Jagame Tantram

Story

Jagame Thandhiram, a fast-paced action drama revolves around a carefree, self-centered thug named Suruli, who lives a flashy, adrenaline-filled life in Madurai making quick cash with his street-smarts and quick wit. He is hired by a racist London gangster named Peter as a hitman to murder Sivadoss, a rival of Peter's, who also lives in Madurai. Suruli starts tracking down Sivadoss and plotting his murder, but there are obstacles in his way- both physical and emotional. The way he overcomes them and comes to a conclusion about his conscience and moral standing forms the crux of the story. 

Review

Jagame Thandhiram comes across as a very flashy, and high-budget film about immigrants and the political strife surrounding them. But instead of that, this movie ends up being a cliche South Indian drama revolving around Suruli the hot-blooded gangster from Madurai. This type of character has been played to exhaustion by Dhanush. In hindsight, this movie is perfect only for the hardcore Kollywood fans who only consume these movies due to their obsessive devotion towards the "hero" starring in it. The pace of it is too fast to comprehend, it is difficult to catch up. 

The film aspires to be very emotional and thought-provoking since it is a movie regarding the plight of immigrants and racism. But it regularly mocks the good points it makes by adding uselessly dragged-out scenes which contradict the same statement it tries to make. It is very detrimental to the film's decreasing positive points. At some places, the writing just declines to become borderline lazy. It’s confusing, self-indulgent, and thoughtless. The only saving grace is the splendid acting of Dhanush, Joju George, and James Cosmo. They were a delight to watch despite the plot not giving their talents justice. The roles of the female characters were very superficial, and most of them were damsels without any individual strength. Sadly, this cliche is also seen in almost all generic South Indian movies, where all the women exist to do is serve as romantic interests. The role of Sivadoss is commendable and was something that was appreciated amidst all the endless blandness. 

Verdict

The film plot is an extremely cliche one. It is entirely skippable.  

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