User Reviews

Jubilee begins with the solemn introductions of Srikant Roy (Prasenjit Chatterjee), the movie mogul of Roy Talkies and his wife, equal business partner and main actress, Sumitra Kumari (Aditi Rao Hydari). As the visuals switched from old black and white newsreels to colour, we see a nondescript projectionist load a screen test for Roy's personal viewing pleasure. The monologue features Jamshed Khan (Nandish Singh Sandhu) screen testing for the role of Madan Kumar. It's a great screen test but my attention wasn't on him; my eyes were focusing on the nobody in the projection room. He is staring at the screen, mouthing the lines as they are uttered, probably something he has seen many times from other screen tests. As the scene progresses you will learn he is Binod Das (Aparshakti Khurana), Srikant Roy's loyal soldier and Mr Fix-It. A little later on, Binod is tasked to deliver the screen test by Jamshed Khan to another place because Srikant Roy has found his ideal Madan Kumar. But before he leaves, he collects all the other screen tests and destroys the film negatives at the furnace. This scene is my favourite scene from the first episode - as Binod opens each can and throws the film into the furnace, he recites the lines that we have heard earlier uttered by Jamshed. He says it like he means it, like he was born on this earth to say the words: "I might have made a lot of mistakes in my life, but regretting my actions and apologising is against my principle. So before I lose my last shred of humanity, please leave father." On his mien is the unmistakable face of sheer ambition.

Once in a while, comes a show that is very difficult to write about because words shrink a viewing experience that felt limitless. Yet one feels compelled to say something because one wants to impel others to give this a shot even if others may look at him or her in a funny way. I can live with that because I know what I saw and I know a great show when I see it. I am going to take that risk. Jubilee is that show for me and not since Paatal Lok (2020) have I seen another Hindi series that transcends to the level of art.

The first two episodes are the weeding period. The pace is plodding and there is a lot of information, characters and emotional entanglements to navigate. You are not sure which nugget of information you need to hold on to and what to discard. But I had faith with the storyteller because the attention to details is incredible. If you get past the hurdle of the first two episodes you will be in for a home run.

The story introduces two other major characters, Jay Khanna (Sidhant Gupta) and Nilofer (Wamiqa Gabbi). The former is a budding filmmaker looking for a chance in a place where there is none for someone poor like him. The latter is a courtesan who has the talent and she is not opposed to weaponising her feminine wiles to get her closer to her dream. All five characters will intersect in captivating ways and at times destructive ways.

The show is created by Vikramaditya Motwane (Udaan and Lootera) and Soumik Sen, with the former directing most of the episodes. The story situates in the era before and after the independence, the golden age of Indian cinema. It is a love letter to filmmaking in the past and this part is impossible to misinterpret. You will see the advent of playback singing and CinemaScope. I enjoyed the scenes where the curtain is pulled back to allow us to see how the scenes are shot in the old days. It almost feels like you are watching something forbidden.

Jubilee is more than just that. It is about how there was a time when the world of politics (USA and USSR) encroached into show business because they see Indian cinema as a propaganda tool. It is also the time of the Partition when India's social fabric is at its breaking point with social unrest at its highest. It shows you a world where the government fears the power the studios wield and they thought the banning of Hindi music from All India Radio will put them in their place, but it also shows you the oneupmanship of studios to get their music played over Radio Ceylon instead. In this sense, the show is a wonderful historical lesson of the golden age of Indian cinema from the late 1940s to the early 1950s.

Jubilee is a lot more than that. It is full of character studies, characters who are blinded by ambition and are willing to be treacherous to get ahead. This is a showcase of the power of human self-preservation. Aided by some of the finest ensemble acting I have seen, the characters are never drawn in a cliché way. A case in point would be Nilofer. Hers is a character that is a mainstay of movies about characters who sleep their way to the top, but Nilofer's talent is undeniable and her character earns the viewer's sympathy readily. I don't agree with her methods, but I applaud her tenacity and patience to get to the top. If you think about it, she is the only character who doesn't hurt anyone to rise to stardom.

Technically, this is stunning. The cinematography and editing really pull you into the story. Watch out for those scenes which crosscut between how they are shot and how they look ultimately on the big screen. The music and songs by Amit Trivedi is also a character in Jubilee. I am not well-schooled in Indian cinema of the 1940s to 50s, but I recognised the sound as one reminiscent of that era yet refreshed in a modernised manner.

Above all else, the thematic element that hits me the hardest is how it deconstructs the myth of the superstar from every angle you can think of. In the eyes of the cinema-going populace, the superstar is someone who embodies all the positive human values and they aspire to be him (it is always a "him" in Indian cinema). From the point of view of the studio, the superstar is a commodity, an economic tool with no sell-by date unless the scandal is too big to be swept under the carpet. In the superstar's eyes, he is the nexus of power, money and fame. Sometimes he will get in over his head and wants to stretch his art, but the studio will get him to toe the line. At one point Srikant Roy tells Madan Kumar point-blankly (I am paraphrasing here): "You are Madan Kumar. You are created by me. You are my superstar. Leave the acting to others."

The ending of Jubilee was definitely ruminating in Motwane's mind before he even began shooting it. Hitting a resounding climax in a courtroom, we see betrayals and self-betrayals from all the characters. What I didn't count on was a gorgeous falling action done to a song sung by a young man who has his heart broken by the cutthroat world of the studios. We witnessed the fates of everyone and really... there aren't any surprises, just a deep sense of satisfaction of a story well-told. The characters might hail from a bygone era, but I dare you to think they don't exist contemporarily.

Anwar Says: In the very first frame , I was certain, it's a Sanjay Leela Bhansali production, but it was his one time assistant Vikram Motwane (Lootera and Udaan fame). Pre and post independence era and inside story of Bombay Film Industry, what an interesting premise. This was an age when Studio used to be supreme and everyone including actors used to be employee of the Studio. Elite class just started giving preference to film over theatre.

The owner of Roy Studio is played by none else than Prosenjit Chatterjee, a veteran having 350 movies to his credit. Though indulged in debauchery , never compromised while making movies. Aditi Roy Haidri mysterious gaze continues to express. Aparikshit Khurana is the super intelligent character and achieves what he aspire for. The characters to watch are Sidhant Gupta as Jay Khanna and Wamiqa Gabbi as Nilofar and hope, their characters would blossom more in the next set of four episodes, releasing next week. Ram Kapur is under utilised and it's delightful to watch Arun Govil on screen.

Amit Trivedi is a gift to music industry and combining with Kausar Munir and Sunidhi Chauhan created the music of 40's & 50's and the mujra is a hit. Dubbed in many Indian and foreign languages and released internationally. A show exploring betrayal, love , ambitions, dreams and scandals would be sure last long in your memory. Highly recommended.

#amazonprime #anwarsays #goldenera #roystudios #webseries2023 #ambition #aparikshitkhurana #ProsenjitChatterjee #surewatch.

After long , I watched some Hindi Web Series and I do not regret. Story is good , setup is awesome and acting is superb. I was hooked to this. Some people might try to go in to technicalities of setup etc saying this was not happening in 1950s etc. However I did not find any such big flaw. We cannot be so naive in saying that people were not abusive in that era etc. I have seen in villages that people of our grandfather's age using same abilusive words which today's generation uses 🙂. Overall a must watch. Thanks Vikramaditya Motwane for taking some risk and making a different kind of series. We need more content like this on TV.

I must say. After watching this I am in deeply love with vikramaditya. A man. How Visionary he is . If possible I wanted to meet him and touch his feet. What a director yar. Brilliant . And Aparshakti can perform this way only because of vikrmaditya . Hats off man. What a brilliant story. What a idea sir jee. I would pray that you may get more success and success.please entertain like us. I can feel that how much time and energy you have invested to make this. What a scrrenplay, what a cast . Everything is perfect. Story, cast , writing. I can not wait till 14th April to wait after interval. God bless you sir.

One of the best dramatic series in prime video

Beautiful direction by Vikramaditya Motwane.

Beautiful cinematography also the screenplay is superb. All the actors in the series are doing very well, especially Aparshakti Khurana as (Madan Kumar). He shows his acting skills.

Mesmerizing performances by Siddhant Gupta(jay khanna) Vamika Gabbi(nilofer)Prosenjit Chatterjee(shreekant roy)

Beautifully composed music by Amit Trivedi Totally 50s vibes.

Very good story line no negative points ..far better then today's movies & some web series . Original content and fully refreshing & enjoyable .love this series.

Jubilee is a web series that takes viewers back in time to the golden era of Bollywood in 1947. With a talented and well-dressed star cast, this series captures the essence of the era perfectly.

The production value of the series is evident from the stunning set designs and the rich attention to detail in every scene. The music is also top-notch, transporting viewers back in time with its classic sound.

What truly sets Jubilee apart, however, is the incredible acting from the star-studded cast. Every member of the cast brings their A-game, immersing viewers in their characters and making them feel as though they are truly living in the 1940s.

Jubilee is the perfect cinema piece that shows what cinema is, how cinema is / should be created for the masses, the sparkling and dark side of the cinema, aspiration of many, struggle, control, money, face value, and much more.

It's not easy to show a cinema within the cinema, it takes efforts to connect it with the Audience but #vikramadityamotwane has proved himself yet again with this magical show. This will definitely take you to golden era of the cinema.

Casting could not be better than this: Aparshakti as an aspiring Actor Siddhant as an aspiring Director Prosenjit as one of the big Producer, owner of Roy Talkies Aditi Rao as big movie Star Nandish Singh as Theatre Actor Wamiqa as an aspiring Actor Shweta Basu as a simple supporting role Ram Kapur in Financier's role

In my view Aparshakti delivers the best performance compared to all his past films / drama, he has showed his true potential in this show, his versatility can be seen in the character. It feels, the character was just made for him.

And that's not it, what a performance by Siddhant Gupta, for once you would feel he should have been in the race for becoming an Actor. It would have been a tough fight between Aparshakti and him. But you never know, what's coming because the second part is yet to come. Hold your breath until then.

Nandish Singh Sandhu will leave a mark in your heart with his performance even from the less screen space.

Prosenjit's presence in each screen makes the show even bigger, his style and dialogue delivery are top notch.

So, you Cinema Lovers what are you waiting for, go and watch this show today on Amazon Prime Video.

This is my first ever review on IMDB and I had to chose this title for me review but this is the perfect tagline for Jubilee

Oh man how I loved this series. Vikramaditya Motwane you are simply put a genius. You and Anurag Kashyap are the best things that happened to Bollywood since Farhan Akhtar.

What a great series Jubilee is. Beautiful portrayal of the 1949-50's Bombay. The agony of love, jealousy, success, hate and in the end self destruction. From Dialogues to Screenplay to Editing to the Sets to Costume Designing to Direction to Acting everything is just top notch and perfect. Attention to detail is perfect. I don't think you can come up with a better end product.

P.s. I would have also fallen in love with the character of Nelofar.

A movie maker is making a movie ,which he's predicting is going to be blockbuster, and he only want a new comer to be play the lead role, the lead character name is madan kumar , the story of jubilee revolves around madan kumar itself, who is going to play madan kumar, who is going to be the new biggie in flim Industry and the story of madan kumar goes on.

Firstly I'm gonna clear myself that I'm vikram aditya motwani fan, so I can be biased but either way, he , as a director has done brilliant job.

As far as acting department is concern, every one of the actor and actresses has done brilliant brilliant job, arun govil is as always flawless, but one actor clearly shine in his role, and he's non other than Aparshakti khurana, bollywood has not even utilize 1% of his talent.

Set design and costumes are beautiful, dialogue are filmy but it blend in perfectly with the theme of series.

Screenplay is crisp, you do not feel bore at any time, rather the episode are nearly 55 min long.

Negatives : Here's 2 negative aspects I've picked that deducted the 2 point in my rating as well.

First negative is "to good to be true " aspect, here everything is happening buttery smooth, coincidences is filled in this series, every request of character passes without question so that's one thing I personally feel garring at times.

2nd negative is the motive and action of some character (it is interconnected with my 1st negative point) , to pass the action of one main character the another character do something ,which doesn't make any logic by his pov.

My final verdict will be, just go and watch you won't regret your time, it is I believe the best series after rocket boys, come from India this year. I will recommend it.

Mr Motwane take on history of Indian cinema. You can connect characters with dev anand ,Guru dutt, dilip kumar, himanshu rai (owner of bombay talkies)and devika rani web series is well convinced, shot and acted. Amazon prime is becoming hub of good presentation direction of Mr Motwane is of top notch. Aparshakti has improved as an actor. Sidhant, ms gabbi and special mention Mr Chatterjee (he is having a strong presence on screen)must watch for those cinema lovers who are actually a movie buff if you want to connect with this web series kindly brush yourself with indian classics CID ,Pyasa and baazi guru dutt and dev anand were close friends.

A fascinating watch with an intriguing plot. Directed by Vikramaditya Motwane, Jubilee transports you to the nostalgic golden era of Bombay Talkies and its journey of survival. Supported by superb acting and a plot that keeps you hooked. And the mesmerising music is a delight for those who are fans of golden melodies. Every episode moves at a pace that keeps you intrigued with never a dull moment. The 1940s era has been captured so beautifully with captivating foot-tapping music, brilliant camerawork , sets , backdrop and last but not the least is the superb acting by its cast- Sidhant Kumar and Apaarshakti Khurana have done a brilliant job . Ram Kapoor, Prasenjit have also done a good job. Eagerly waiting for S2.

Sameer lodaya.

What a marvellous presentation of the 1940 era from vikram.

The content is very good showing film industry of the independence era..the making is outclass the cinematic experience is at a very high scale..very minutely and gorgeously the art work is showed..you feel so good watching trams of mumbai, old vintage cars ,landline telephones and all other aesthetics

Aparshakti as a main lead was fabulous with soft innocent looks..Siddhant played so well where actually you can sense his struggling pain..even ram and Prasenjit looked amazing in their characters and played equally well

Some negatives are firstly the series has been divided in releasing the episodes which gives options to watch something else if one doesn't like..secondly viewers cannot absorb such scale sophisticated drama..thirdly the songs which are not hit like sacred games..fourthly same audition dialogue was repeated several times

Above all it's a masterpiece.

Soviets, Americans, Information & Broadcasting ministry .... too many conspiracies and conspiracy theories, add a weak and convoluted script into the mix, and the result is a good-looking concoction of confusion. Is it a period piece about cinema or a love story or thriller? What is it?

The set design and art direction are good and give a feel of the era. The costumes of male characters are also good, but the costumes of the female characters seemed too modern most of the time-same issue with the dialogue.

It started with a bang but nose-dived and crashed by the 8th episode, and the last two episodes test your patience. For a slight relief - Amit Trivedi's music is outstanding and sounds like the Bollywood music of the 1950s.

Story of a great Film studio & characters linked to them. A powerful studio owner & his team wields power on Box office of 40s & 50s, iterlaced with India Pakistan partition , a nautch girl trying her luck in mumbai film industry ,a refugee writer & actor struggling to make foothold in then film industry & faithful servant of Studio owner struggles to become a super star, all these. Appears surreal & out of untold stories creating a confusion between real happening & fiction, Mr Motwane has hit the bulls eye in creating a magnum opus, almost looks like biopic & not to Forget Greta garbo of Indian films.

I'm socked to see it's detailing level!. It's songs just blow my mind ..... I never forget it's songs...all actors are incredible... specially..my favourite Shidhant and Prosenjit sir..... actually I don't know how review write...but try frist time..at first I'm not happy to see it's 1-3 episode...but when I came 5th episode it's incredible....and ending, broken!!.The main positive things about this series is it's tell about behind the scenes of cinema of those time... it's like knowing history with enjoyment...I'm so happy to see it ..if you love cinema and wanted to know what happened in those time ,"off the screen" then you must watch it.

Maine apne zindagi me joo kuch Kiya sayad sab galat kiyaa lekin kiye pe pachatan aur galti ke liye maafi mangana mere wasool ke sakht khilaf hai too isse pahle mai thori der ke liye ayyo insaniyat gaawa baithu aap yaaha se chale jaiye baapu ji.

Just finished watching jubilee on Amazon prime omg it was such a beautiful rollercoaster journey of different characters.

Plot focus on a studio that established to give break to new comers . For its latest character madan Kumar they need new face .

Screenplay was tight focus on the depth of character.

Set design i have only one word woow it's completely take back you in to 50's .

Aparshakti Khurrana as madan and Siddharth as Jay Khanna have done absolutely phenomenal job.

And offcourse credit must goes to the visionary vikramaditya motwani for creating this masterpiece.

Such masterpieces come once in a decade!

It is quite an effort for me to write reviews because I of the lack of time and also emotion. You see, I run a business and can't invest time in something that I feel strongly about. This is one series that hit me hard and got my attention till the very end. Wow!

It had all the right ingredients to make it near Perfect:

• Amazing acting, such a well thought out cast and amazing performances
• Impressive photography, whether it is transporting us to the 1940s or the present world, it did a great job
• Inspiring direction, hats off to the director whose vision infused life into it
• Engaging storyline, it completely kept me and my wife hooked till the vey last

Congratulations to the whole Team that made this possible. This is real Talent!

When you are signing up for a Vikramaditya Motwane series or film, you don't expect a fast paced film but a rather slow paced film that keeps you hooked through characters and conversations.

Jubilee is a fictional tale about the Film industry and its stars in the 1940-60 era . In those days , there used to be the monopoly of only a few talkies which produced stars and films . Here we are talking about Roy Talkies , which is the lead in film making wishing to release a new star named Madan Kumar . Their competition is Khanna Talkies . How Madan Kumar is made, how he rises , how Khanna Talkies falls initially but rises again , how Roy talkies falls along with Madan Kumar are all the plot lines covered by this series but but but more importantly, the series is about the stories about each and every character in this series.

Every character has a meaty story to cover . Before I begin with this, let's take a moment to appreciate Motwane for the making of this series. Brilliant set pieces and well researched. The dress code and the news and little information we get about the stuff happening in that era of 1940-60 time is so exciting to hear and watch . The series is made in such a way that some sequences in this series feel like a 1950s film .

Now let's start with the characters .

Prosenjit Chatterjee as Roy is a gem of an actor and thankfully he has always said yes to good Bollywood projects . His style, his charm, his way of talking will make you fall in love with his character despite his character having a negative shade. His certain interactions with Das aka Madan Kumar is so electrifying . Certainly a highlight of this series.

Aparshakti Khurrana . This man is a bag full of talent and Jubilee becomes the first series that unpacks this entire bag. Every film that Khurana worked never explored his real talent fully but Jubilee manages to explore every single aspect of Khurana that too with full conviction. Khurana as Madan displays us a wide range of emotions from Fear to confidence to ego everything. You see how well he performs as Madan Kumar in films . His character is inspired from Ashok Kumar. This series has been an absolute game changer for Khurana .

Siddhant Gupta as Jay Khanna hits the balls out of the park with his performance. These kind of talents are needed in our Bollywood industry. His character starts from the bottom (because his family loses everything in the partition ) and then achieves success with a lot of hard work . In his struggle, he never loses hope . His romantic angle with Nilofer is amazing . His ego clashes with Madan in the second half is a treat to watch . Siddhant is a real find !!

You can easily understand Aditi Rao's character as a woman wanting revenge . For what ? That I won't reveal . Her performance too is terrific . However , she doesn't get a happy ending . Watch to find out why .

Wamiqa Gabbi as Nilofer is so beautiful and exciting to watch . Her friendly relation slowly changing to love with Jay Khanna is really nice to watch especially the scene where she finally accepts his love in the rain feels like a pure Hindi film from the 1950s. Such is the beauty of this series .

Special mention to Ram Kapoor and his hilarious character especially when he says " Madan Kumar BC" is so hilarious to hear.

Others like Arun Govil etc have also done a fine job .

Just hear the songs of this series . Oh what a treat and only Amit Trivedi can achieve such a feat. He did that with Qala and now with this series , not to forget this series does have a Qala angle . The songs transport you back to the 1950s beautiful era. The last song is so heartbreaking and sad to hear . In the film it is sung by Das's brother who actually is a fictional Kishore Kumar .

The series is long and slow so many times it might test your patience so it's not an easy binge watch . But it's worth your time .

When it comes to making period Indian films in a modern, technically-gifted Bollywood, Vikramaditya Motwane is no Dibakar Banerjee. And Jubilee is no Detective Byomkesh Bakshi. But maybe that's the whole point!

Jubilee builds on the intrigue of proto-Bollywood and does a marvelous job going about it. What I absolutely loved about the show: (1) ACTING: the actors, each and everyone of them, blew it out of the park. Especially, all the leads playing Shrikant Roy and Sumitra Devi, Binod Das, Jay Khanna and Niloufar, as well as Jamshed Khan in however short his role was. They're the ones who bring life to the series; (2) STORYTELLING: very few Indian series are able to divide the entire story into equally intriguing episodic parts, with each having the strength to sustain the storytelling of the entire season. Jubilee does that; and (3) MUSIC: I personally think that the music in this series was not only reverential to the times, but was also relevant in its own right. Something I personally don't think Qala could do, even though it's pretty good in its own right.

Now what I didn't like, or rather the parts I am ambivalent to: PRODUCTION DESIGN. Perhaps this was the whole point, given it being a story set in the film studios.. but I found the set to be too clean and sharp, which made the appearance a little fake and artificial. This was a little distracting to me initially, and I couldn't help but compare it with that seen in Dibakar Banerjee's Detective Byomkesh Bakshi, where the set itself played a major role in pulling you into the story of the movie from the very first scene.

However, that being said, I think the acting and storytelling was big enough to keep you invested till the end in Vikramaditya Motwane's ode to Bollywood history. If I have to compare it with established well-established tv series, Jubilee pulls off a similar kind of slow intrigue of a good drama as did The Crown on Netflix. Hats off, maestro!

This is definitely not an 8+ rating show. These days the trend seems to be to rate 10/10 by close people of the movies/show at early opening, enough so that overall rating doesn't go below. This is ill practice.

The show could have been 8+ if the it was written properly and executed well. Good concept and it was gripping first few episodes. Then it became kinda boring and last 2 episodes are completely useless. All the endings also seem pointless and odd.

Female characters of the show Aditi Rao Hydari, Shweta Basu Prasad and Wamiqa Gabbi acted very good. Didn't like acting of Aparshakti Khurana, and he was not suited properly for this role either.

Overall the show is okay, could have made better if they would have put more attention to the story and screenplay rather than just studio sets. There are so many errors in the show, too many to list here.

Reduced two stars, because there is not a single shot where you don't see a character isn't smoking:( every scene... every character is smoking! )

Brilliant acting, brilliant direction, brilliant music! Acting acting acting everywhere!

Nilofer is Next Meena Kumari or Choti Madhuri Dikshit

Jay is reborn as Shashi Kapoor

Aparshakti is at his best beating his own limits!

There is not a single apisod where you feel disconnect or bored!

Only true art lover will love this piece of TRUE art

Looks like Vikramaditya has given his life to this piece of art!

Truly appreciate the hardwork of the entire team!

Period dramas first of all need to get one thing right, the "feel of the era" in make up, costume, dialogues, sets. The attention for details makes it feel real or fake depending on which side the movie or series leans toward. This one fails miserbaly on all these fronts of dialogues, costumes, make ups. Other than digitally created sets, there are too many modern day elements for u to really get engaged. Just one of many examples, Ram Kapoor's character's expletive laden dialogues are equivalent of mirzapur characters'. 1947 feels like 2020 UP or Mumbai underbelly. Couldnt go beyond first episode as could't get engaged at all.

Headline says all. The best and the finest that has been made in India for OTT.

Every positive reviews already have praised all the departments except one. Background score.

All are in praise of the songs by Amit Trivedi. Do one thing- skip over the songs, you will still enjoy the series but mute the background score, the intensity of the scenes and the tension building will be lost by 50%. Bravo Alokananda Dasgupta!

Advice from audience: please drop all the Khans Kumars Devgans Roshans. Take these fresh faces and more new faces please. - if you want to resurrect the Bollywood.

Climax: Prime is surpassing Methflix.

Retro Era of Hindi cinema captured extremely well. The feel of its velvety texture & the subtle nuances being sent the viewers way for every single frame speaks of a genius in film making creating pure magic So refreshing to have this web series brought to us in midst of our parched artistic vision of the OTTs throwing stale stuff at the viewers. Vikramaditya Motwane has so artfully woven a tapestry of human flaws & vulnerability that you end up feeling nothing but sympathy for each character. Prasonjit Chatterjee as always reiterates his strong screen presence while Aditi Rao Hydari simply glows in the most mesmerising way. Aparshakti (power house) Khurana excels beyond words. Sidhant Gupta & Waqua Gabbi have done full Justice to their roles as have all the supporting cast. In short Jubilee is the powerhouse of Talent & Vision!

Hearty congratulations to the visionary & his entire team. You got me hooked on from the time Go....