VISITOR COLUMN

Rating: 8.15/10

 

VERDICT: This Pongal, Jilla is here to prove that if proper treatment was given, Kollywood's favorite Masala genre will never fail to produce good measure of quality entertainment for movie goers. Although the movie's length works against it, Vijay as Jilla is sure to accord an exciting experience via this latest stylish masala potboiler!

 

IN DEPTH REVIEW

 

STORY (1/1)

 

What happens when a rowdy who hates police becomes one? Jilla shall reveal the answer to you. The story line might trigger thoughts of A.R Murugadoss' 2001 hit film Dheena, but Jilla has an additional weight in the form of a policeman's responsibility on the script.

 

SCREENPLAY (0.5/1)

 

Director R.T Neason has structured a racy screenplay, for not he wouldn't be able to hold the audiences for 3 hours. It is a very interesting watch indeed, except for some of the plannings done. First of all, the length should have been reduced to comply audiences' comfort. By doing so, all the scenes could have been tight packed without leaving rooms for long winded sequences to take place (especially in the second half of the movie). Some scenes appeared like patch works (such as the interaction between Mohanlal and Vijay at the beginning). One of the most important scenes in Jilla is the gas blast accident. It could have been tweaked and perfected because it is an important turning point for the protagonist. Cliche scenes such as villain getting hit by a truck without him noticing, car falling off cliff exploding and antagonist revealing the evil plan without hero asking for it should have been avoided. Mockery dialogue scenes such as 'Ennada maari maari twist adikiringe' and 'Oru vari-le solla sonna oru paate paditan' are sure to bring laughter! The songs, though some finds trouble being placed in a perfect spot, are etched out excellently. Though very negligible, the transition of Vijay from a bad to good guy could have been extended. Pre-Jingunamani scene is one to watch out for too.

 

DIALOGUES (0.4/1)

 

One could only wish for stronger dialogues in this movie. Although Vijay had some scoring dialogues to amplify his heroism and comedic sequences, the biggest letdown would be the dialogues penned for Mohanlal. It is such a shame to hear super cheesy and artificial conversations occurring with the presence of this legend.

 

CINEMATOGRAPHY (1/1)

 

Apart from Vijay, Ganesh Rajavelu's camera is another hero of Jilla. For a commercial film, it is usually unnecessary to have technically sound camera angles and takes. But, the team went through meticulous planning of scenes fixation before capturing it frame by frame. The car steering shot and Kandangi Kandangi took in Osaka are two of the many examples of camera wonders in this film.

 

EDITING (0.8/1)

 

Don Max sure is a gifted editor! This guy has a very rich taste, evidently shown through the methods he used to connect the scenes. Heavy effects have been put to excellent use to boast the film's magnitude. Be it the cartoon shades for the flashback; uniform slow-mo reflex for the entire show; pulsating song transitions and all the action streak, he never fails to rack up. The one and only flaw is, Don Max could have advised the director to trim down 30 minutes worth of footage to make Jilla a compact and straight to the point winner. Spending 3 hours and 2 minutes in a cinema hall can be annoying. 

 

PERFORMANCE AND CHARACTERIZATION (0.7/1)

 

Vijay pulls off a powerhorse performance as the robust and cool Jilla. It is very blatant that the actor has invested his heart and soul into this project. He dances, sings, fights, utters dialogues and most important of all, maintains a unique mannerism in the film. The beautiful part of these? He does it all with ease and perfection! Wonder why he looks younger as he gets older! However, the transition of Vijay from a bad to good guy might appear dramatic and slightly weak, but it is essential enough for a commercial movie as such. Post interval, at certain points, Vijay's dialogue delivery and body language is slightly overdone. The character Siva portrayed by Mohanlal can be done by any Tom, Dick and Harry in the industry. Mohanlal's charisma and screen presence surely does justify the character that he is playing. But, his dialogue deliveries are the biggest minus points which sometimes turn serious scenes into jokes. Also, Siva's characterization should have been tweaked a little. For example, he teared when he was insulted and left alone in the middle of the road by a policeman, but the same Siva didn't react much when his own son died. Kajal is the usual Kollywood movie heroine who lights up the songs and some movie proceedings, nothing much to say. Soori as a rising comedian should avoid silly comedies such as poking and hitting his costars. Otherwise, he did a fairly good job.

 

MUSIC (1/1)

 

Songs (0.5/0.5): D. Imman's chartbusters are the exclusive magician's trick in a wonderful show. The all-Indian cultured sweet cake Verasa Pogayile; mass spelling kuthu number Jingunamani; dreamy duet melody Kandangi Kandangi; exotic modern folk Eppo Mama Treatu and usual yet unusual intro Paatu Onnu are testimonies to Kollywood's unique taste in canning songs and locales.

 

Background Music (0.5/0.5): Pretty sure that immense (Imman's) effort has gone into sticking music for the movie's flow. Without the powerful music at the background, many of the scenes would have been ineffective. Its quite hard to notice, but there is one particular footage in which a mobile's ringtone extends itself into a background score! That is a sample of D. Imman's brilliance and dedication.

 

CHOREOGRAPHY (1/1)

 

Dance (0.5/0.5): When it comes to Vijay's films, dance performances are undeniably something to look out for. Choreography was a major success for all the crooned songs, especially Verasa Pogayile and Eppo Mama Treatu. Be prepared to be electrified when Vijay starts moving for these numbers!

 

Stunts (0.5/0.5): Silva should be applauded for his sleek stunts. Unlike the usual flying and tossing around ones done in all other commercial movies, Jilla's action sequences had amazing cuts and crispy moves.

 

COLOR/TONE/MOOD (1/1)

 

Colors, colors and colors everywhere! If you expect to see a Dravidian and monotonous tone throughout a rustic action flick like Jilla, you will be proved wrong. Jilla is probably the most colorful film ever made in Kollywood! From start to finish, the creative unit keeps throwing bold and showy colors into the film, breezing you across it on cloud nine.

 

DESIGNS (0.75/1)

 

Costumes (0.5/0.5): Thanks to the costume designer for making Vijay to appear extremely sizzling and dashing throughout the film. Color match ups simply spell perfect! One would definitely wants to own the sneakers wore by him too. Watch out for the Khaki dressed Vijay! Scenes involving him and Mohanlal sharing screen space is for sure a treat not to miss, as the latter constantly appears in traditional dhoti suit. This subtly yet clearly shows a distinction between the young and old generation, be it terms of age or thinking ways according to the plot. 

 

Visual Effects (0.25/2.5): The visual effects department has done a fair job to contribute to the success of this venture. However, there are so many rooms for improvement. The gas blast accident scenes could have been done way better. Different design templates should have been attempted for the title cards 'The Complete Actor' Mohanlal and 'Ilayathalapathy' Vijay. The one used did not precisely justify the umphh factor of these two biggies.