Understanding the Jigarthanda juggernaut... once again

Barbenheimer is behind us, and we have grooved past Rocky aur Rani Kii Prem Kahani. With big guns like Rajinikanth, Chiranjeevi, and Sunny Deol returning this week, it was interesting to see the crowds gather to watch a film that was released nine years ago. On a random weekday, Chennai's Sathyam theatre had palpable excitement about the return of a gangster and a filmmaker. A special screening of Karthik Subbaraj's sophomore film, Jigarthanda, was scheduled, and boy, was it a celebration!

Considered to be a seminal work among the present generation of cinephiles, Jigarthanda was one of the earliest films of the social media era that had essays written, discussions being generated, and strong opinions being formed on. It was almost like Pizza walked for Jigarthanda to run, and Karthik Subbaraj became a tour de force, and the film got Bobby Simha the prestigious National Award.

Walking past the rows of excited cinemagoers, we caught up with casting director Suri, who has worked in films like Jai Bhim. "It's like going nine years back to the past. It was in the same theatre I watched the film for the first time. Now I feel the same unbridled joy that I experienced after the first watch," says Suri, adding, "I am all excited, and look at me... I just can't stop smiling."

If Suri came to relive a blast from the past, Pratheep, a final-year Tamil literature student from Loyola College, came to watch it for the first time. "I have heard a lot about it, but I haven't had the chance to see it before. While browsing online, I discovered that it is being shown here. I just came here on a whim, and let me see if the film is worth all the hype."

Jigarthanda is as much about Guru Somasundaram's Muthu, Karunakaran's Oorni, and Sangili Murugan's Pazhani as it is about Siddharth's Karthik Subramani, Bobby's Assault Sethu, and Lakshmi Menon's Kayalvizhi. "I am all here to witness Guru Somasundaram. He just subverts a thriller film into an out-and-out comedy and holds together the entire second half," said Akash Selvaraj, a vis-com student. On the other hand, Guhan, a corporate employee, has taken a CL to watch the film and his favourite character, 'Petti Kadai' Pazhani. "There is a tint of melancholic hope in Pazhani. In a film abundant with gore, action, and even comedy, it is Pazhani who brings in a sense of poignancy with his insightful dialogues," says the techie. With many listing their favourite characters, Manikandan, a UPSC aspirant, came to the screening to see the one person around whom Jigarthanda revolves. "It's Sethu all the way. We are all here for him..."

With the screening not starting on time, there was a sense of trepidation among the audience, but that soon turned into whistles and cheers when Karthik Subbaraj entered the screen. This adulation was well-encapsulated by Hadhi, an independent filmmaker. "I think Jigarthanda is a Bible for filmmakers. A proper recipe of storytelling with commercially viable elements. I have watched the film many times. It is still fresh." Pointing towards Karthik, who was making his way through the crowds, Hadhi asks, "Isn't he a genius?"
 
Right from the opening credits to every punch line, every mass gesture, and subtle nuances, the theatre was reverberating with cheers. They laughed, hooted, threw their shirts into the air, danced, and even fell silent at the right moments to savour the film in its entirety. You should have been there to observe how the audience brought the roof down when Sethu speaks in gibberish. It was almost like this was the premiere show.

"It was like watching it for the first time, a slight journey back down memory lane. As I watch it now, I reminisce about the old days when we filmed the Madurai portion for 60 days straight without any breaks or any sense of time. Watching it here with all of you, I was reflecting on the moments that went behind orchestrating every scene. Who else I laud, other than my cast and crew? Watching it again with the Jigarthanda team is even more special and joyous," says Karthik. When asked if he had a favourite scene in Jigarthanda, the filmmaker wasted no time in echoing the audience's sentiment. "My favourite scene is when Bobby speaks gibberish. I had written dialogues for that scene. But if you need to transcend the whole emotion to the audience, a conversation wouldn't have sufficed. However, I was a little sceptical if it would elicit the right response. But it worked. Watching it today, after all these years, there is a sense of validation to my choice."

As the crowd slowly dispersed, we caught up with aspiring filmmaker Abhinaya, who was catching Jigarthanda on the big screen for the first time. "I have seen the film many times on television. But this theatre experience is just something else. I am still in awe of the experience I just had. It is a reminder to return to theatres and consume cinema as it was intended."

Just like Abhinaya and Pradeep, I, too, walked out of the screening, having experienced the euphoria around Jigarthanda for the first on the big screen. Collecting my thoughts and sipping on an ice-cold Jigarthanda, I understood why the film continues to be quite the rage... even now. Just like Sethu walks out of the screening of his own film and realises the power of the moving image, Jigarthanda reminds us of the reason why we love movies in the first place. Why do we keep coming back to the theatre even after being disappointed most of the time? Why do we reach the hallowed halls of a dimly lit theatre, hoping for the solitary white light to colour our lives a bit brighter? Well... hopefully, see you all at the cinemas once again... the place where the magic happens.