Director: Karthik Subbaraj
Cast: Dhanush, Aishwarya Lekshmi, James Cosmo
Rajnikanth scorched the silver screen a few years back in Kabali, playing a tenacious Malaysian don. His son-in-law Dhanush now attempts to follow suit in Jagame Thandhiram (streaming on Netflix) where, in his character Suruli’s own words, he plays a ‘London Dada’.
Gangster films set in London against the backdrop of the Indian diaspora aren’t uncommon. Last year, we had the awesome Taish directed by Bejoy Nambiar that really stood out for its slick narration and complex characterizations. Karthik Subbaraj attempts a lighter tone here and tries to narrate a serious tale with a smattering of comic interludes. It doesn’t exactly translate into a Guy Ritchie end product but works for large parts.
As is often the case in this genre, the plot revolves around the rivalry between two gangs. One of the gangs is led by a sleazy white supremacist called Peter (James Cosmo of GOT fame). Another is helmed by Sivadoss (Joju George), a Tamil immigrant. Circumstances land Suruli, who’s been building reputation as a feared local gangster himself in India, also in London. Suruli’s presence there seems to tilt the balance in Peter’s favour. Suruli’s street smartness and cold heartedness are capitalized on by Peter and they plot to take Sivadoss down together with a calculated plan.
Suruli soon realizes however that things aren’t exactly as they appear to be. He meets and falls in love with Attilla (Aishwarya Lekshmi), a Sri Lankan Tamil immigrant. His relationship with Attilla opens up a new can of worms and there is almost a thematic shift in the film’s narrative. What started off as a buccaneering gangster film transforms somewhat into a dramatic study of the refugee crisis in Europe. This new dimension to the storyline works though, to the director’s credit. Suruli finds something new to fight for and now has a new rival to hunt down.
Jagame Thandhiram is a film that’s dispersed geographically and thematically. Suruli’s character is placed strategically at the cross section and holds the story together. Another film might have failed miserably with such an ambitious thematic shift mid-way. JT however gets it right due to a slew of reasons. For starters, I loved how many characters seemed to be holding secrets waiting to tumble out. There are neat twists and revelations that propel the story forward and keep us hooked. The refugee issue is handled both sensitively and with brevity. Instead of a long discourse, there’s a short and snappy flashback sequence that makes the point. Dhanush carries the film on his shoulders and is menacing and chirpy when he needs to be.
JT is not perfect by any means. I had problems with the overly cartoonish portrayal of the villain. And the scenes with Suruli and his mother were outrageous to say the least, as were some of the early scenes that tried to be funny about the ‘corporate appraisal process’. But all this seems excusable in the end and the film ends up with more highs than lows.
Rating: 3/5
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