There are enough Rajini moments to keep the fans satisfied
Jailor ( Tamil). 3 out of 5
Starcast: Rajinikanth, Vinayakan, Ramya Krishna, Yogi Babu and others special appearances ( Shiv Rajkumar, Mohanlal and Jackie Shroff)
Director and writer: Nelson Dilipkumar
Producer: Kalanithi Maran
Production Company: Sun Pictures
Music: Anirudh Ravichander
Genre: Action/comedy
Running time: 2 hours and 48 minutes

Jailer, directed by Nelson Dilipkumar, is a commercial potboiler with a mix of everything. There is the father and son emotion with a climax that is reminiscent of Kamal Haasan’s Bharateeyudu. There is also lot of dark humour generated through Yogi Babu’s character. The film takes the viewers back to Baasha times. Like in Baasha the protagonist in this film also has a violent past.

The film begins with the introduction of a gang who smuggles temple sculptures. The head of gang is Varman (Vinayakan). The opening scene establishes the brutality of the antagonist. From here we move to Tiger Muthuvel Pandian (Rajinikanth). Pandian is a retired jailor who now spends most of his time making YouTube videos with his grandson. His son Arjun (Vasanth Ravi) is an assistant commissioner of police who is on the trail of Varman’s gang. Arjun is warned by many not to dig too deep into this case but he refuses to stop the investigation. One day Arjun goes missing and the viewers are led to believe that he is dead. But things are not as simple as they appear to be. In brief Jailor is about what happened to Arjun and how Muthuvel Pandian nullifies the baddies with the help of some delightful cameos.

For any masala potboiler it is necessary that the villain is on par with the hero. Jailor doesn’t disappoint you there. Nelson has created a terrific antagonist with the character of Vinayakan. Vinayakan makes a huge impression with just his body language. Even in the lighter moments the actor does a very good job. A special mention must be made of Harshath playing one of the henchmen. In spite of limited screen time he makes a good impact.

The family moments particularly those between Rajinikanth and his on-screen grandson leave a smile on the viewers face. There is palpable warmth between them.  

The dark humour in the film mostly lands thanks to Yogi babu’s comic timing and the banter that both he and Rajinikanth share. Even the action scenes have a certain element of fun.

Coming to Rajinikanth’s Muthuvel Pandian Nelson has done a good job in designing the character. Initially we see Rajinikanth underplaying but later the character transforms into a menacing force. This has been showcased well. The emotional bits are also done well. There are scenes where there are no dialogues but the emotion is still very much felt.

Anirudh’s music and background score is another strong pillar for the film. It elevates the scenes in a major way. My favorite song in the film is Rathamaarey which showcases the family bond.

Finally the cameos have also been integrated well. It is a treat to watch Rajinikanth sharing screen space with Mohanlal and Shiv Rajkumar.

What doesn’t work for Jailor is the subplot of Sunil and Tamannah. It only adds to the length of the second half. Ramya Krishna as a typical housewife plays her part well but some of Rajinikanth’s scenes with her come across as too misogynistic.

Keeping the flaws aside it is good to see Rajinikanth playing his age like Amitabh Bachchan. Hope more good stories are written for him.