When Devotion of Suspect X by the Japanese thriller writer Keigo Higashino was first published in 2005 and then translated, it took the world by storm. For some time now, Japanese writers have been experimenting with form and content; sometimes these plots resting a little complex and heavy on our minds.

Love can be described as devotion, respect, passion, and sometimes, an obsession turning dangerous, often leading to crimes. In this story, silent and obsessive love turns towards the protection of the one who commits a crime.

This is not Higashino’s first book and he went on to write several other novels like Salvation of a Saint, A Midsummer’s Equation, Silent Parade, Malice, Newcomer, A Death In Tokyo, The Name of the Game etc, but Suspect X has almost become his cult work. Translated into numerous languages, it has been made into films in Korean, Chinese and Japanese.

In India, we had a hint of the story in Drishyam made into Hindi and Malayalam films a few years back. But Jaane Jaan, directed by Sujoy Ghosh and currently streaming on Netflix, is scripted on the original story. Giving out spoilers will not be fair to those who do not know the story but suffice to add that we know at the outset, who commits the crime. The police, in trying to nab the culprit, are caught in a cat and mouse game, almost like a game of chess or even a bout of dojo (sort of judo) between the investigative officer and his once school friend, now a high school mathematics teacher, who is also a suspect.

The director Sujoy Ghosh of Kahani fame, tweaks the end of the story and sets it in the dark gloomy environment of Kalimpong, he turns it into a psychological dark noir genre. The scenes are mostly of evenings or nights. Even the mornings and afternoons are misty. The camera work tends to be moody and claustrophobic.

The melancholic and suicidal math teacher, Naren, is secretly in love with his neighbour, a single mother Mrs D’Souza who lives with her daughter Tara, and runs an eatery called Tiffin. She is forced to kill her violent husband who constantly extorts money from her. In a bid to save her, the “teacher” respected by all in the small community, goes to any length to save her! And how he constructs the alibis with mathematical precision is what makes the story stand out.

The dark side of any love turns obsessive, when it tantamounts to stalking; the emotions are bottled up. The entire exercise in this story is acutely cerebral. There are some twists and turns and when a second murder is said to have been committed, the plot becomes extremely complex.

Jaideep Ahlawat as the genius of a teacher is well cast. There is a line in the film which says that there is a fine line dividing genius from madness. Ahlawat has done an exceptionally good job. His expressionless face, the inability to show any emotion, demonstrated by his failure to even hug; his arm falling limply by his side Or just a twitch of a smile around the corner of his mouth, when he is slightly happy, are memorable. He speaks very little.

Vijay Varma, as the talkative Inspector Karan, reveals moments of weaknesses while confronting the attractive Mrs D’ Souza, captures the human vulnerabilities.

Kareen Kapoor Khan surprises the most. She has given a mature and restrained performance of being what she is required to be in her role as a caring mother trying to put a bad marriage behind her. Snatches of old Hindi songs lighten up the dark scenes, the title track being ominous. The title of the film is the song Jaane Jaan composed by Laxmikant-Payrelal in the 1969 film Intaqam, meaning revenge.