29/40, #lockdownenrichmentforthesoul, Tamil Movie recoemmendation

Jigathanda, 2014, Karthik Subbaraj

Of all the Tamil film makers, Karthik Subbaraj may be the only one who can end up making films of any genre. I will not be surprised if he makes a Bhakti film and a James Bond film with equal ease. Like Tarentino or Anurag Kashyap, you can feel that he is having so much FUN making that film he is working on. He is one of those directors, whose filmography is worth watch.

The last 12 minutes of Jigarthanda are great lessons in story telling, how you can completely fool the audience and shall we say, for want of a better word, transform the genre of the movie itself.

This was my review after 28 days after the movie was released.

The "Soora Bothai"( A Devilish High) of "Jigarthanda"

Once was not enough, Twice was not enough and after a third helping in three weeks, there are no signs of satiety. I look forward to several more helpings of “Jigarthanda”( Translated as Cold Hearted, Jigarthanda is also a delectable Falooda like dessert served in Madurai).

Karthik Subbaraj, serves this intoxicating tale, narrates with Machiavellian intent, teases and tantalizes the audience with an inclusive mock fest. Probably a first, there is a mathematical format to this mock fest, the title “Jigarthanda” rolls down as it is being pronounced as a “Kuppai Padam”( A film that could pass of trash), a verdict given by one of the judges on a short films made by the protagonist. And as the director cruises along with verve, zest and zeal, the film is punctuated with unending QEDS.

Karthik is blessed with several weapons in the arsenal who shine so brightly that Karthik himself get lost in the radiance of his cohorts. One is not really sure who is the first amongst equals as Santosh Narayanan(Music), Gavemic U Ary, the Cinematographer, Siddarth and Simha, all of them vie for equal honours.

While Gavemic is silent, Siddarth is understated and probably has been underrated for this performance, Simha is a joy to behold, and Santosh Narayan, spews an indescribable score that sends you into a space far removed from this earth.

I wish I had the competence and the skill sets to appreciate the cinematography and music in greater detail. Between Gavemic and Santosh, they set the mood for a film while capturing the flavors of Madurai, infuse new flavours into the temple town which were hitherto not experienced.

For that one shot of Meenakshi temple, in a suspended haze, in a visibly invisible state, Gavemic, as a lay man I really enjoyed it.

Simha, to me, has of course been the real reason for me to visit the movie again and again. Thanks to the writing, Simha, has an opportunity to exhibit a multitude of emotions, he is not grey, he is a mirage of black with a lurking and languishing human inside. Simha explodes on to the screen. His haunting eyes, phenomenally menacing body language, the swagger, the exuberance, the camaraderie, the pursuit of excellence, and there is that glint of unusual humanness just makes him a powerful character that has been unleashed on us for a long long time. You could have the one-dimensional villains like Gabbar Singh, Mogambo, Joker or Jack Nicholson in Departed, Simha as Sethu will always remain special.

I would have loved to see, Rajinikanth play this character about thirty years back.

The goose bumps reserved for Rajinikanth seemed to have been just been shared with Simha.