Karthik Subbaraj is a rare breed of Tamil filmmaker. Many love cinema, but Karthi belongs to the few who can also express their love for cinema poetically and lyrically using the same art form with complete justice to the craft — well, most of the time. It is one thing to love the craft and another to be good enough to pay homage to it in the same language. Karthik Subbaraj achieves it in Jigarthanda DoubleX, a prequel to his sophomore blockbuster that brought about a huge shift in the way gangster films were shot in Tamil. Jigarthanda DoubleX, of course, shares a lot of traits with its predecessor. The first part was about an aspiring filmmaker trying to make a film based on a gangster. Here we have a pretend filmmaker penetrating the inner circle of a gangster on the pretext of making a film. His real intention is to kill him. That’s just a basic story of this film that has a lot more going on than that. While Karthik succeeds in making the idea work, the social commentary part is a bit incongruous in this universe.Jigarthanda DoubleX takes a while to settle down. A hero-politician (Shine Tom Chacko), aspiring to become the next CM, is trying to take down his competition inside the party. He asks his brother Naveen Chandra, a DSP posted in a tribal village, to get rid of all the aides of his competition. One of them is Ceaser (Raghava Lawerence), a forimbable don in Madurai. An ardent fan of Clint Eastwood, Ceaser has a curious backstory about his name that involves the Hollywood star himself. He has a ritual of sorts while killing his enemies: he dresses up as a cowboy, gives his enemy a gun and organises a stand-off.When he gets insulted at a party for being dark-skinned, Ceaser resolves to become the first black-skinned star in Tamil cinema. Rajinikanth is yet to make his debut as the film is set before Apoorva Ragangal (1975). Enters Ray Dasan (SJ Suryah), a prisoner who has been given the job of killing Ceaser. The catch is Ray is neither a filmmaker nor a killer. He is in fact allergic to blood. It gives him seizures. However, Ray has the gift of gab and makes Ceaser dance to his tune. Thus begins the ‘shooting’.The storyline shares its core with its first part. Here too a filmmaker is trying to make a film about a gangster. Here too there is an unresolved family issue with the gangster that plays a huge role in the way the character has shaped up. But while watching Jigarthanda DoubleX, we care less about such connections as this film unfolds with a lot of drama.Drama… something that’s been missing from our films lately. While mainstream cinema has come down to being a series of action set-pieces that are strung by some flimsy story and emotional quotient, Karthik revels in creating beautiful emotional moments that propel the action. There is a sly dig at our trend of cinema when Ray Dasan says, “No one watches films about good people anymore.” It is a dig at the film itself as much as it is about the current trend. It is just one example of the teeming self-referential and meta jokes in the film that are delicious. Karthik’s sly and wicked humour is subtle like everything about the film until it takes a social commentary route. Now, Karthik Subbaraj has always been a filmmaker who has exhibited concern for the environment. His silent film Mercury is a case in point. Even during his short film days, the director has been toying with the issues of Sri Lanka. Yet, it is rather bold of him to use the Jigarathanda universe, for making a social commentary. It ends up working because of two incredible performances, which are of course of SJ Suryah and Raghava Lawrence. In a way, the film is about finding its hero between the two, and the end is poetic, to say the least. Karthik Subbaraj undermines the concept of a hero even as he creates one with the two marvellous actors.The prequel tries to be a lot of things at once. However, it succeeds as meta cinema. Take the build-up to the interval, for example, Ceaser and Ray are struggling to find an interval to their film. Meta enough? Ceaser keeps teasing that a terrific interval block is on the horizon, but things end up becoming a damp squib. And when the interval block finally hits, it is bonkers. The interval frame is perhaps one of the brilliant cinematic moments in Tamil cinema. Such brilliance outshines the shortcomings of Jigarthanda DoubleX.Read more

Jigarthanda Double X carried a lot of anticipation since the time the film was announced, especially as Karthik Subbaraj was returning to the big screen after a gap of four years. The film was said to be a ‘spiritual sequel’ to the 2014 film with the same title. But does the film live up to all the expectations and hype surrounding it? Let’s find out!Alliyus Caesar (Raghava Lawrence) is a hardened gangster living in Madurai, with strong political affiliations, while Ray Dasan (SJ Suryah) aspires to be a police officer. An ego clash and twist of fate intertwine their lives. The story follows their journey to achieve their personal goals, which also leads them to a tribal village on the outskirts of Madurai. The incidents that follow in the village form the heart and soul of the film.Jigarthanda Double X brings forth a multilayered story, that Karthik Subbaraj has been able to tell with ease. It is evident right from the first shot that the world has been well-developed. Every scene and every action has a purpose, and it is made clear to the audience as well. The director has managed to confess his love for the art of cinema, and at the same time tells the story with a significant social undertone. Something that goes along with world-building is the character sketches and arc, which Karthik Subbaraj has nailed as well. Both SJ Suryah and Raghava Lawrence’s characters were very well defined and followed a visible arc, not just internally, but externally as well. In fact, all the supporting characters, especially the ones played by Bava Chelladurai, Nimisha Sajayan, and Vidhu were exceptional, in their ability to convey the story despite having considerably less screen time. Coming to the technical aspects of the film, what stood out were the cinematography, and color grading. DoP S. Thirunanavukkarasu has been able to capture the essence of the 1970s Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns set up, without losing the essence of Madurai, the serene beauty of the mountain ranges surrounding the tribal village. The color grading complements the cinematography perfectly, and is sure to bring goosebumps. The music by Santhosh Narayanan also deserves special praise. He skillfully blends the sound of the flute, reminiscent of western classical music, with the drums and percussion that are characteristic of Madurai. This unique fusion adds an intriguing new dimension to the film's soundtrack. The songs are very well placed and act as a breather for the audience as well. Like his previous film Jigarthanda, Double X shows Karthik Subbaraj's deep love for cinema. There are many visual and dialogue references to pioneering filmmakers throughout. Subbaraj also seamlessly integrates iconic scenes from his own works like Petta, Jigarthanda, Mahaan and Jagame Thandhiram.The main flaw is the extensive runtime of the film. The film is a staggering 2 hours and 52 minutes long, and could have afforded to lose out on 10-15 minutes. The additional runtime made several scenes feel a bit stretched out. Additionally, as good as the characters are, certain characters seem to have a fading importance in the script. The opposite holds true as well, where a character who seems to be of less importance ends up holding a major value in the film as well. However, none of these act as a barrier to the cinematic experience that Jigarthanda Double X provides.The star highlight of Jigarthanda Double X is the performance. Karthik Subbaraj has been able to portray Raghava Lawrence like never before. In fact, it wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that he stole the show. However, that does not undermine the performance by SJ Suryah who was equally prominent. But two other names that have to be mentioned along with the two lead actors are that of Naveen Chandra and Aravind Akash, who do a spectacular job as the antagonists of the film. The supporting cast of the film stood out with their performances as well. Nimisha Sajayan, who is pregnant for most parts of the film, does a brilliant job in her role. Although Shine Tom Chacko and Ilavarasu have significantly less time on screen, they do a fantastic job setting the premise for the film. A performance that deserves a special mention is that of Bava Chelladurai, who brings tears to the audience's eyes with his performance. Jigarthanda Double X is a must-watch in theaters. It provides a wholesome cinematic experience, with excellent writing, performances, music and cinematography. In spite of the excessive runtime, the film is sure to leave the audience satisfied. Karthik Subbaraj has returned to the big screen after four long years with a bang. The film he has given the audience is purely magical, to say the least. It is safe to say that he has also created something that has never been seen before in Tamil cinema. Truly, a ‘Karthik Subbaraj Padam’. PS. Don’t miss the easter egg at the tail end of the film.Read more