I loved the concept of JL50. As the show progresses, you realise the concept is not as fresh as you think of it in the beginning, but still, the treatment is such that it makes you curious and wonder what exactly might have happened with JL50.
Before I tell you whether I liked or disliked the show, here’s a story that I would like to share with you all. Ever since I have watched the trailer, the plot reminded me of a story my Mom had watched on YouTube and then narrated it to me. The plane that had taken off in 1955 and was supposed to land at the Miami airport landed at the Caracas airport in 1992. Just to be sure that such a story exists, I just checked YouTube. To my surprise, this story is still available on the platform. I simply typed, ‘plane disappeared and came back’ and the first video that appeared was of Pan American Flight 914 that disappeared in 1955, reappeared in 1992, and then vanished again. I have embedded the video here so that you can have a look at the story.
I did a Google search to check if any such incident ever took place but couldn’t find anything. I am not sure if the above story is real or fiction, but since they have given all the details, there is a possibility that this could have happened.
JL50 narrates the same story with the time travel twist. The beginning of the show is very interesting. When the CBI team is investigating the hijack of A026, they come across a plane which had disappeared 35 years ago. When the series opens, it literally plays with your mind. You find it interesting, you find it confusing, you find it fascinating – this is when you start thinking of different possibilities. I even thought of paranormal activities and then of a mind game that the hijackers are playing with the CBI. But it turned out to be something else. The twists and turns were truly interesting yet JL50 is not the series that keeps you hooked. At times, it might even bore you for a while. Why? Because the story is not tightly woven. Its story-telling wasn’t as effective and as impactful as it should have been.
The writing, as well as the direction – both, were weak. They couldn’t hold the viewers’ attention for long. Now that I have seen the Pan American Flight 914 video once again on YouTube, I feel that JL50 is inspired by the same incident. Let me know in the comments what you think about it.
Speaking of the performances, Abhay Deol, Pankaj Kapur, Rajesh Sharma, and Piyush Mishra, all have done justice to their roles but still, they haven’t been used to their full potential.
Since it’s just a 4-episode series, I wouldn’t stretch this review any further. To conclude, I would say that good direction could have taken JL50 to another level.
Where to Watch? Sony Liv