Jailer And Vikram: Nelsons And Lokeshs Frittering Away A Cinematic Legacy

This is not a review of Jailer. 

The film, if you go by the word from Kollywood, is already on its way to being a big hit. Even a blockbuster, if you will.

And there is a certain satisfaction to be had when films of oldies like Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan do well. When the world is hurtling inevitably towards all-things youth, the triumph of crusty veterans offers some comforting reassurance.

Jailer is filled with enjoyable montages of Rajnisms that seem to hang out disparately for want of a hardy script and handy story.

Rajinikanth, walking in slow-mo to the amped-up rambunctious score of 'Ani Bro' and taking apart the baddies, still shines.

But it may be the effulgence of nostalgia. Or so I thought. But in the theatre I watched, the guys who were hooting in delirium were mostly in their mid-20s or possibly even less. Most of them may have been in school when Lingaa (2014) --- one of Rajini's worst debacles --- released.

So it cannot be wistful sentimentality at play here, or can it?

But if there is a lesson that one has learnt in the last 30 odd years in journalism, it is that there is no point in trying to wrap your head around the Rajni phenomenon.

It is not a mere star and passionate fan equation at play. That would be like saying champagne is fizzy wine. The Rajni phenomenon is a delicious mystery and the more you try to unpack it, the more befuddling it becomes.

And there lies its allure. After all, if you can understand it easily, would it be attractive in the first place?

So, there is no real point in trying to figure out who is enjoying the film and why. But both Jailer now, and Vikram last year, put me in a confounding quandary. As a follower of the two big stars of Tamil cinema, I, over the last decade, wanted them to submit themselves completely to the vision of young creative directors. But when they have actually done exactly that I am not too happy with the outcome.

Rajni in particular, ever since that fiasco of Lingaa, has totally placed himself at the hands of the new-gen directors. But the results have been less than satisfying --- at least to some of us.

Save for Petta (2019), directed by Karthik Subbaraj, none of the superstar's movies in the last 10 years has offered the kind of fulfillment that seemed to be available earlier.

At least with Kabali (2016) and Kaala (2018), both directed by Pa Ranjith, the disappointment could be understandable. For, Ranjith was possibly using the Rajni voice to amplify the Dalit cause in mainstream narrative. Ranjith knew what he was doing, and was justified too.

But it is a fact the respective sensibilities of Kamal and Rajni films do not coalesce organically with the style and sentiments that the new and young filmmakers bring to the table. The tick and thrum are totally different.

Kamal and Rajni movies --- even if they are poles apart --- have an emotional core. On the other hand, modern-day directors from these parts don't seem to do emotion or sentiments well, especially with big stars.

The new films are suffused with the feel and fervour of, say, the gaming world. All style and less soul.

The modern-gen filmmakers also may not have the variegated experience that leads to empathy which is needed for mainstream art. And it shows. (Is a Piku-like movie possible here?)

Both Vikram and Jailer --- essentially about a dad setting out on revenge on the killers of his son and saving the rest of the family --- are filled with blood-curdling killings packaged as spectacle. The humour beats are also kinda alike --- oddball characters delivering zany, off-beat lines in pulsating situations. The insouciance and irreverence seem cultivated. The tonality of the frames and the tenor of the events, all carefully staged, have a certain similarity. 

Of course, the heroes, their styles and their approach are totally different.

That such contrasting personalities getting a near identical film reflects the fact that the directors, despite the avowed different schools of thought, have a certain sameness in spirit.

Scratch the surface, the Nelsons, the Vignesh Shivans, the Lokesh Kanagarajs may be just the same individuals operating with different names. And that may be the issue.

That Rajnikanth is a prisoner of image is one thing. And Kamal may be a prisoner of no image.  But it seems equally a fact that young directors have not risen up to the challenges that towering personalities like Kamal and Rajni throw up.

Having grown up as a fan of Kamal or Rajni is one thing. But to creatively live up to their cinematic legacy is totally another.

Vikram and Jailer, both big successes at the box-office, in no way enhances the two stars’ cinematic philosophy that they have assiduously built over the years.