Jigarthanda DoubleX: Not as sweet as its predecessor

Cast: Raghava Lawrence, SJ Suryah, Nimisha Sajayan, Illavarasu, Naveen Chandra, Sathyan, Shine Tom Chacko, Sanchana Natarajan and Aravindh Akash

Director: Karthik Subbaraj

Music director: Santhosh Narayanan

Rating- 2.5/5

Fifty-eight months after the release of Petta, filmmaker Karthik Subbaraj is back with a theatrical release. The director aims to hit it out of the park with the sequel to his 2014 blockbuster, Jigarthanda, and even titled the film Jigarthanda DoubleX because of the film's magnitude. But sequels and cinema do not share a great love story. Will Jigarthanda DoubleX break the jinx?

The story opens in a forest where a tribal named Chattani (Vidhu) hunts elephants and is guarded by a ruthless 'bad' cop, who has his own vendetta. We are introduced to Caesar (Raghava Lawrence), a local thug in Madurai, and then Kirubai (SJ Suryah), who is about to join the force as a sub-inspector. The first 20 minutes of the film throws various characters at us and shows how cinema and politics are intertwined in Tamil Nadu. We meet Jeyakodi (Shine Tom Chacko), an actor-politician, and Chinna (Aravindh Akash), a matinee idol, who reminds us of stars from the 70s.

After the first 15 minutes, Jigarthanda DoubleX is impressive as it is similar to the first part and thrives on how art connects a gangster and filmmaker. Clint Eastwood is another notable part of the film's cast ensemble and Caesar even names his theatre as Cilidis Talkies. Everything works in the first half.

Santhosh Narayanan's background music is a charm. SJ Suryah as Raydasan plays his part perfectly and his transformations between dialogues are impeccable. In Jigarthanda 2, shooting means both with guns as well as cameras. And we are left stunned during the interval.

Every film takes its own sweet time to settle when the second half begins and this 172-minute movie is no exception. The story now travels into a jungle. We see some transformations in characters. However, the story starts deviating as the soul of Jigarthanda is lost and Karthik Subbaraj's writing leans on the political side. It gets too lengthy.

SJ Suryah is still seen holding the camera and following Caesar. A lot more could have been done to his character. It is Raghava Lawrence who steals the thunder in both halves of the movie. While the promotional glimpses showed his Rajini-esque side, the film shows his charm and aura without killing the performer in him. By the time the film reaches its climax, we wonder why it was labelled under the Jigarthanda franchise.

Nimisha Sajayan and Naveen Chandra do what is required of them. But we feel at some places, even the Tamil dialogues need subtitles for better understanding. It is okay to take the help of dubbing artistes when the Tamil pronunciation of your actors isn't up to the mark, especially when it is the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Tirru's camera work in the first half takes us back and forth to Mexico and Madurai. His visuals in the second half are another huge plus for the film. Overall, Jigarthanda DoubleX with a solid first half had the potential to be another blockbuster but fell short of the hype and expectations.