Movie Review 'Jigarthanda': A film not to be missed

RATING: ***12 Above good

 

Karthik Subbaraj’s second released film is actually his first script. Yes, the filmmaker who has a penchant for keeping his titles after food items had written Jigarthanda (famous drink in Madurai) before his debut out-of-the box themed Pizza and once again proved his mettle by providing a refreshingly chilled drink with all ingredients (of a commercial cinema) mixed in proper proportion.

 

Expect the unexpected from Subburaj, the film opens with Karthik(Siddharth), an aspiring filmmaker finds a producer who is willing to make his film on one condition that ‘it should be a fierce gangster flick’. Since he decides to take inspiration from a real-life gangster, Karthik comes to the temple town of Madurai along with his friend Ooruni (Karunakaran) for a research on thugs. They come to know of the ruthless gangster and a terror in that area Assault Sethu (Simha). Karthik takes the help of Kayal (Lakshmi Menon) and her mother who cook food for Sethu and his henchmen. He also pretends to be in love with the young girl. As he embarks on his task what follows is a commercial cocktail of action, humor and thrills. How Karthik comes out of this tricky web is the rest of the story.

 

Though there’s Siddharth as the lead protagonist, the star performer of Jigarthanda is undoubtedly the antagonist Simha. He is terrifyingly menacing at times while cool and humorous in others and given a remarkable performance.  The rugged side of Siddharth has been showcased and the actor has delivered a great feat. Karunakaran keeps you in splits with his comic timings, uproarious expressions and dialogue delivery. Lakshmi Menon is aptly cast as a simple looking girl and she scores as usual although in a limited scope. Actually the story which does not fall under any genre and its screenplay are the highlight of the movie.

 

The intriguing first half moves at jet speed with interesting elements jam packed in it. Post interval, the subplots open one after another rather slowly and drag a bit at times. The spoilsport is its length with the film ending couple of minutes left for the 3rd hour. Santhosh Narayanan’s musical score lends a solid support to the proceedings and Gavemic U Ary’s new camera angles and tones are brilliant. Aided by his entire cast and technical department, breaking the myth that promising debut filmmakers may not fare in their next, Karthik Subbaraj clearly proves that he is here to stay! A film not to be missed!.