JAIL MOVIE REVIEW CLICK TO RATE THE MOVIE

Jail is a social drama written and directed by Vasantha Balan, starring GV Prakash and Abarnathi in the lead roles. Ravi Mariya, Radhika Sarathkumar, Pasanga Pandi, Gana Muthu and others form the supporting cast. The film is bankrolled by Sridharan Mariadhasan under the banner Krikes Cine Creations. It has music by GV Prakash, cinematography by Ganesh Chandhrra, and editing by Raymond Derrick Crasta. 

Jail is a film that deals with the topic of gentrification and how the common people are affected by it. People who live in slums inside cities are thrown out to housing boards on the outskirts of the city, which creates a distance between them and the society. Karuna, played by GV Prakash resides in one such housing board along with his friends. They face constant torture from the police and how that affects their life forms the plot. 

The film opens with a voice over introduction of all the important characters in the film. It helps the film when there are so many characters because the writer has plenty of options to move the story forward. But here, some characters don't have enough flesh in them, making the story weak. Now compare this with a Vasantha Balan film like Angadi Theru where both the lead pairs stay in our hearts after so long. That's missing in Jail. 

The topic discussed in the film is certainly an important one but as a film Jail doesn't do complete justice to it. The way the police department treats the people in the housing board reflects the reality - be it the encounters or the fake cases written against the people. Such bold portrayal of reality certainly deserves praise. On the other hand, the issue of gentrification is not just about police brutality alone. Many people lose livelihood and are exploited for cheap labour which is not explored much in film. 

In a film that speaks for the working class people in the housing board, the characters are repeatedly associated with negative stereotypes such as portraying them as violent rowdies, drug peddlers, stalkers and harassers etc., The very point of creating art is to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comforted. With respect to that, Jail might end up disturbing the disturbed furthermore. 

Among the performances, GV Prakash comes across as a character who is extremely irritating at first but later on with little effort from our end, one might be able to understand and empathize with him. Abarnathi puts up a decent performance as well, but it is Pasanga Pandi who nails his role. His portions with his love interest remind us of the innocent 'Angadi Theru' romance, in a good way. 

Among the technicians, GV Prakash's soundscape for the film makes the narrative look natural. His usage of Gana songs to capture the music of the housing board people is appreciable. But there are at least a couple of songs that slow down the screenplay which is already entangled in a mess. The camerawork by Ganesh Chandhrra is impressive in capturing Vasantha Balan's vision. 

Overall, the film has a shaky emotional base which makes the audience feel slightly detached from the film. There are logical loopholes and issues with the screenplay. The technical stuff is above par and helps the engagement in a few portions. Had the film kept the writing and research been a bit more deep, Jail could have ended up as a very important film in Indian cinema. 

JAIL VIDEO REVIEW