Review of Jailer

Saw Jailer yesterday. It came with a lot of advance hype since the film has been touted  up as one of Rajni's best that lives up to the Rajni brand, even by those who have seen it. 

Till the interval, it was fine. Rajni is introduced in neon letters ( whistles, garlands, aartis everyone) and all he does is stand around, wear his goggles, and walk. That is enough, one can imagine, to send his fans into a frenzy. 

The plot gets increasingly taut and action filled till the interval. With Thalaiva not doing much Thalaiva does a lot! 

And then the decline happens. As if the script writer, director and entire crew were replaced by a bunch of people  from Ekta Kapoor's saas bahu serials. Actually no, I take that back, Ekta Kapoor serials are better. 

The plot gets bizarre, with no logic or coherence. The actors are all hamming, in fact each one competes with the next to see who hams best. The comedy filled action sequences, or action filled comedy sequences, whichever you prefer, are of the slapstick kind that audiences outgrew in the eighties. 

Mohanlal and Shivrajkumar, two superstars of the South, deliver ham filled performances in roles that any bit actor worth his dignity would have refused. But they deliver what the director wants, since they are indistinguishable from the rest of the cast. 

Being a masochist, I watched right till the end. I really have a tendency to stick a knife into myself and twist so that it hurts. 

Thalaiva should have retired long back. And Mohanlal and Shivrajkumar will never live down this infamy. 

I think I will go and watch a kindergarten play before this week is out. I desperately need something better!