Jagame Thandhiram Review: A charismatic Dhanush cannot save the dragging plot

Immigrant politics, racism, xenophobia and gangsters, Karthik Subbaraj’s Jagame Thandhiram appears to be an intense, thought-provoking and complex on the paper. However, it has been given a treatment of a dark comic satire. Again, something that looks good in the pre-filming stage. However, when Dhanush appears, in his flamboyant, colourful costumes with remarkable moustaches, it is kind of difficult to take all of the above things seriously. 

You know and understand that these are important matters that need to be addressed and discussed but the comic treatment of these in the film make them appear rather trivial at times. The filmmaker tries his best to make one familiar with the settings of London and the prevalent racism. Covertly, by showcasing cars screaming ‘White Power’ on their windshields and overtly when a gang leader cum politician (James Cosmo) has a faceoff with the local Tamil goon Suruli, played by Dhanush. 

With all the colours, rich setting in addition to swift action sequences and energetic dance track, you do want to see the film on the big screen. But you’d like to reset your expectations from recent Dhanush films – Asuran and Vada Chennai.

Although, Dhanush is the only one who brings life to this writhing drama. His anti-hero avatar as Suruli is wily in a melancholic world. He’s a conman with no moral compass. You give him a decent sum of money and he’s immediately foot stomping on your side. In the first half of the film, you find him charming but with little respect. However, like a trademark Subbaraj twist, things take a 180 degree turn when his lady love, Attilla (Aishwarya Lekshmi) shares her ordeal with him. He’s a changed man in the second half of the film. He stays charming and gains a high opinion for himself.  

But, even his charismatic persona and amiable personality cannot save the dragging plot. With a runtime of nearly three hours, the colours eventually begin to fade and scenes stop making sense. The jokes start seeing irrelevant and you grow tired of the scratchy moustache. With too many plot twists after a point, it gets tedious to keep track. It appears like a repetition of what you’ve watched in the film before. 

With father’s day and International yoga day falling just a day apart, it would be better to roll over your dusty mat and flex your muscles rather than watching this stretched film on Netflix. Unless you’re a big Dhanush fan.