Assault Sethu

''Jigarthanda'' () is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language crime comedy film written and directed by Karthik Subbaraj and produced by S. Kathiresan. The film stars Siddharth, Lakshmi Menon and Bobby Simha, with Karunakaran and Aadukalam Naren in pivotal roles. Gavemic U. Ary was the cinematographer, making his debut in Tamil cinema, and Vivek Harshan was the editor. Santhosh Narayanan composed the songs and background score.

The film won two National Film Awards for Best Supporting Actor (Simha) and Best Editing (Vivek Harshan). It was reported to be inspired by the 2006 South Korean film '' A Dirty Carnival''. It was remade in Kannada with the same title (2016), in Telugu as '' Gaddalakonda Ganesh'' (2019), and in Hindi as '' Bachchhan Paandey'' (2022). A spiritual successor titled ''Jigarthanda DoubleX'', was released in 2023.

Plot

Short film director Karthik Subramani participates in a talent show in order to make his first feature and reaches the semifinal round. The show's judges are a highbrow film director who thrashes Karthik's attempt at filmmaking, and profit-oriented producer Sundar, who thinks that Karthik made the best film among the contestants. Karthik is eliminated from the contest, but Sundar offers to produce a film with him as the director.

The next day, Karthik visits Sundar, who is uninterested Karthik's ideas for a film, and instead suggests making a gangster film. Karthik decides to document the life of "Assault" Sethu, a gangster based in Madurai and make a screenplay out of it.

Karthik travels to Madurai and enlists the help of a college friend Oorani to conduct surveillance on Sethu and his men. To get closer to Sethu, Karthik also puts up an act of reciprocating the love of Kayalvizhi, a woman whose mother cooks for Sethu. They eventually arouse the suspicion of Sethu's right-hand man Rasu, who puts underling Sounder to watch them.

Karthik plants a wireless microphone in a music player and lends it to Sounder. Because of this, Sounder is busted as a mole for an opposing gang and killed. Sethu finds the microphone and locates Karthik and Oorani. Karthik confesses that he was planning to make a film about Sethu. Sethu is enamored by the prospect of being the subject of a film and initiates Karthik and Oorani into his gang.

Sethu and his gang take Karthik along for their criminal activities. Karthik documents everything. When he is ready to leave Madurai to work on the screenplay, Kayal discovers that Karthik used her for information. During a send-off party for Karthik, a vengeful Kayal remarks that Sethu should play himself in the film. He listens and threatens Karthik to direct the film with Sethu playing himself on screen.

Distraught, Karthik tries to flee from Madurai but is caught by Sethu's gang. They also kidnap Sundar and force both men to make the film. Karthik soon learns that Sethu and his men cannot act in front of a camera. He hires acting coach Muthu, to no avail.

After production of the film, ''A. Kumar,'' is wrapped, Sethu and his men create great fanfare for its release. During the first showing, however, Sethu is shocked. Realising that a serious gangster film featuring Sethu would not succeed, Karthik had surreptitiously changed the story into a comedy. The film was edited and dubbed in a way that shows Sethu as a man who achieves everything in life by crying. The film's "A" initial is revealed to stand for ''Azhuguni'' (Crybaby), not ''Assault''.

The audience laughs all throughout the film. Furious, Sethu searches for Karthik, who, with the rest of the crew, has gone into hiding. While searching for them, Sethu realises that the fear that people have for him does not equal respect. He finds that by making people laugh through his film, he has earned true respect. For example, his mother, who has never spoken to him since he became a gangster, speaks to Sethu again after seeing the film.

Sethu and Karthik eventually meet by accident, as the latter is ''en route'' to deliver recordings of the former's boastful confessions to the police. Sethu forgives Karthik, who chooses to put Sethu's past behind him and let him seek a new life.

Years later, Karthik, now an experienced director, has started to use Sethu's gang to bully Vijay Sethupathi for acting in his film, as Kayal, now Karthik's wife, is a fan of him. Elsewhere, Sethu is a full-time actor, has married Soundar's wife Ganga, and dotes on her daughter.

Cast

Production

Development

In mid-April 2013, it was reported that Siddharth would be working in a Tamil film to be directed by Karthik Subbaraj, which would be produced by S. Kathiresan under his banner Five Star Films. Karthik confirmed the same shortly thereafter, noting that although the script was complete, the rest of the film's cast and the title were not yet finalised. The title ''Jigarthanda'', derived from a beverage popular in Madurai, was announced in June 2013. The title's etymology was defined by Karthik who deconstructed it into its root words, which collectively meant "cold-blooded" or "cold-hearted". The film was later dubbed into Telugu under the title ''Chikkadu Dorakadu'' which was the title of a 1967 film and a 1988 film. The Telugu version's dialogues were written by lyricist Vennelakanti and the backdrop was altered to Kurnool instead of Madurai. Tuney John was chosen as the publicity designer. In an interview to ''The Hindu'', Karthik said that ''Jigarthanda'' was intended to be his directorial debut and that he incorporated some of his experiences in the film during his life at Madurai.

Casting

In an interaction with IANS in early March 2014, Siddharth expressed his hope that ''Jigarthanda'' would help him break away from the stereotypical "boy-next-door" and "chocolate boy" roles he was known for, and allow him to showcase his versatility. In late May 2013, Lakshmi Menon revealed that she was a part of the film's cast. The actress later stated, "I have put in a lot of effort for my role as an idli seller in the film. I visited a few idli shops in Madurai before the shoot and geared up for my character. It's interesting to play such realistic characters". It was reported in mid-July 2013 that Vijay Sethupathi would play the antagonist, but soon after it was announced that he would do a cameo only if Karthik obliges as he had no dates. The role went to Bobby Simha, with Karthik stating, "I decided not to cast anyone who we thought was an obvious choice for the role, including Vijay Sethupathi. After seeing his performance in '' Neram'', in which Bobby played a gangster, we thought that if we do a complete makeover, he could crack it". However, in 2022, Karthik confirmed that Sethupathi was indeed considered for the role, and the character's name Assault Sethu was in fact a reference to Sethupathi. Sethupathi briefly portrays Sethu in flashback sequences, and himself in the present. Simha said that he interacted with real gangsters as a part of his preparation for the role. In 2023, Raghava Lawrence said he was supposed to do the role but could not due to unforeseeable reasons. Guru Somasundaram was cast as the acting coach Muthu after Simha recommended him to the director. Karthik wanted Mani Ratnam to make a cameo as himself, but he and the producer were unable to contact him; instead, the role went to Vetrimaaran.

Filming

Principal photography started on 12 June 2013 at Madurai. At the end of July 2013, referencing a tweet by Siddharth, it was reported that the entire filming had come to an end. But director Karthik later informed the press that only 75% of the film's shoot had been wrapped up and while Siddharth had completed his part he may join during the patchwork left. While Siddharth was participating in the shoot of Vasanthabalan's period drama '' Kaaviya Thalaivan'', the shoot continued and in mid-November 2013 Karthik, during a press meet about the commencement of '' Pizza II: Villa'', informed that ''Jigarthanda'' was nearing completion. During that time, the film was in its last schedule of shoot at Chennai. Principal photography ended on 21 November 2013.

Post-production

Karthik Subbaraj, along with sound designers Vishnu Govind and Sreesankar, sound mixer Rajakrishnan, and Dolby consultant Dwarak Warrier. S. Venkatraghavan, Cinema Sales Manager — South at Dolby Laboratories, in an interview with Baradwaj Rangan confirmed that the film would feature Dolby Atmos sound system for realistic effect in sounds. About the usage of Dolby Atmos for a small film which is also a romantic comedy, Karthik said, "Initially, I thought ''Jigarthanda'' would not involve as much work as ''Pizza''. But slowly I found that there was much more work to be done here; there were many live locations and we even shot candid in some places. We needed to recreate all that ambience". Rajakrishnan added that it took a month for the sound mixing process.

Music

Santhosh Narayanan recorded the music for the film along with his newly launched Sandy's Jazz Band. While Santhosh, besides composing, played the keyboard, Australian musicians Hamish Stuart and Graham Jesse played the drums and the saxophone, respectively, and Leon James and Naveen, both from Chennai, played the electronic piano and guitar respectively. Santhosh also worked with a street band from Tanjore to record one song from the film. He also introduced independent musicians, Pradeep Kumar, Sean Roldan, Anthony Daasan, Mani, Kalyani Nair to work with the film's soundtrack. The album features nine numbers of different genres, which includes fusion, folk and rap, with two instrumentals, one of them being performed by the composer's Sandy Jazz band.

The audio rights were purchased by Think Music. The official track list of the film was published on 1 March 2014. The complete soundtrack album was launched on 3 March 2014 at Sathyam Cinemas in Chennai. A live band performance of Anthony Daasan took place and theatrical trailer of the film was screened at the event.

Release

Theatrical

The film was given a U/A certificate by the censor board due to its violent content. Kathiresan, however, wanted a U certificate to avoid problems while selling the satellite rights, for which the violent sequences were demanded to be cut short, which Karthik did not agree to. After arriving at an agreement —the film remained uncut and retained its U/A certificate; the release date was fixed as 25 July 2014. The release was pushed by a week again before eventually releasing on 1 August 2014.

Delays

Four days before the film's release, which was slated on 25 July, there were reports that the film would release either on 27 July or 31 July. Siddharth denied those reports and confirmed 25 July as the release date. Siddharth too came to know that the film was postponed, and he used his official Twitter handle to express his frustration on the film's delay.

The next day, Kathiresan released a statement explaining the reasons for the postponement. In his statement, he mentioned, "Dhanush's ''Velaiyilla Pattathari'' is running successfully all over Tamil Nadu, theater owners have requested for one week postponement to get more number of screens for ''Jigarthanda'', and also everyone in the trade feels that will help the film to be a bigger success at the box office". Tamil Film Producers' Council member, T. Siva, criticised Siddharth, stating that actors are getting paid for acting, and they are not supposed to involve and discuss the release of the film.

Marketing

The first look teaser of the film was released on 9 February 2014 which received positive response and got more than 0.3 million views in 3 days. The first theatrical trailer was revealed at the audio launch of the film on 3 March 2014, which was well received. The second official trailer was released by the film's team on 17 July 2014. The film's Telugu dubbing rights were bought by Suresh Kondeti and V. Rami Reddy.

Reception

Critical reception

The film received widespread critical acclaim. M. Suganth of ''The Times of India'' gave 4 stars out of 5 and wrote, "If ''Pizza'' was a con movie dressed up as a haunted house horror thriller, ''Jigarthanda'' is basically a comedy cloaked as a gangster movie.... hesubversive streak is what makes this film singular and reinforces that Karthik Subbaraj as one of the exciting filmmakers of our time". Anupama Subramanian of the ''Deccan Chronicle'' gave 3.5 stars out of 5 and wrote, "Aided by his entire cast and technical department, breaking the myth that promising debut filmmakers may not fare in their next, Karthik Subbaraj clearly proves that he is here to stay". J Hurtado of ''ScreenAnarchy'' gave a positive review and said, "'Jigarthanda' is a worldly film that takes influences from within its own very small cinematic orb and transforms them into something that the discerning film fan can meditate on and enjoy. Will the general non-Tamil film fiend miss a few jokes? Yes, quite a lot, actually. However, Jigarthanda manages to make universal that which is culturally specific; it's really quite an accomplishment".

Haricharan Pudipeddi of IANS gave 3.5 stars out of 5 and wrote, "If the purpose of ''Jigarthanda'' was to deliver a tight slap on the face of the system, it has succeeded in it. Thanks to the impeccable performances of the lead cast, especially Simha, director Subbaraj has conveniently conned us into seeing his film as a gangster flick-turned-comedy caper". S. Saraswathi of ''Rediff'' gave the film 3.5 stars out of 5 and concluded, "''Jigarthanda'' is an engrossing gangster film with a series of bizarre twists and turns that keeps you guessing" and added that the film was "definitely a must watch". ''Sify'' wrote, "Karthik Subbaraj with ''Jigarthanda'' has delivered another interesting and intriguing film. It is bold and cannot be slotted into any genre. All ingredients associated with commercial cinema are mixed and served efficiently, though the dish itself becomes cold by the end". Sundar Sarukkai of ''Outlook'' said that "the movie effortlessly makes you think that the other side of being bad is just a cinema away in all of us.", and rated the movie 3 out of 5.

In contrast, Gautaman Bhaskaran of the ''Hindustan Times'' gave the film 2 stars out of 5 and wrote, "If Subbaraj wanted to send a moral through his work – shed no blood – ''Jigarthanda'' flounders in a maze of 1960s kind of explanatory dialogues, and images that confound, and these despite fine performances by Simha (great expressions and body language) and Karunakaran as Karthik's sidekick. As for Siddharth, his just about manages to look bewildered, and all the time". Baradwaj Rangan gave a mixed review, writing, "Scene for scene, ''Jigarthanda'' is fresh and alive and cracklingly inventive, and there are stupendous stretches of comedy. But the two films – the gangster movie and the meta movie – never really cohere".

Box office

''Jigarthanda''s opening day gross in Tamil Nadu was . The film collected around in Tamil Nadu in its first weekend.

Accolades

Remakes

''Jigarthanda'' was remade in Kannada under the same title in 2016. Despite the release of a dubbed Telugu version in 2016, it was remade in the same language as '' Gaddalakonda Ganesh'' (2019). The film was also remade Hindi as '' Bachchhan Paandey'' (2022).

Legacy

Prior to the release, ''Forbes India'' ranked the film on the fifth spot in its ''5 Indian Films to see in India 2014'' list, published on 31 December 2013.

In 2019, ''Film Companion'' ranked Bobby Simha's performance on the ''100 Greatest Performances of the Decade''. Bakshi Singh of ''Film Companion'' ranked the film's posters on #2 in the ''Top 10 Indian Movie Posters of the Decade''.

References

External links

Official website
*
*
{{Karthik Subbaraj

2010s chase films
2010s gangster films
2010s Indian films
2010s satirical films
2010s Tamil-language films
2014 black comedy films
2014 controversies
2014 crime comedy films
2014 crime thriller films
2014 films
Censored films
Fictional films
Fictional portrayals of the Tamil Nadu Police
Film censorship in India
Films about actors
Films about competitions
Films about film directors and producers
Films about filmmaking
Films about films
Films about kidnapping in India
Films about mother–son relationships
Films about murder
Films about organised crime in India
Films about screenwriters
Films about security and surveillance
Films directed by Karthik Subbaraj
Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor National Film Award–winning performance
Films scored by Santhosh Narayanan
Films set in Chennai
Films set in Madurai
Films shot in Chennai
Films shot in Madurai
Films whose editor won the Best Film Editing National Award
Indian black comedy films
Indian chase films
Indian comedy thriller films
Indian crime comedy films
Indian crime thriller films
Indian gangster films
Indian neo-noir films
Indian remakes of South Korean films
Indian satirical films
Mafia comedy films
Salary controversies in film
Tamil films remade in other languages
Tamil-language black comedy films
Tamil-language comedy thriller films
Tamil-language crime comedy films
Tamil-language crime thriller films
Tamil-language Indian films
Works subject to expurgation