Some of the new-gen directors base their plots on quirky characters and wacky situations spiced with a dose of dark humour. They are mostly crime-based, zany, different and provide entertainment to an audience satiated with routine formulaic stuff. But when these very ingredients are overdone to the extent of seeming farcical, then it becomes a little tedious for one to sit through it. Jil Jung Juk is one such example, where the bizarre scenario after a while becomes exasperating, alienating one from the characters and their situations.
Amusing are the early moments where the various characters are introduced. The first half sustains pace and interest. It all begins when Deiva the drug lord (Amarendran) gets three men hired to smuggle out cocaine across the State. The drug was ingenuously painted on a car, Chinese the buyers.
The transaction would take place at a vintage car rally in Hyderabad. The characters are an interesting line-up. Like Deiva the dreaded kingpin; Jil one of the hired guys and a smooth talker; Jung and Juk the other two of the trio. More oddballs would enter as the plot progresses. Like ‘Rolex’ Rawuther, Deiva’s friend-turned- foe and ‘Attack’ (Dheena) a henchman. Radharavi as Rawther. The introduction scene of Jil has an interesting twist. Nasser and Siddharth make a convincing play in the poker game they indulge in. Actors like Avinash and Sananth have done what is required of them.
It’s to Siddharth’s credit that he is consistent in his portrayal of Jil, intelligent, nonchalant and easy going. A road film for the rest of it, it’s about the trio’s misadventures and mix-ups
In the second half, the interest wanes, The lines are naughty, at times off colour. Like the play on the words in the scene where Rawuthar visits an Ayurveda clinic and the doctor describe his illness to him. The plot had the potential to turn into an engaging entertainer on the lines of a Guy Ritchie film. A brave attempt by a debutant director, the film’s genuine fun moments work only in bits and pieces. Jil Jung Juk seems more a case where the actors seem to have had more fun enacting their scenes, than what the viewers experience watching them.