Expect the Unexpected in Jigarthanda

The flick by Karthik Subbaraj is sure to be an ideal thirst quencher, but with a difference

If Pizza had put director Karthik Subbaraj under the spotlight, his next flick Jigarthanda is already creating ripples with the teaser, trailer and music. City Express learns that the movie is special for  several members of the cast and crew as well.

With Jigarthanda,  music director Santhosh Narayanan has  launched his Sandy’s Jazz Band which has recorded music for the film. Apart from Santhosh who plays the keyboard and does the composing, the band has two leading international musicians.  Hamish Stuart from  Sydney, Australia plays the drums while the legendary Australian, Graham Jesse is on  the Saxophone. Leon James and Naveen from Chennai play the electronic piano and guitar respectively. Santhosh plans to record both independent albums and  more film music with the band.

For hero Siddharth, the film has helped shed his romantic image. He says, “The film’s poster has an unusual tagline, ‘a musical gangster story’. It confuses you about what to expect. This unconventionality  is  the most exciting. I don’t play the usual boy-next-door and it has given me the opportunity to get rid of my ‘chocolate boy’ image and showcase versatility.” He is particularly proud to have worked with Karthik Subbaraj. “He’s  not afraid to break the rules. He’s part of a new breed of filmmakers who don’t adhere to the demands of  audiences. Instead, they present  content in the way that  they want viewers to see,” he says

Siddharth lauds the crew and adds, “The thousands of hits on YouTube for the teaser itself, showcased the talent of debutant cameraman Gavemic U Ary. Santhosh Narayanan’s music and BGM are outstanding.  I’m thrilled that I team up with him in Lucia as well.”

Bobby Simhaa and Karuna make up the cast along with heroine Lakshmi Menon. Jigarthanda is a big break for  Simhaa who has done the parallel lead role of the big baddie in Madurai, where the story is set. Launching  the music recently, Bharathi Raja praised the work of the young team but added a word of caution, when he said, “Youngsters these days are making films which are well presented and  highly advanced technically. But they should also concentrate  on a good storyline.  I’m happy to see that  Jigarthanda is set in my home town. But the trend these days is to highlight violence, especially in Madurai-based films. Society is already full of violence. We should not encourage it inadvertently. I request filmmakers to reduce violence on screen.” Jigarthanda is produced by S Kathiresan, with stunts by Billa Jagan and choreography by Baba Baskar.