Karthik Subbaraj’s Dhanush-Aishwarya Lakshmi starrer Jagame Thanthiram is a film that takes you straight into the lives of Tamil immigrants in the UK and touches upon issues that impact their life such as racism, joblessness, acceptance from society. [NEW! Subcribe to my weekly newsletter]
In my view, Dhanush is a powerhouse of talent but remains largely untapped in the film due to a weak script.
Jagame Thanthiram: Weak story narrative
From start to finish, the film struggles in its pacing and narrative, thereby disappointing its audience who find themselves being thrown into a serious topic such as immigration and its grave implications but catapulting in different directions as the narrative goes haywire. The plight of the Sri Lankan Tamils in Britain is well-highlighted but the script swerves between showcasing Suruli as the bad guy who wants to be the good guy and in the middle of all the bloodcurdling action, the hero fails to come through because of a weak script and a weaker direction.
Jagame Thanthiram: Weak romance, awkward chemistry
Suruli's romantic interest - Attila, starring Aishwarya Lekshmi, who fails to portray her role realistically as a Sri Lankan immigrant.
Firstly, the Tamil, she fails to breathe life into the identity of a Sri Lankan Tamil woman who is struggling to live in Britain. Wooden expressions and a total mismatch between dialogue delivery and expression and lack of realistic performance add to the difficulty of watching Attila.
Even in a scene where Suruli slaps her (I still cannot digest the fact that he slaps her twice and she has no expression whatsoever!) and coaxes the truth out of Attila, there is a clinical coldness in the performance that makes it difficult to even 'like' Attila.
There is neither a portrayal of vulnerability or strength that is visible on screen when Attila expresses an emotion or says a dialogue.
Her style of speaking Tamil itself has no remote resemblance to how Sri Lankan Tamil is spoken.
Neither Suruli nor Attila are protagonists you can feel for.
They come across as being totally self-destructive and clueless about their own lives, not even understanding how it impacts others.
Jagame Thanthiram: Joju George is the only showstopper
The biggest surprise in the film has been Joju George, who portrays the role of being a saviour of Tamil immigrants in Sri Lanka.
A stylish villain with a hearty laugh and playful curls, Joju's appearance and vibe seem more heartwarming than any other character in the film.
Does this send out a visual cue perhaps that not all villains are bad and not all heroes, as Suruli proves in the film, are good. It's just our mistaken perception of heroes and villains that make it seem so.
While Joju George seemed to struggle with getting the Tamil diction correctly, I felt that he alone is the showstopper in the film. Sadly, his role has a short yet powerful impact. such as racism, joblessness, acceptance from the mainstream society.
For ardent fans of Dhanush, Jagame Thanthiram can be watched on Netflix. Others may want to check out other Dhanush films too such as the recent much acclaimed film on Netflix titled 'Karnan'.
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