Cast: Jyotika, Revathi, Anandraj, Yogi Babu, Motta Rajendran, Mansoor Ali Khan, Kingsley, Manobala & others ; Music: Vishal Chandrashekhar ; Director – Kalyaan ; DOP – R.S.Anandakumar MFI ; Editing: Vijay Velukutty ; Studio – 2D Entertainment ; Producer – Suriya ; Co Producer – Rajsekar Karpoorasundarapandian ; Release Date: 02-08-2019 ; Run Time: 02:22:00
Director Kalyaan made a mark with Guleabhagavali, a half-entertaining film that was bent on an interesting plot. Little did we know that he would be holding on to the same con & treasure tropes for his next film in Jackpot. For a change, this one comes without a male lead or a romantic track, and is a film that has good space for an innovative and exciting action comedy. But the achievement of its intent, is in bits and pieces.
For starters, Kalyaan needs to be appreciated for churning out a film that doesn’t have even an iota of double-entendres, men-bashing in the name of women empowerment, needless tries to keep it relatable with current affairs or any cheap shots. What’s also worth mentioning is the introduction of an innovative plot featuring a magic vessel which is inexhaustible. The film then leads us to the seemingly dynamic pair of Jyotika and Revathi, with the adventures ensuing. Though it doesn’t quite live up to its full potential, Jackpot entertains in parts with the most of the comic relief coming in the form of two men – Anand Raj and Kingsley. Out of the two, the former is at his frenetic best, featuring himself in a dual role as a don and a female cop. With amazing comic timing and one-liners that leave you laughing instantly, these two keep the LOLs coming at regular intervals throughout, sometimes overshadowing the lead pair and Yogi Babu who could have been equally competitive with their parts.
After a slew of message driven films, it is nice to see Jyotika change over to a role that sheds the image she holds so far. However, it does look like she isn’t fully comfortable with the character, turning out to be a half-hearted affair. Yogi Babu’s character might seem like one which could have come with better writing as it resorts to body shaming, but there’s a nice little twist at the end which makes things look good.
Vishal Chandrasekhar comes up with a catchy track in Shero, but his BGM scores will remind you of Sketch, Baahubali and Petta. Otherwise, a technically neat film.
Toting up, Jackpot is a time pass affair that has Jyotika doing something different. Anand Raj is simply the show stealer, with the rest of the actors warming up for too long. If you’re looking for a chilled out watch, this could help out.