Rajinikanth is back, this time with Jailer. The film has become a talking point thanks to its exciting trailer, ensemble star cast, the viral song ‘Kaavaalaa’ and of course Rajinikanth’s starry presence. Thankfully, the film turns out to be a decent entertainer though it could have been better.
The story of the movie: Muthuvel Pandian aka Tiger (Rajinikanth) was a jailer once and is now retired. He resides with his family, comprising son Arjun (Vasanth Ravi), who’s an honest cop like Tiger, wife Vijaya (Ramya Krishnan), daughter-in-law Shwetha (Mirnaa Menon) and cute grandkid Rithvik. All is going well until Arjun starts investigating the case of stolen antique pieces from temples. The one behind these crimes is the evil Varma (Vinayakan). One day, Arjun disappears. He’s believed to be killed as in the past, cops who went behind Varma had to lose their lives. Tiger is devastated. He decides to shed his image of a docile gentleman and get back to his ‘jailer’ avatar to teach the baddies a lesson.
Jailer starts on a fine note. The entry of Rajinikanth is not as exciting in the initial reels as he pretends to be a non-violent, peaceful gentleman. The fun begins once he decides to avenge the death of his son. There’s also a comic track involving Yogi Babu and Rajinikanth that works well. Though mass moments are there, they are few and far between. Yet, one doesn’t mind as the way Tiger goes to insane lengths to save his family is quite entertaining. The intermission point is terrific. After the intermission, there are two clapworthy scenes which will create a frenzy in cinemas. One expects the film to go higher from hereon. Sadly, it goes downhill. A track inserted at this point doesn’t work. The film picks up only in the climax. The twist in the tale also saves the day. The final scene is underwhelming. The film could have ended on a massy note.
Speaking of performances, Rajinikanth obviously is outstanding. Only he could have played this role so flawlessly. Vinayakan is apt as the dangerous villain. The actor playing the young Rithvik is too adorable. Sadly, he’s completely forgotten after a point. Ramya Krishnan and Mirnaa Menon don’t have much to do. Vasanth Ravi is decent. Yogi Babu, as always, is very funny. Sunil (Blast Mohan) does well but his track is very weak. Tamannaah Bhatia (Kamna) is sizzling hot in a special appearance. Naga Babu (Bala), Kishore and the actors playing Paneer, Dhanraj, Inspector Kanaga Lakshmi, Seenu and Dr Dhandapani are decent. Lastly, Shiva Rajkumar (Narasimha) and Mohanlal (Mathew) add to the star value. Jackie Shroff is also quite good in a cameo.
Anirudh‘s music is in sync with the film’s massy zone. ‘Hukum’ exhilarates impact to another level. ‘Jailer Theme’ and ‘Muthuvel Pandian Theme’ come next followed by ‘Jujubee’. ‘Kaavaalaa’ is also catchy but in the film, it comes at a not-so-great juncture. Anirudh‘s background score is terrific.
Vijay Kartik Kannan‘s cinematography enhances the cinematic appeal. Stun Siva‘s action is quite violent. Pallavi Singh and Muthul Hafeez‘s costumes are realistic yet stylish. Drk Kiran‘s production design is straight out of life. R Nirmal‘s editing could have been crisper.
Nelson‘s story is too good. Nelson‘s screenplay is very effective in most places. But it slips in the second half. Nelson‘s dialogues are clapworthy.
Nelson‘s direction is massy. The way he has presented Rajinikanth and ensured that the audience gets their money’s worth is seen to be believed. But on the flipside, he should have reduced the run time of the second half, when the focus was more on the Blast Mohan track. Also, his decision to end the film in such a manner might dampen the spirits of the fans.
On the whole, Jailer works due to Rajinikanth’s starry presence, uplifting songs and background music and Nelson’s execution. The second half, however, is weak. A decent, one-time watch!
My rating – *** out of 5!