Jackpot Movie Review: Rating 2.5/5
Movie Name Jackpot
Genre Action, Comedy
Cast Jyothika, Revathi, Samuthirakani, Yogi Babu, Rajendran
Director Kalyaan
Music Director Vishal Chandrasekhar
Cinematographer R. S. Anandakumar
Producer Suriya
Banner 2D Entertainment
Release Date 2nd August, 2019
Censor U
Runtime 142 minutes
Jyothika and Revathi have come with mass masala entertainer to grace all the Tamil screens. Produced by Suriya Sivakumar and B Senthil Kumar, Jackpot is a comedy, action drama directed by Kalyaan.yotika played the dignified and strict headmistress Geetha Rani. Now in her new release Jackpot she plays a con woman. Jyothika is challenging the male-dominated industry by doing roles reserved for mass heroes and in the process trolls them as well; including her husband Suriya. When Jyotika appears in a scene in Jackpot, in police uniform, she mouths Suriya’s famous Singam punchline – “Ongi Adicha Ondra Ton Weight Da.” Jyotika seems to be having a ball through the film, as if to say, “Why should boys have all the fun?”
S Kalyaan, who had earlier directed Prabhu Deva’s Gulaebaghavali, does not subscribe to logical movie-making. In his interviews the director had stated he does not care for logic as he just wants the audiences to clap and have a good time. Even the posters and the trailer of Jackpot, which went viral, are designed to give the feel of a mass hero film.The film’s comedy works because the director did not let his lead cast take on the burden all by themselves. Look at the sheer number of character actors packed into the film — there is Manobala, a guduguduppukaaran (soothsayer) — who is the reason we have Yogi Babu in the film. Then, there is Anandharaj (in a double role, and unsurprisingly the strongest comedian in the cast), Mansoor Ali Khan and the hilarious duo of Thangadurai and Kingsley among others.
Which means Jyotika does what she set out to do in this film — be an action star! She aces the stunt sequences with aplomb, and her combination with Revathy is a clincher. Her one-liner dialogues could have been written better, but it is tough depicting someone as ‘mass’ in a film that is a full-blown comedy.But the actor who shines in every single scene is Anandraj, who essays a dual role. Some of his combination scenes with Thangadurai and Kingsley are hilarious. Rajendran and Yogi Babu manage to entertain with their comedy, though the dialogues that mock the latter’s appearance become repeated which tests patience after a point.Though the story has nothing new to offer except the plot surrounding the vessel, the film manages to entertain, thanks to some of the comic scenes which are devoid of double-entendre.The film has nothing new to offer and is packaged as a time pass entertainer made up of few scenes to provide laughs. Jyotika has been doing serious films so far, so it is refreshing to see her in such a massy film. Revathy is one of the finest actors in Tamil cinema, but she does not fit in the role of the heroine’s side kick.All the characters in Jackpot have their purpose in the film and Kalyan gives each one of them a well-defined closure. That is at least one serious screenwriting lesson from this zany film.
Jackpot also has its shares of problems: the disappointing songs by Vishal Chandrashekar, known for the Jil Jung Juk album. In addition to that, Jackpot looks disjointed at many places. Scenes cut from one tangent to the other on a whim. Though the director doesn’t leave any loose ends and ties them all towards the end, there are too many threads hanging around for the audience to remember.Jyothika has given a power-packed performance. You will see action sequences that you might have seen before performed by a woman. After seeing her entry scenes, action scenes and those stunts you will be saying “Mass” like Rajendran said in the trailer.
Even in all this crazy environment, the film still has a story of its own. Revathi played her role to perfection being a companion to Jyothika throughout the film.
