Jaane Jaan is the recent 2023 Hindi murder thriller, that surprises us with a zingy twist at the end. This crime drama is the debut of Kareena Kapoor Khan in the world of streaming.
This movie is based on the 2005 Japanese novel – The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino; it has three main characters – police detective Kusanagi, single mother Yasuko Hanaoka and math teacher Ishigami. Also, the Jaane Jaan film is a remake of the South Korean movie Suspect X based on the same novel. Hence this Hindi film from India uses the Suspect X title, too. Furthermore, it is worth noting that “Drishyam” (2025) film from India has a similar storyline.
Synopsis (summary) of this 2023 Hindi Murder Mystery film
When a single mother Maya D’Souza (Kareena Kapoor) is caught in a crime investigation, her neighbour Naren Vyas (Jaideep Ahlawat) — a gifted math teacher — offers to help and a relentless cop Karan Anand (Vijay Varma) digs into the case.
Spoilers Free review of the Jaane Jaan/Suspect X (2023) movie
This film is set in Kalimpong, a hill station in India
We loved the fact, that this film is set in Kalimpong, which is a hill station situated at an altitude of 1300 metres on the eastern side of the Darjeeling Himalayas, in West Bengal state. We do not see much of the North-Eastern regions of India, especially in Hindi movies. If someone is trying to run away and hide from the world, then this faraway hill-station town seems apt. So, the setting of this crime drama in this sleepy town seems suitable.
Its actors – Kareena, Jaideep & Vijay shine
All the three main stars of the film – Kareena Kapoor Khan, Jaideep Ahlawat and Vijay Varma have done a good job, but we felt that Jaideep shone bright. This is the first streaming movie of Kareena Kapoor Khan, so she has worked hard on it. Its entire ensemble cast has done a good job, too. The title track Jaane Jaan (its original video link is shared in spoilers below), seems perfect too.
The conclusion
The cinematography highlighted the wintry and foggy climate of a hill station. And that added to its mysterious mood. Not to forget the distinct culture of the hill station located in the North-Eastern part of India. In addition, the lovable and memorable characters of this small city only added to the charm of the film.
There are quite a few expected and unexpected twists and turns in its story. In addition, they have changed the ending of this adapted Hindi film from that of the original Japanese novel. We have explained it below. To conclude, we liked this movie, despite, the fact its pace slackened sometimes. It has a few good moments. No doubt, it kept us engaged as we waited to uncover its mystery. We think it is a good movie to watch, at least once.
Spoilers Alert – Explanation about the title & the ending of this 2023 Hindi Murder Mystery film
Explanation about the title of this Hindi film
Jaane Jaan’s title is inspired by a Hindi film song
It seems that the title of this Hindi film was changed from ‘Devotion of Suspect X’ to ‘Jaane Jaan’ after post-production to better reflect the film’s creative direction and appeal to the audience. Thus, Jaane Jaan’s title is based on the famous Hindi song – Aa Jane Jaan (Jaane Jaan) from the Intaquam (1969) movie. The translation of the – ‘Aa Jane Jaan’ means “Come let us go, my life’.
Further, Aa Jane Jaan – this club dance number was performed by the legendary actress Helen on-screen. Besides, its lyrics were penned by Rajendra Krishan, the music was composed by Laxmikant Pyarelal and sung by iconic singer Lata Mangeshkar.
Deeper meaning of Jaane Jaan in this film
In this particular movie, the title Jaane Jaan holds a deeper meaning for Maya D’Souza (Kareena Kapoor), as she used to dance to this song, in her youthful days, in a seedy club scene in Bombay. This particular song holds painful memories of the past for Maya, as she escaped from the clutches of her abusive husband Ajit (Saurabh Sachdeva) and the exploitative dance club.
About its Suspect X title
We have already shared information about its Suspect X title in the beginning. Please check the paragraphs at the beginning of this article.
Explanation about the ending of this Hindi film
Naren Vyas (Jaideep Ahlawat) confessed, why?
In the end, Naren Vyas (Jaideep Ahlawat) admits to the murder of a man. He confesses to police officer Karan Anand (Vijay Varma) about murdering Ajit (Saurabh Sachdeva) and takes the blame on himself. He did so, as he wished to save Maya D’Souza (Kareena Kapoor) and her young daughter Tara D’Souza (Naisha Khanna).
Naren Vyas (Jaideep Ahlawat) committed a crime, why?
To save Maya, and derail the police investigation, the brilliant mathematician Naren muddled up the timeline of the original murder of Ajit by Maya and her daughter on the 9th of May. He went ahead and killed another person – a homeless destitute and planted false pieces of evidence along with Ajit’s police ID and clothes on the 10th of May. He took all those steps to save Maya D’Souza (Kareena Kapoor) and her young daughter Tara D’Souza (Naisha Khanna) from punishment and imprisonment, in case they admitted to killing Ajit.
Naren Vyas (Jaideep Ahlawat) sacrificed, why?
Firstly, in the opening scene of the movie, we witness that Maya unknowingly saved the life of Naren, when he was attempting suicide. Maya knocked on his door and asked for his assistance.
Secondly, all of his actions seemed to suggest that he was grateful to Maya for saving his life. So, Naren fell deeply in love with Maya, even though he never openly professed his love to her.
What was Naren Vyas’ (Jaideep Ahlawat) first love?
Once he was jailed, he decided to pursue his first love of Mathematics (solving its famous unsolved problems) during his incarceration serving a lengthy jail sentence inside the jail premises. Thereby, devoting his time and energy to pursuing the first love of his life – solving the unsolvable Mathematical problems.
How the ending of this adapted Hindi film is different from that of the original Japanese book
Ending in the Japanese novel
At the end of the Japanese book, single mother Yasuko Hanaoka meets math teacher Ishigami in jail, to tell him that she and her daughter have confessed to killing Togashi to the police authorities. Therefore, both mother Yasuko and her daughter have decided to serve their jail time together with him. However, this gesture from Yasuka left Ishigami in tears.
Ending in the Hindi film
We have already discussed the details of the Hindi film ending above, which is indeed different. However, it also opens up the possibility of a second part of this Hindi film in future.
Key details about this 2023 Hindi Murder Mystery film
| Genre | Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller |
| Another title | Suspect X |
| Original language | Hindi (India) |
| Age-restrictions | UA (16+) |
| Film-duration | 2 hours 19 minutes |
| Writers | Sujoy Ghosh |
| Director | Keigo Higashino, Sujoy Ghosh, & Raj Vasant |
| Cast | Kareena Kapoor (Maya D’Souza), Jaideep Ahlawat (Naren Vyas), Vijay Varma (Karan Anand), Naisha Khanna (Tara D’Souza), Lin Laishram (Prema), Saurabh Sachdeva (Ajit), etc. |
| Network | Netflix |
Poster of this 2023 Hindi Murder Mystery film
Rating of this 2023 Hindi Murder Mystery film
| Focus Magazine/FM’s rating of the film | 3.95/5 |
| Focus Magazine/FM’s comment on the film | Based on the original Japanese story, this Hindi film ticks most of the boxes, except perhaps its different ending. And that spoiled it somewhat for us. Maybe, there is more to come from this particular murder mystery. |
Trailer of this 2023 Hindi Murder Mystery film
Featured image and posters from the Jaane Jaan movie is courtesy of Netflix.