‘Tha-Mo’ - JILLA
I am probably one of the few people from the industry who
reviews Tamil films especially in English. I can probably be likened to the
proverbial ‘Mathallam’. On the one side my review may inadvertently hurt quite
a few in the industry and on the other hand whenever I compliment a film the
viewer will possibly feel that I am being supportive and partial to X,Y, or Z
owing to my proximity and attachment to a number of people in the Tamil tinsel
world. Anyways, fortune favours the brave so here’s my take on ‘JILLA’
Back story: - Vijay,
Mohanlal, Kajal Agarwal,Soori, Sampath, Poornima Bhagyaraj, Mahat Raghavendra,
Niveda Thomas, Pradeep Rawat, Thambi Ramaiah, Vidyullekha, R.K, & Ravi
Mariya among many
others.
For the sake of R.B.Chowdry: - Special Appearance by Jiiva
Directed by: R.T.Neason, Camera: Ganesh Rajavelu, Music:
Imman, Edit:Don Max, Producer: R.B.Chowdry, Distributed by: Gemini Film
Circuit, Studio: Super Good FilmsBudget: NA
The story, backdrop and setting (Screen
play) The theme is refreshing and
different for Tamil cinema, a rowdy (Vijay) who hates cops is forced to turn
into one owing to his undying love for his father who happens to be the local
don (Mohanlal).
The first half forms the backdrop of the entire
story. Mohanlal the don is constantly under fear of death. On the way to the
hospital with his ailing wife (Poornima Bhagyaraj) his driver (man Friday)
among others is killed by a cop. This is watched by the driver’s son (young
Vijay) and from that day on wards he despises any and every one in Khaki. Mohanlal adopts the orphan as his own and
loves the kid as much his own son and daughter.
Characterization of young
Vijay, requires
special mention as the director has gone to great but unbelievable lengths to
showcase the young Vijay’s exceptional (stone throwing) skills to set in motion
the inevitable conclusion ‘The Don’s favorite’! It definitely reminds one of
Rajini/Mamooty (Thalapathy). The hero then moves to the next stage ‘falling
love’ (the ‘usual’ fair skinned belle from the North masquerading as a small
town girl for the umpteenth time). This time it is from Madurai and it is ‘Kajal
Agarwal’. The biggest surprise being that she is a (?), a role normally
bestowed upon Tamil female comedians. The instant ice and fire love factor
forms the major light hearted scenes in this half other than Soori’s (Vijay’s
childhood friend) comedy which brings a few smiles and cuts the lag to a
certain extent. Vijay going to Kajal’s house is straight out of the film
‘Shivaji’.The action scenes involving ‘Royapuram’ Guna etc are used by the
director to build Vijay’s macho image. The unbelievable car crashes, glass
breaking, knife wielding, punching bag fight sequences form the other part of
this half. The welcome relief here is that this half is devoid of the rather
mushy love interludes by the hero and heroine. The three songs help the
director to close the rather protracted first half.
The second half is the changeover of Vijay from a
rowdy to a cop. Here the director uses the age old father son sentiment.
Vijay’s change in attitude from bad to good is melodramatic, weak and
cinematic. Vijay and Mohanlal are the only quotient in this half .This half
drags on and on with the wedding, more fights and songs and finally the
director puts paid to the agony with a cinematic and violent climax which leads
one to believe that the leading heroes of Tamil cinema only listen or read the
first half of the script and somehow end up getting entangled in a totally
idiotic, gory and bloody climax with no sense or meaning. I think the censor
board definitely needs to rethink on granting a rather symbolic U or U/A
certificate to films with excessive dose of violence and gore!
The suspense factor, Kajal Agarwal’s intro in regular
clothes. The brother in law factor.
The only surprise
element, a minor
glitch in the theatre heralded and brought the first half to a rather abrupt
end. Here I would like to compliment diligent employee Uday of SPI cinemas who
made it a point to talk and pacify each and every fan and viewer alike to
explain the technical problem and the efforts being taken to sort it out during
the interval.
Additional points of interest I think the time has come for ‘Hollywood’ to learn to shoot
action sequences from ‘Kollywood’. Jokes apart! We have taken action scenes to
such unbelievable lengths that every 10th minute we have an action
block! The only problem being it can be superimposed or added to any film!
Vijay, has puts his heart and soul in this
film. He has sung, danced, delivered punch dialogues, shown intensity in action
scenes, shed tears, and has even made fun of himself but alas the script and
screen play has wasted all his efforts and skill set.
Mohanlal I really wonder whether this film
really needed him. He has literally duplicated Mamooty’s role in ‘Thalapathy’.
He has been under utilized and wasted in this film. Any lesser known actor
could have easily essayed this role. His dance motions in slow motion were in
stark contrast to those of Vijay! Why do our directors prefer Malayalam, Hindi,
or Telugu actors to do such insignificant and bland roles?
Kajal Agarwal, The fair skinned import from Mumbai
(Sorry to keep repeating) is supposedly the glam quotient but fails to
compliment this film in any manner whatsoever. As a (?) with painted nails and
lipstick she looks like a model taking part in a fancy dress competition.
Poorinma Bhyagarj &
Sampath whose
presence was adequate, nothing more nothing less!
The not so convincing
part Mohanlal
sleeping and Vijay driving is repeat as in ‘VEERAM’ The Hindi dialogue spoken by Vijay as taught in the police
academy. The flying fighting bouts which will make superman and batman blush. The
box configured to hold the remains rather crass. The ‘adiyal’ chews off a part
of the chair as he is bashed by the hero. Car and jeeps repeatedly keep turning
over for absurd reasons. The naming of the police teams as Alpha, Delta etc.
Police once again have been portrayed as the all time ‘dumbo’s’ of Tamil
cinema. Sampath’s confession to the D.C. The hero shoots criminals at will.
Melodramatic scene portraying Mohanlal throwing out and breaking things just to
prove a point. Once again the ‘Iyer’ obsession.
Music by Imman is adequate and has played a definite
role in this film. The song
‘Jingunamani’ and ‘Kandaangi’ (a way of adorning a sari) are catchy and
hummable numbers. Vijay’s singing will earn him a place as a good playback
singer. The back ground score was for
most part adequate except for a few places totally out of place and comical. P.S.
Though one seems to rehash of a song from the film ‘Devadayai Kanden’ and the
other from ‘Thalapathy’
Don Max should have used his acumen more
diligently to effect cuts to contain undue lag and boredom. In my opinion the
film should have been 45 mins shorter.
Art director I somehow felt that this department
was on its own trip and were oblivious to the needs of the script.
Choreography each
song has a different back drop. As such each of them individually is colorful,
what’s baffling is its relevance to the story!
Costumes bizarre! In fact in one scene Vijay
wears maroon pants, black vest and a pair of blue shoes. The biggest ‘goof’ up
he wears Khaki in one of songs!
Finally to sum it all
up:-
Left right &
Centre:-
On my right of right were 2 girls: - ‘We do not like the film
at all’.
Centre were two friends:-
‘Not so nice but probably the second half would be better’.
My director friend sitting by my side:- ‘Sorry! This film is
not working for me’.
Bottom Line:-
The magic word ‘ThaMo’(Thalapathi and Mohanlal) was repeatedly used by
the director but the genie never comes out of the bottle!
Until next time,
Director Haricharan
Chennai
10/01/2014
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