Jigarthanda

Karthik Subbaraj who received unprecedented acclaim when he dished out Pizza (2012) as his directorial debut has served us a delicious drink in his second outing. Jigarthanda tells the story of a short filmmaker Karthik (Siddharth) who comes to Madurai to develop a script for his debut feature based on the life of real life don "Assault" Sethu (an excellent Simha). He settles down with his friend Oorani (Karunakaran) and attempts to profile the life of this ruthless gangster for his movie.

The duo follow several leads and covertly try to get inputs from various associates of Sethu including some of his goons as well as Kayal (Lakshmi Menon) whose mother is an Idly vendor with Sethu as a regular customer. Though Kayal is smitten by him and even proposes to him unilaterally, Karthik, with his single minded intention of making his movie, merely pretends to be in love with her to access details about Sethu in the same vein that he tries to leverage the weakness of others.

After a series of quirky and hilarious twists, Karthik and his friend land in a monumental mess when they are caught red handed by Sethu spying on his activities. Sethu presumes them to be working with the police who want to finish him in an encounter. What follows is a roller coaster ride that keeps the viewer guessing with several surprises fused with the process of how Karthik manages to make his debut feature.

Jigarthanda proves unequivocally that Pizza was not a mere flash in the pan and Karthik Subbaraj is an auteur to watch out. His skills in cleverly weaving a metamovie on the travails of wannabe directors within the fabric of what is a gangster flick on an apparent level are praiseworthy. The narrative is embellished with Tarantinoesque flourishes of raw violence and oodles of comedy even in sequences where they are least expected.

While Siddharth is impressive as the opportunist aspiring director with a singular focus who pays scant regard to manipulating others for his goals, Lakshmi Menon is convincing in an unconventional, albeit minor part of a smitten lover who could throw a spanner at her beloved's dreams when spurned. But, Jigarthanda belongs to Simha who nails the part of the dreaded psychotic don, "Assault" Sethu, oozing terror from his every pore. He straddles the entire emotional spectrum of this layered character from being ruthless and menacing to being darkly hilarious. His performance is the lynch pin of the movie and deserves several plaudits and awards that are sure to come his way. Karunakaran, as Oorani, is impeccable in his comic timing and goofy expressions.

Karthik Subburaj's detailing is impressive - be it the pulse of the city that never sleeps (Madurai) or in the eccentricities of the minor characters. Santhosh Narayanan's score is brilliant and accentuates the intensity the proceedings. Although the songs may not be stand out chartbusters, that blend beautifully with the flow of the narrative. Cinematography by Gavemic U Ary captures the proceedings beautifully in resplendent tones.

Despite its self proclaimed tag of a "musical gangster" movie, Jigarthanda's ambitions are much more chimeric. It is also an effective dark comedy, a con movie and above all, an incisive satire on the state of Tamil cinema where the constraints of commercial viability continue to choke the creativity of aspiring filmmakers.

Yet, at a deeper level, it is the metamovie where Karthik Subbaraj, appears to convey, through his namesake protagonist, through what could well be his personal experiences before succeeding in Kollywood, that despite these challenges, all is not lost for the filmmakers who could master these murky waters if they dare to remain steadfast in their focus and could smartly use their sails to navigate to the shores of success.

The movie is not without its flaws, especially the length which clocks a little less than three hours, resulting in some bit of drag in the second half. While it could certainly be trimmed by at least fifteen minutes, I felt it would be more of nitpicking as what was on offer was definitely delectable.

Wildly imaginative, unpredictable and laced with loads of humour, this layered multi-ingredient beverage is a YUMMY offering from Karthik Subbaraj. A delectable & praiseworthy dessert to follow that delicious Pizza which whets our appetite for even more... Bring it on !

Hi Folks,

To tell about the film, scene by scene detailing of screenplay, dialogue, songs & BGM all were mixed with the right proportion.

To be honest to myself, Movie was expanded to almost nearing to 3hrs..!! But though the drag in time was not an issue as the twist & turns in the plot of the movie was made the audience glue to their seats...!!

The cast & crew made a good & best..!! efforts on acting, stunts, cinematography, Music, & the Director - Karthik's touch to the script made the movie a TOP NOTCH...!!

I can proudly tell as a fan of Tamil cinema....!!! That Tamil Cinema (aka) Kollywood is globally getting established well due to these kind of Offbeat movies which works out well both box office & as well as 'Award Winning..!!"

Last but not least...! Kudos to "Jigarthanda Team"

Thanks for making Rs.120/- a worth spent..!!

JIGARTHANDA is nice gangster entertainment movie.

Director Karthik Subbaraj (Pizza) deals movie in Madurai thriller about "Hero decides to make a movie about a gangster and how he overcome his issue" with fun type of screenplay Siddharth given a neat performance and good acting.

Lakshmi Menon is aptly cast as a simple looking girl, not much given important role.

Karunakaran keeps you in splits with his comic timings, cute expressions and dialogue delivery.

The star performer is only man Simha - He is terrifyingly menacing at times while cool and humorous in others and given a remarkable performance.

Vijay sethupathy - Guest role appearance was surprise Other actors have also done their parts well.

Music are OK.

Dialogues by Karthik Subbaraj was superb.

Plus : Story Simha Performance Siddharth + Karunakaran combo Comedy

Minus: film runs slow, Lenghty (2nd Half) Songs

Verdict: A film not to be missed!.

3.25 /5

When was the last time we were very very satisfied , wearing a big smile and always talking about a movie which we watched? To me it was ages and today i can say that a movie has lived and satisfied a wide section of people of the South. Jigarthanda!!!!!!The Magical drink of Madurai and now the magical movie of the South.

Jigarthanda has promised on the above lines turning out to be a perfect treat to the audience who were looking for a good movie in the recent times. The Hype surrounding Karthik Subbaraj and his 2nd Outing was justified becoming one of the most anticipated movie of 2014 and featuring in the Forbes 5th most awaited movie.

After Pizza, it was a revelation of Karthik Subbaraj having churned out this one. We there more and more words i would like to add in praise of KArthik and his movie but the verdict is already there. Jigarthanda is a blockbuster and an ultimate Winner.

The Movie. Well No spoilers ahead. I want all of you to watch the movie in theatres !!!!An aspiring film maker wants to make a gangster movie and he lands in Madurai in search of an apt Gangster for his scripting. What happens when he crosses in with the most dreaded Gangster of Madurai forms the Crux of the movie.

The Characters!!!! a lot to say about so may people who worked in this Movie.

Bobby Simha: The True hero of Jigarthanda and i can confidently say no actor could have done "Assault" Sethu other than the 7 film Old Simha. Hats off to this young guy to have pulled out the role with Ease. Enjoyed each and every scene of his appearance in the movie and the mere presence of his in the film is more than enough to take the audience for an awesome ride, well this was always the case with our superstars of Kollywood but its Simha!!!The dialogue delivery and his body language speaks its all and he is sure to travel heights. Hats off to this Young Man.

Karunakaran: We have a lot of comedians in Kollywood from the likes of Karunas , GAnja Karuppu to Santhanam but KArunakaran stands out among all and he was a real show steal with his timing and the laughs he evoked in the film. A brilliant sidekick to the hero indeed and no wonder he bagged a role in our Thalaivar's movie. Keep going Karuna you were amazing.

Siddarth: Well he has come out of his chocolate boy image and good to see Siddarth accepting the role even though the movie is mainly centered on Simha. He was cool as usual and he has done his part really well.

Guru Somasundaram: Was he kept under the wraps after Aranya Kandam and Pandiya Nadu? Was Kollywood not ready to accept brilliant people? Well he was one Person whom i really liked and his characterisation was brilliant as the Filmmaking Guru. What a performance it was thoroughly enjoyed each and every scene of his. I wish Kollywood uses these brilliant people to get Kollywood to new heights and use him in frequently in meaningful roles such as AranyaKandam and Jigarthanda. Kudos Sir.

Lakshmi Menen, Ramachandran Durairaj, Aadukalam Naren and Sangili Murugan were apt in their respective roles. Watch out for the Surprises in store in the Vijay Sethupathi Cameo.

Coming to the technicians.

Gavemic U Ary: Brilliant Camera, focus and lighting. I couldn't believe that it was Madurai and it could be shown this beautiful after watching the same old routine Madurai gangster flicks. This one stands out. Without Gavemic's colour and tone the movie wouldn't have been the same as it is now. Its his sheer brilliance that makes this movie complete.

Santhosh Narayan: The beats , the drums the percussions Wow !!!!!!!!!!Awestuck with his brilliant BGM and Songs. Couldn't ask for more. Mesmerised with his sounds and songs.

Last but not the least, Karthik Subbaraj: A commendable attempt and a well written script. You haven't brought in a brilliant story but you have made a brilliant script and transformed it into a brilliant movie. We are asking for more movies of you and your brilliance Karthik. A big thumbs up for you. Brilliant is all i can say.

The thrills , actions , suspense, romance, awesome screenplay, Realistic Acting by the leads and the supporting Characters, brilliant Songs and BGM and an awesome Camera and not to miss the brilliant directing skill of Karthik is the USP of Jigarthanda.

Go watch it only in theatres. Well if you are watching it in pirated CD's you are in for a Big Loss.

My Verdict: Brilliant and Awesome and i go for a rating of 10/10

Jigarthanda is Story telling at its best, you just cannot miss a single frame of this artistic cinema for three reasons

1. I can merely remember any movie which had so many twists lately, if you liked Pizza, trust me, this movie is hundred times better than Pizza

2. This movie is artistic, in terms of how clean shots are engaged with some classic background music, there are some scenes which comply with the BGM, so much so, it takes them to a completely different level.

3. It's all about ACTING, actors in this movie do pure justice to their roll , Specially Simhaa, he nailed the character , and definitely garners admiration from audience.

I dare not talk about story line, in the end, have fun this week watching this splendid piece of cinema, brings roof down with laughter's in some scenes.

AMAZING JIGARTHANDA !!