Blending almost all the genres together becomes the foremost protocol of a filmmaker herein Kollywood. It has been a prewritten ritual indeed for the makers who have tried to bring everything together. When the new league of filmmakers hitting straight from the short films league emerged, there was something more expected from them, but again Karthik Subbaraj settles down with the same hackneyed conceptualisation of a commercial entertainer for his second outing Jigarthanda.

Story:

When Karthik (Siddarth) is rejected of his short film at a reality show, he is backed by a leading producer (Aadukalam fame Naren) and he vows to produce a film for him. Apparently, he decides to make a crime-noir based on the life of a real life Madurai don Asault Sethu (Bobby Simha), who is a psychotic goon. With the help of his friend Oorni (Karunakaran), he starts following Sethu at every point and starts researching on his day-to-day lifestyle and encounters. After a certain point of time, Karthik and his friend get trapped by the dreaded ruffian and the rest is a tale of unexpected twists.

Acting:

Marking a stark verdict on characterisation and performance of actors, it’s Bobby Simha who takes an incredulous leap of creating an overpowering platform in tinsel town. He emotes splendidly with a trenchant effort in every situation. Be it a gruesome gesture or the most rib-tickling element, he carries off well with excellence. Siddarth perhaps is the namesake hero who doesn’t get much prominence until the last few minutes of the drama. Is he trying to make a push into the commercial mass zone? A million dollar question as some of his gimmicks of uttering local profane languages doesn’t fit him well. Even the romantic scenes with Lakshmi Menon aren’t crafted well and this missy looks normal and lacks substantiality in her role. Vijay Sethupathi in cameo doesn’t evoke the right impact as the climax seems too flimsy with a scene that features him with Siddarth.

Technicalities:

Santhosh Narayanan is the major asset to this film. If not for him, the too-lengthy film would have turned the audiences distracted. The songs are at its best and the cinematography intensifies the depth of soul in many frames. In spite of film being 170 minutes, the transition from scene to scene doesn’t look odd, thanks to editor for his professional cuts.

Negatives:

The film has a strong first half and everything stumbles during second half of 90 minutes. The complete film carries the theme of Korean movie The Dirty Carnival and some of the penultimate-to-climax sequences faintly reminiscence of Malayalam movie Udhayananu Thaaram. To wrap up with this analysis and give a final take, Jigarthanda is at its best during first half and the scenario turns bleak with second half. As you walk out of theatres, there are a lot of questions popping up in your minds. Is this a serious film or a comedy caper?

Verdict : Jigarthanda starts with delicious topping and ends with a sulky sip

Stars : 3.5/5