Jailer, directed by Nelson Dilipkumar, has some big names like Rajinikanth, Vesanth Ravi and Vinayakan. All of them have delivered a solid performance. Amazing camera work makes the movie more interesting. In a word, the movie is loaded with entertainment masala and a complete paisa-vasool.
Jailer marks the stylish return for Rajinikanth. After ‘Annatthe’ failed to become a hit, it took Rajinikanth quite a while to deliver a solid entertainer. For the director Nelson Dilipkumar, who was just back from Thalapathy Vijay’s ‘Beast’, it was important to get things right in Jailer and he has scored.
Plot
Jailer opens with a gang led by Varma (Vinayakan) involved in idol smuggling. Vasanth Ravi plays the role of an honest police officer Arjun who is entrusted with the work of tracking this smuggling network and dismantling it. However, Varma kidnaps Arjun and the police department believes he is dead. Arjun’s father Muthuvel Pandian played by Rajinikanth, who is an ex-police officer, is expectedly upset at this news.
The doting father is now determined to take revenge. He sets himself on a killing spree and it eventually leads him to Varma. However, the story does not end here. Varma gives a Herculean task to Muthuvel and he agrees to do it on one condition. The next three hours explore a few wh-questions like Whats, whys and hows.
Criticism
Nelson Dilipkumar, as a director, is loved for his precise comedy timing. In this movie too, he instills dark comedy and makes it a more compelling watch. Rajinikanth is introduced as a calm and quiet person who takes care of household chores after his retirement from the police department. He buys veggies for cooking and enjoys absolute fun helping his grandson with his YouTube channel.
Thalaivar does mundane things with so much ease that it makes people believe that he actually does it in his personal life. And he proves that he can do stylish antics and dull works with equal efficiency. The director has done a good job by making a balance between both types of roles and these make-things-believe elements work for Jailer.
A Comeback for Rajinikanth
The best part of Jailer is Rajinikanth delivers and he does it after a long time. The story can remind viewers of Kamal Haasan’s ‘Vikram’. Both films revolve around a father who can do anything for his son, even if it means locking horns with a criminal gang. Though Vikram does not get derailed from the genre, Jailer offers commercial entertainment, spiced up by the scenes of actions expected from a Rajinikanth-starring movie.
Rajinikanth tries black comedy in the initial parts of the movie. Though his comedy is not that good, it works in some parts. The movie becomes interesting once it gets into the conflicts. The star actor shines with his subdued performance whenever the movie lags its pace.
Jailer celebrates the power of celebrity stars at its core. Jackie Shroff, Mohanlal and Shiva Rajkumar do a decent job with their explosive cameos. And when they share the same screen space, it creates some whistle-blowing moments. Jailer has some shades from Rajinikanth’s superhit movies like ‘Enthiran’, ‘Baasha’ among others, which may stoke up viewers’ nostalgia.
The interval sequence is a total bang-on! Rajinikanth’s epic and desired transformation makes the movie a worthy watch. These sequences bring the best out of a star actor who has an embellished and enviable body of work throughout his acting career till date.
