Jigarthanda Review

After a tummy filling feast, that little ounce of dessert sure does make you go “Smack slurp yummy” on the same lines, a rigorous summer and now Karthik Subburaj gives his dessert from the town of Madurai along with Siddharth, Lakshmi Menon and Simha in a rather delicious style. How would you consider this: A rustic goon who rules the town, an ardent filmmaker who takes the extra mile to make a movie out of a gangster and a local Saree Thirudi from the raw streets of the town. Well, unusual?
 
The movie:
 
With a run time of two hours and fifty minutes, the usual areas of concern would be undoubtedly the screenplay; something if has gone haywire can wreck the movie’s goodwill. However Karthik takes the journey quite entertaining jarring a few sequences makes the wholesome experience delicious.
 
Siddharth is Karthi Subramaniam a youngster aided by a popular producer looks to break into the cine industry by making a movie that banks on the lives of a gangster, and to work on that he takes the thundering and gruesome Psycho Sethu (Simha) as his case study. As he sets upon his task along with his aide Poorni (Karunakaran) what follows is a cocktail of action, thrills and comedy.
 
Taking a total U turn from his previous flick Pizza, Karthik takes the sails of a gangster movie and predominantly strikes chord with Simha who easily is the star performer. His menacing looks and body language is a treat to watch; reminds a lot of Anurag Khashyap’s “Gangs of Wasseypur” which had raw violence yet the audience enjoyed the movie thoroughly. Considering the plot of the movie, the less you know before you enter the theatres, the better.
 
After an intriguing first half where aspiration meets reality, the director weaves subplots one after another. A movie is never complete without little awesomeness squeezed between the main plots, and Jigarthanda has its share of it with lighter scenes between Siddharth and Karuna, the funny moments from Gangster’s sidekicks, a young lass who picks on Sarees and undoubtedly the end sequences.
 
Without taking much fuss on romance, the movie paces with its plot and some stunning lens work by Gavemic U Ary gives a unique angle to smaller details within the movie. Siddharth is constantly bugged with the Chocolate boy image and this movie gives him a chance to showcase the rugged side of this actor, all round performance indeed. He is complimented quite awesomely by Karunakaran, who enters silently and finishes with a larger share of applause. His attempt at innocent comedy is fresh with energy and sends laughs all around. Lakshmi menon ‘s character as Kayal looks more like an extended cameo than a mainstay character, could have etched better. There is no single central character that weighs the burden through the movie with the story and screenplay taking the plum factor.
 
The length is arguably one of the letdowns of the movie, with 2h50m on the clock, even though there are no yawning moments; one tends to feel small kicks of the drag in the second half. One of the reasons could be the songs which usually bring relief in lengthier movies; they seem to appear occasionally. Santhosh Narayan’s music is phenomenal, for BGM is the backbone without a hint of doubt for it electrifies the screenplay. Karthik Subburaj is here to stay, his lateral thinking on taking a leaf out of a gangster tale, changing elements of nature and serving the dish with the right amount of ingredients is no easy task, however he leaves his signature all over!
 
Ergo, finish your appetizers; Jigarthanda will take through the main course and desserts.
 
Star - 3.25/5