Jagame Tantram Review

Cast: Dhanush, Aishwarya Lakshmi, Joji George, and others

Music: Santosh Narayan

Cinematography: Shreyas Krishna

Editing: Vivek Harshan

Director: Karthik Subbaraj

Banner: Y Not Studios

OTT: Netflix

What's Behind

Dhanush's Jagama Thadintram directed by Karthik Subbaraj is the most awaited movie in the industry. The film's which got delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic finally had the grand OTT release on Netflix. The film titled Jagame Tantram in Telugu generated interest among viewers with its first look, teaser, and trailer. Let us see what Jagame Tantram has in store for the viewers.

Story Review

Peter (James Casco) hailing from London dictates the entire Britain as a gangster. However, he faces trouble from a Tamil gangster Sivadas (Joji George). Peter decides to take Sivadas head-on after Sivadas eliminates one of his men.

Peter starts scouting for the right person to take Sivadas and finds Suruli (Dhanush) who gets the name of a rowdy sheeter in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. Suruli goes on a mission to eliminate Sivadas and falls in love with a London-based singer Attila (Aishwarya Lakshmi). Hw will be in for shocking developments in his life. The twists in Suruli's journey form the story of Jagame Tantram.  

Artists, Technicians Review

Director Karthik Subbaraj's story looked routine. Many such stories came and it has resemblances to Amrutha and Family Man. Karthik tried to blend refugees issue and gangsters and narrate it in a novel manner.

Karthik Subbaraj in all his films touched on the Tamil refugees in Srilanka or in Tamil Nadu. He tried to highlight the discrimination against refugees in London. It looked a bit silly that Suruli who unravels all the secrets of Sivadas unable to find his background.

Director seems to have deviated from the main point while paying attention to gang wars. He failed to highlight the problems of refugees, racism in a powerful manner. The entire first half is concentrated on showing Suruli coming to London and becoming a don.

All those scenes looked routine and pretty ordinary. The story takes a turn after Suruli comes to know about the refugee's problems. The film's story and narration lacked the right emotions. Everything became routine and predictable and the director depended on action scenes and Dhanush's fan following.

Dhanush played the role effortlessly. He did many such roles in films like Vada Chennai, Mari, and Pudupettai. While in those films he played the role of a local don, in this film he turned international don. Dhanush looked as stylish as a gangster. Dhanush with his performance carried the film on his shoulders but his character pales in comparison compared to his earlier films.

Joji George is a surprise package as the gangster. But he was underutilized and his role is very limited. He showed he is a versatile actor with his performances in films like Nayattu and Joseph. Aishwarya Lakshmi and others performed according to their roles.

The film has high technical values. Shreyas Krishna with his cinematography elevated the film to another level. He used camera angles and lighting effects to perfection and shot every frame in a rich manner. Santosh Narayan made an impact with his background music. The BGM during the hero's introduction makes a powerful impact. Vivek Harshan's editing left a lot to be desired There are many scenes that tested the patience of the viewers. Most of the actors looked completely mismatch and completely lost due to Karthik Subbaraj's inability to come with convincing scenes. Director Karthik Subbaraj failed in his execution. He should have shown the emotions in a powerful and impactful manner. Screenplay and narration are slow most of the time.  

Advantages

Dhanush

Cinematography

BGM

Disadvantages

Slow pace

Story,Screenplay,Direction

Rating Analysis

Karthik Subbaraj raised expectations when he teamed with Dhanush for the first time with Jagame Tantram. He created an impact with the teaser and the trailer. However, he failed to cash into the craze of Dhanush coming with a routine story. He completely depended on Dhanush's stardom and in the process neglected the story and failed completely in his screenplay and direction. He also underutilized the actors failing to get the optimum out of them. Despite Dhanush's efforts, Jagame Tantram fails to make any impact. Considering all these aspects, CJ goes with a 2.0 rating for the film.

Punch Line: Jagame Tantram -Routine Mantram.