Jawan

What's it about?

Thirty years ago, Vikram Rathore embarked on a mission to expose and combat government corruption. Kalee, a greedy government contractor, kills him. Several years later, a man using his name emerges to hold the government to account. Kalee, now an influential businessman with his own hand-picked politicians in positions of power, is determined to thwart this new Vikram at all costs.

The facts

• Directed by Atlee (Raja Rani, Mersal)
• Hindi and English language with English subtitles
• Runtime: 167 minutes
• Staring Shah Rukh Khan, Nayanthara, and Vijay Sethupathi

Why did it get this rating?

This film was classified by Te Mana Whaakatu—Classification Office.

Suicide

Two characters see suicide as the only solution to their problems.

After being humiliated in public, a farmer hangs himself from a tree. This is shown through the eyes of his young daughter. The graphic portrayal of suicide may be disturbing and upsetting for some viewers.

There are references to 10,281 Indian farmers who committed suicide.

Cruelty

We see many examples of cruelty throughout the film.

Characters are killed and tortured in cruel ways. For example:

• One character shoots another multiple times and throws him out of a plane.
• A character’s dog is shot dead and is shown several times lying in a pool of blood.
• One character is hanged and is shown dead in close-up with his eyes open and his tongue hanging out.
• A character locks another inside a car, which is rigged to fill up with exhaust fumes.

We see other examples of characters being treated in a cruel way. In one scene, loan collectors abuse a farmer by slapping him and beating him. They then humiliate him by pulling off his loincloth, exposing his buttocks and genitals (which are pixelated). This drives him to despair.

60 children are shown in hospital suffering from encephalitis. Due to bribery, there is no equipment to treat them. We see several children die while helpless parents watch on. This may be upsetting for some viewers.

Violence

Throughout the film, we see physical and gun violence.

Combat fights include kicks, body slams, throws, and punches. Injury details include trickling blood, small bullet wounds, bloodied clothing, and blood spurts. Characters use guns, knives, mallets, pipes, chains, grinders, metal belts, and swords.

In one scene, we see a cruel and vicious attack on a village:

• A man slashes an old woman’s neck (the camera cuts away before showing much blood).
• A boy prevents his mother from being stabbed by grabbing the blade, bloodying his hand.
• A mother is dragged away from her children by her hair.
• Others are impaled with spears. Sometimes we see that the spear has gone right through them.

Crime

Throughout the film, we see corruption, hijacking, kidnapping, assault, theft, and murder. The heroes’ actions are presented as justified as they are used to expose harm and to right wrongs.

Helplines

If you or someone you know needs to talk:

• Free call or text 1737 any time for support from a trained counsellor
• Lifeline

Further information

• Why are ratings and content warnings important for me and my whānau?