'JL50' Review: A typical science fiction saga taking us back into the world of time travel

A Potpourri of Vestiges Review

By Shubhangi Jain


The concept of time travel is not new to the Indian Cinema. While growing up watching movies like Fun2shh and BaarBaar Dekho we have been well versed with the sci-fi concepts that have been depicted by the Indian Cinema over the years. Shailender Vyas’ JL50 takes us into the concept of time travel mystery which was first inferred during the rule of Emperor Ashoka and was later solved by scientist Biswajit Mishra. 

The series begins with a plane, JL50, slamming close to a town, some place in the north-eastern piece of India. Also, simultaneously, we see that another plane disappears. CBI official Shantanu (Abhay Deol) is appointed to discover the whereabouts of the plane. He soon learns that the plane that has crashed is actually an old one that had disappeared 35 years prior. While researching the case, he experiences a geeky material science professor Subrata Das (Pankaj Kapur), who was supposed to take the flight before it disappeared 35 years ago but he never boarded it. When inquired as to why, he discloses to him he doesn't recollect anything. 

Along with this we also come across the two survivors from the plane: a woman pilot, name Bihu (Ritika Anand) and a flighty man (Piyush Mishra), who shouldn't have been in the cockpit however was there during the accident. As Shantanu digs further into the case, he discovers it to be an instance of time travel but he doesn't exactly trust it until he encounters the phenonemon himself with the help of Professor Das. 

As far as acting is concerned the cast chosen fits perfectly in their roles. Abhay Deol as a CBI officer is seen demonstrating shades of pessimism while being carefully curious about the dark. Pankaj Kapur is seen as a professor of quantum physics who is both capricious and practical and throughout the series the evergreen performer exhibits different the parts of his character's persona with no trouble. The time travel series takes us into the times when the City of Joy was called Calcutta. With soothing background music the show adds a blissful mood altogether. 

JL50 is a four episode series, each episode comprising of 15-20 minutes. The series starts with a bang but towards the end the story falls flat as most of the things became predictable. Since the series is short there are some scenes which could be elaborated so as to give a better understanding to our audience. Even after spending a good amount the VFX team could have done better. Thus, the sci-fi series manages to catch the attention of only the genre enthusiasts and is not able to surpass that. 

Rating:7/10

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