up few times by the local cop, who reminds Siddhart, and his father that two boys lost their lives trying to pull off such daredevilry. Despite the life-threatening risk, the Mumbai cop himself is a fan of Siddharth’s daredevilry. The young man has no qualms in proclaiming that he is a crack rather Crakkhead.

Siddhart’s only ambition in life is to participate in Maidan, the global Extreme Sports contest that is held in some part in Poland. Maidan is the Hindi word for playground. For all its extremity, the dangerous games generate huge money for the stakeholders, even local politicians. Dev [Arjun Rampal] is the undisputed champion, but Mark [Bijay Anand] is the king of this Maidan. It doesn’t take long for Siddhart to win over the audience, but soon he unearths a dark side to this Maidan. 

Though the screenplay has its flaws, but director Aditya Datt and his writers Rehan Khan, Sarim Momim must be lauded for making an Indian film on Extreme Sports. They’ve definitely upped the ante for action films in Bollywood. The VFX is an integral element, but Datt, his team score high on innovative action designs. The visuals are certainly better than mindless desi larger-than-life action dramas.

Vidyut Jammwal is naturally the heart and soul of this film. He ups the ante in action, pulling off daring moves, and as always, leaving the Jammwalions awestruck. The scale of action plays to gripping BGM thereby providing for an overall enriching experience. The peppy rap music is also infectious.

Though largely set in a foreign land, Datt keeps his protagonist rooted. Jammwal’s Siddhart Dikshit is a typical tapori (rowdy) from Mumbai.  For a man from J & K, Jammwal doesn’t let go of the Mumbai lingo, swag for even a second.  Emotional scenes are his Achilles Heel, but the action hero isn’t found wanting here in Crakk.

Like Jammwal, Arjun Rampal has struggled for consistency. He’s always had the screen presence, baritone, but seldom backed it with the right intensity. Rampal does well to curb his frailties, and chips in with a respectable act.  He’s got the six-packs, but Rampal is no Jammwal and is thus limited in his daredevilry. The airborne bike stunt, though, defies gravity.

Bijay Anand partly rekindles memories of the bald villain from Iron Man [2008]. He, too, makes a decent impression. Albeit the promoters of Extreme Sport, Maidan also does some murky business. There perhaps is a subtle condemnation of a powerful aggressor in the region.

An international platform naturally opens the space for global talent. Dev communicates with them in Hindi, but for once, Indian filmmakers are mindful of providing live audio translations to the foreigners in their respective language. An African man having feelings for a fellow Egyptian male contestant makes Crakk inclusive, but also busts the myth of alpha males.

As the leading women, Amy Jackson, Nora Fatehi show some improvement in their Hindi. They, however, still have few miles to go as Bollywood actresses. Fatehi’s Alia is the popular influencer, emcee in Maidan. Jackson’s Patricia Novak is the local cop out to expose the real face of Maidan. Imported talents speaking Hindi. Is that a let off? Would the desis have been fine if the Fatehis, the Jacksons communicated in English? Director Datt stays loyal to his core desi audience.

There are cracks in the screenplay, but it’s the sincere effort by Jammwal, Rampal and the breath-taking action that makes Crakk appealing to the youth and the target audience. What are you waiting for? Go Crakk open the world of maidan.

Watch the video review below.