“He who created God is a fool” said the founder of the Dravidian movement #EVRamasamyPeriyar; in his view religion and rationality are complete opposites. Incidentally, today, September 17th marks his birthday! In some ways, I think the emergence of superheroes in Tamil cinema must be traced to the fact that the movement did away with the gods. Who else does the common man then turn to ? Enter Superstar Rajnikant. And at 72, he delivers Tamil cinema’s highest first week box office collections with #Jailer !!
#Jailer is the story of Tiger Muthuvel Pandian, a grandfather living in retirement, helping his grandson to make YouTube videos. His son is a police officer and is in pursuit of a gang that robs valuable idols. Circumstances result in Muthuvel’s past as a no-nonsense jailer catch up with him and he is forced to shed his innocuous image and emerge as the stylish, sharp shooting, blade-wielding man of the masses!
#Jailer is not about the character Muthuvel; it is about the actor Rajni; a man whose screen presence fires up the imagination of the people. Like all Rajni movies , it is a celebration of the man, it is upbeat, festive and larger than life. The thing about Rajni movies is that you leave the rules of storytelling behind and come for the experience. As a film, #Jailer would rank 7/10 but as a Rajni festival it ranks right up there at 9/10!
#NelsonDileepKumar, the director understands this and so does it best. His work has a touch of irony and sometimes sheer absurdity, laced with a special brand of humour and lots of nostalgia. One of the highlights of the first half surely is the exchange of dialogues between Muthuvel and #YogiBabu. In the build up of the narrative, the visible action is eschewed and the audience gets to lick their lips in anticipation of what is to follow. #Vinayakan plays the villain #Varman and the camera shows a close up of his large piercing eyes. The accessories, the music and the dialogues add to the fervour and by the time the interval is upon us, it is time for the wolf whistles to reach high pitch. The four henchmen that Muthuvel hires as sharp shooters are caricatures, identically dressed and almost comic as they go about their work. Nostalgia comes in the form of numerous Easter eggs … the snake sentiment, reference to the Basha dialogue “Na oru thadva sonna…” and of the course the protagonsts name - a cross between two of his iconic characters - Muthu and Alex Pandian.
The scene just before the interval is perhaps one of the most iconic scenes of violence that is ever shot in the Rajni franchise. When the killers arrive at his house, he urges his wife and daughter-in-law to sit at the dining table and do nothing save for wiping the blood of their faces. At the end of the scene, he reveals who he is and feels no pressure to put on any appearances - bring the whistles on !
#Nelson’s fascination with #BreakingBad is obvious - the special touch of the industrial lab and the sulphuric acid drums also help build the imagery of Varman, the villain. The cross-industry casting and the special cameos by #Mohanlal and #ShivaRajKumar deliver maximum impact; not to mention the roles played by #JackieShroff and #Sunil. That one scene with the three south Indian mega stars with #RNirmal’s parallel cuts is a winner all the way!
#Jailer does not do justice to the women; the roles are not meaty enough. #Tamannah and #RamyaKrishnan are clearly not utilized enough but no one is complaining here. After all, this is mass cinema that appeals to the men-folk and the positioning remains steadfast. Rajni’s fascinating smile and his one-liners are enough to do the job. At one point, when Varman’s goons perform a grotesque dance, Muthuvel responds “After a point, I don't talk; I slash”... and there you have it, another addition to the Rajni lexicon.
#Anirudh’s music and the ‘Hukum’ number are rousing, uplifting and add to the imagery that #Nelson is trying to accentuate. One of the lyrics goes “He will make the next generation dance to his tunes” - this is of course paean to the superstar and not the character. In what is another touch of irony, one of the villains refers to him as a dinosaur.
Besides the lack of emphasis on women characters, there are a couple of shortcomings for sure. The relationship between Muthuvel and his son Arjun (#VasanthRavi) is not established well; the comedy scenes in the second half with #Sunil and Tamannah and everyone acting as a version of themselves is a tad too convoluted but does evoke laughter. The shootout at the and and the grand reveal and the twists and turns around the idol theft make up and give the film a special touch.
#Jailer is streaming on prime. Dialogues like “Mind It” and memes that have gone and remained viral make the legend of Rajni incomparable. Corporates in the southern states have been known to provide the day off to enable their employees the opportunity to go and watch the first day first show. Unlike the western movies where you go to watch because you are a fan of the character or the super hero, there is only one here - the man himself ! A Rajni film is not a film; it is an event and a festival and the theater is the temple !
