Jarugandi Review:  A film that lacks the sense of urgency its title has

It looks like certain tropes of Tamil cinema are still held on to dearly by filmmakers. One of the lead characters will be an orphan who is raised by a trust, while another is put into a situation which will make them do life-changing things only to come back unscathed, and then there's the template friend character who puts himself in harm's way for the hero. Jai-starrer Jarugandi has all of this, and this predictability is one the major issues with the film. 

Cast: Jai, Reba Monica John, Daniel Annie Pope, Robo Shankar
Director: Pitchumani

Sathya (Jai), is the typical Kollywood protagonist -- a middle-class guy with a family to take care of, who wants to achieve something big and needs money for it. Thanks to his best friend Paari's (Daniel Annie Pope) contacts, Sathya forges documents to get a loan a la Irumbu Thirai. If Tamil cinema has taught us anything, it's that you cannot get away with something wrong -- unless you're the hero, in which case there will be repercussions but they will be 'taken care of'. One of these repercussions lead the men to Keerthy (Reba Monica John in her Tamil debut) and the cat-and-mouse game that follows, fills up the rest of the runtime. 

What's disquieting about Jarugandi is the fact that the line between right and wrong is extremely blurred. There isn't a single scene wherein the main characters repent going against the law, but the audience are forced to root for them anyway because they're left with two sides that can only be defined as bad and worse. Situations make Sathya and Paari extort money from Gajendra (Robo Shankar) and when that doesn't go per plan, they turn to kidnapping. The journey of Sathya from a young man who wants to make an honest living to becoming a wrongdoer is rather unconvincing. 

As far as the performances are concerned, Jai sports an uninterested look throughout the film, mirroring our feelings as an audience. While this is meant to be a thrilling entertainer, the flow of events doesn't really put the protagonist in a tough spot and even when it almost does, the lack of emoting from Jai ruins it. Thankfully, Reba Monica does a decent job, despite her limited role, and doesn't simply end up as a damsel-in-distress. 

Robo Shankar and Daniel Annie Pope, who are in charge of the humour department, don't bring much to the party. That said, some of their one-liners do evoke laughter. For instance, in an interrogation scene, the interrogatee tries to gain the upper hand by saying, 'kuruka kuruka pesuna, na mothalenthu aramipen' to which Robo Shankar says, 'ennake va' in a reference to his Velainu Vandhutta Vellaikaaran comedy routine. 

Despite an interesting premise, the screenplay of Jarugandi doesn't really do justice to the story. For a thriller, the film doesn't really have any nail-biting moments. The stakes never feel real and so the excitement of seeing the protagonists save the day is just not there. And let's not even talk about the antagonists of the film. It's those behind the camera that salvage Jarugandi to some extent at least. RD Rajasekhar's cinematography adds a sense of urgency that is missing in the screenplay. And while his songs are not particularly impressive, Bobo Shashi's background score elevates the quality of the film. 

On the whole, Jarugandi is a mediocre film which can't be saved by the rare smile-worthy scene it gives us here and there.