Jagame Thandhiram movie review: Dhanush and Karthik Subbaraj's new film is a chore to sit through

Karthik Subbaraj’s Jagame Thandhiram comes across as a very ambitious film about immigrant politics. Unfortunately, what it ends up being, in spite of its promising premise, is a convuluted gangster drama about a local goon, Suruli from Madurai, played effortlessly by Dhanush.

Jagame Thandhiram opens in London, where a key member of a local gang, headed by a man named Peter, is killed by member of a rival gang, headed by Sivadoss, an immigrant from Sri Lanka who is gradually strengthening his grip over the city. Peter employs Suruli (who gets a gallery-pleasing introduction stretch in Madurai) to help him take care of Sivadoss.

Watch the Jagame Thandhiram trailer here:

At nearly three hours long, the film is a chore to sit through. Jagame Thandhiram never takes itself seriously, but it wants to discuss some pressing problems, like the state of immigrants, particularly the Sri Lankan Tamils who’re fighting to be accepted in Britain. This is a noble idea, but what’s the point of having a great idea when a film can’t keep you invested for most of its running time.

Despite Dhanush’s earnest efforts, Suruli isn't someone you can easily root for. He appears to be largely self-centered, and all it takes to transform him into a more endearing character is one sob story about the Tamils in Sri Lanka. Karthik Subbaraj tried to pull a Kabali with Dhanush but he disappoints, big time.

Also read: Suruli in Jagame Thandhiram: Dhanush's five other characters that became popular

The casting is also one of the reasons why the film doesn’t quite work. Most of the foreign actors feel totally lost. James Cosmo gets a few decent scenes, and he's the film other stand-out performer, besides Dhanush. Joju George is majorly miscast as Sivadoss, and hardly makes any impact. The film’s editing plays spoilsport; it’s chopped and stitched together in a way that some scenes absolutely make no sense.

Jagame Thandhiram

Director - Karthik Subbaraj

Cast - Dhanush, Joju George, James Cosmo, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Sarath Ravi, Kalaiarasan