Jalsa is a drama that tells the story of a conflict between a celebrated journalist and her cook. It explores the concept of power dynamics and classicism. It is currently streaming on Prime Video.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary
Maya Menon (Vidya Balan) is a successful journalist who lives with her mother and physically disabled son, Ayush (Surya Kasibhatla). Her cook, Ruksana (Shefali Shah), helps take care of Ayush and is like a part of their family. Ruksana herself has two children- a son and a daughter.
The movie begins with Maya heading home after conducting a successful interview. She has had a couple of celebratory drinks with her boss and looks exhausted. She tries booking a cab but can’t find any rides so she decides to just drive back home.
Due to her tiredness, she ends up falling asleep while driving which leads to an accident. She hits a girl who comes in front of her car. The audience witness Maya panicking as she deliberates whether to help the injured girl but ultimately decides to drive off instead.
She doesn’t call an ambulance or inform anyone about the incident and tries to forget the entire thing. But things get complicated as her loved ones are thrown into the mix and she has to fight to save her reputation.
If you have any doubts about the ending, here’s a complete breakdown.
Jalsa ending explained in detail:
More lies
The viewers later discover that the injured girl is Ruksana’s daughter, Alia (Kashish Rizwan). The next day, Ruksana looks troubled and reaches the hospital, where her daughter is admitted. She was under the impression that her daughter was staying back to study but was out with her boyfriend.
She goes to Maya, asking her help to seek justice for her daughter. Maya has connected the dots and figured out that she is, in fact, the person whose car has hit Alia. She looks very guilty and in obvious distress. She shifts Alia to a better hospital with a private room.
Meanwhile, Rohini (Vidhatri Bandi), a newbie reporter and Maya’s intern, who is in some kind of financial crisis herself, wants to report this story. She is hellbent on finding who was behind the accident and believes this might be her golden ticket. She starts running her investigation and stumbles across CCTV footage.
The footage clearly shows Maya’s car hitting Alia. She takes this proof to the police station.
Some truths are better left uncovered
She wants the police officer to use this to file a case against Maya. The two officers, Pradeep (Ghanshyam Lalsa) and More (Shrikant Yadav), refuse to do so and finally confess that the camera has caught them taking bribes and picking a fight with a bystander.
The officer says that he is about to retire soon and his daughter is getting married too. So he cannot risk the investigation because if the footage gets out, it might tarnish his reputation severely.
They later reveal that they blackmailed a politician’s son, whose banner was covering the camera, and were using the money they had received to pay-out Ruksana. Rohini is in a dilemma. On the one hand, she wants to bring the truth out but, on the other hand, wonders if it’ll do any good.
Meanwhile, the audience sees that the guilty conscience is eating Maya. She finally decides to reveal the truth to everyone and approaches Rohini, who helps her in recording a statement.
The act of revenge
Alia’s boyfriend goes to Ruksana and tells her the truth about that night, including the fact that Maya was the driver. Ruksana looks utterly heartbroken and betrayed. She starts thinking that Maya is the one anonymously paying her ridiculous sum of money to buy her silence.
She goes to Maya’s house to quit the job but Maya’s mother convinces her to stay. She starts doing her daily chores and waits for Maya to come home. But she suddenly stands up and takes Ayush to the beach.
She contemplates leaving Ayush near the ocean tides. She wants to punish Maya by making her go through a similar situation. Meanwhile, Maya’s mom calls her to inform her that Ruksana has taken Ayush with them and left the money at home.
The severity of the situation hits Maya and she rushes to find them. She gets stuck in traffic before finally reaching the beach.
She sees that Ruksana is just playing with Ayush, confirming that Rukhsana has decided against taking revenge. The movie ends with the two women sitting in silence together as they take in the situation before them.
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