Jailer Movie : Rajinikanth and Nelson stage a compelling return that predominantly succeeds

Mumbai, 11 Aug, (VNI) Tiger  Muthuvel Pandian (Rajini), a retired jailer, is now living a life that has no violence around him. One day his son, who is also a police officer, gets kidnapped and is declared killed. The Tiger decides to roar back and takes down an entire syndicate with the help of his star friends.

A Rajinikanth movie is never a movie that walks stand-alone. It has the burden of serving the cinema deity it stars. It has to not just be a story that impresses but also a platform that gives ample space for this larger-than-life star to walk in slow motion, throw a cigar in his mouth in reverse (he does that in Jailer), or just wear glares with the most complicated hand movements there could be. If done by anyone else, it could be eccentric, but for Rajinikanth, that is his style. Even the dried leaves and mud on the road know when to fly and form a mini storm when he walks by them.

So when writer-director Nelson Dilipkumar decides to cast one of the biggest stalwarts of Indian cinema in his crime comedy, he knows what he has signed up for. Jailer is only victorious because Nelson never feels the pressure of serving Rajni fans keeping his movie aside. He makes sure the movie happens first, and the fan service is a path of it. We meet Rajinikanth praying; he is not dressing up to now woo a young fair lady, but is a grandfather to a 6-year-old toddler. His wife taunts him, and he doesn’t dare to give a comeback. I could see the excitement of the fans fading in a houseful theater when their superstar did not enter the screen punching some goons, or smoking a cigar. But Nelson takes this risk.

He takes the risk to make the biggest superstar of the country accepting his age right at the beginning of his movie. Yes, a flashback where he is young serves as a redemption and the crowd even cheered more on that, but you see how the filmmaker is cleverly serving his sensibilities, the audience, fans, and producers. Jailer, for the most part of it, never shows you the action visually. It is always an idea. Rajinikanth has done enough for you to form an image of him breaking some bones when he enters a room and closes the door. So Nelson cuts to the chase and shows the end result. Now, this could not work for the fans who bought that ticket to watch the star beat hundreds of people in a go, but it is a great idea and must be appreciated.

Nelson, while writing multiple cameos, lives his fanboy dream. Superstars enter the frame one after the other and none demand the limelight of the other, because they are now that content with their share. You can see that in the little moments. Nelson even goes meta when he critiques his own industry when he talks about aged heroes running behind young actors with their wigs on.

Jailer loses the momentum though, post the interval. The second half begins on a high but soon gets too predictable, and a big twist feels unnecessary entirely. That twist also leads to the climax becoming the biggest bothering bit about this movie. The writing also forgets the little boy and entirely ignores the women. None of the two ladies get to have a decent conversation. And one of the two is played by Ramya Krishnan, FYI.

Rajinikanth can now cakewalk through the slow motions and antique ways of wearing glasses, folding legs, sitting, walking; the man even has a style to light a matchstick. But the task for him is to underplay the Rajni Phenomenon, and you see him do that in Jailer. It is fun to see him accept his age in a much more nuanced manner.

Vinayakan, as the big baddie Varma, is a fun character. All the comedy and fear comes out of him, and is written quite nicely. He makes his goons dance to Rahman songs in an Anirudh musical. His hideout is as dramatic as possible. The actor makes sure he doesn’t become a comic relief, and the way he balances the two things is commendable.

Vasanth Ravi is impressive. Yogi Babu can never go wrong, and then when joined by Jackie Shroff, there is enough to hook you here.

Nelson has definitely taken a huge risk in Jailer to change the blueprint of how a Rajinikanth movie should look. Not many can dare to break a mold that was so successful for a very long time. But we recently saw a saturation in that too, and looks like even Nelson did. This is the superstar’s best work in a long while.

Anirudh is here to revolutionize music and needs to spread his art across the country and, eventually, the world. His work in Jailer is so fresh and works so well with the setup. He makes the film sound so larger than life and also grounded when needed. As for songs, Kaavaalaa works pretty well in the movie. The placement of the song could be one of the best in a long time. DOP Vijay Kartik Kannan’s camera worships Rajinikanth in a good way. The wife angle shots are brilliant, and so is the set design in most of the parts.

Jailer is the best Rajinikanth movie in a very long time. Yes, there was also Darbar, and we know what happened. Though Jailer has flaws too, but none that should make you skip it. Go in if you want to see a fresh take on the Rajni Phenomenon.