The 'Jailer Showcase', which is the first trailer from Rajinikanth's upcoming movie Jailer released earlier this evening in its original Tamil language, and also dubbed Hindi, Telugu and Kannada versions [videos here]. All eyes were on the trailer because Jailer scheduled to release on August 10, 2023, marks not just Rajinikanth's but also director Nelson Dilipkumar's comeback. A first impression report (FIR) of Jailer Showcase aka Jailer trailer follows:
Fresh & Energetic Rajini
Rajinikanth's career has spanned 48 years, and the Superstar has donned multiple reinventions within the scope of his target audience several times. In the last decade alone, Rajinikanth's reinventions in terms of appearance, role, and the story that he chooses has been visible with films like Kabali (2016), Kaala (2018), 2.0 (as an extension of Enthiran) and Petta (2019). Jailer seems like the next movie in this list with what one sees of Rajini and his demeanour in the showcase.
Not only is Rajinikanth's characterization fresh, the star actor also comes across as energetic as always [Rajinikanth is pretty much the only Indian actor to be playing a commercial lead at 72. He is also the probably the only veteran who has no qualms about wiping a junior actor's shoes on-screen, in this meme-ridden digital era].
Balanced & Metered Expectations
The trailer video off the bat is reminiscent of several of director Nelson Dilipkumar's trade-marks like black humour, protagonist with dead-pan expressions, repeat character artistes and overall aesthetic that we've seen in all of Nelson's films - Kolamaavu Kokila (2018), Doctor (2021) and Beast (2022). However elements unique to Superstar Rajinikanth like his on-screen swag or dialogue delivery or mass action scenes, have been ensured to leave a mark when one sees the showcase. Jailer showcase also seems tuned down in tone (for a trailer cut), and one cannot help but wonder if this was deliberate to avoid setting wrong expectations.
Simultaneously, the showcase has left all the Rajini fans satisfied with what they saw and curious about what is to come. A smart move by Jailer team, considering a trailer cut makes or breaks the hype surrounding a movie's release. Another smart move was not not revealing (or officially confirming) the film's plot details.
Technical Backbones
Anirudh and his music compositions for Jailer have been hard-carrying the film from day 1. This hasn't changed for the Jailer showcase. If the hype for Hukum wasn't enough already, the song being added to the showcase has only left fans wanting to see it more on the big screen. Vijay Karthik Kannan who has previously worked with Nelson on Doctor (starring Sivakarthikeyan), has brought his usual magic back on screen. Several frames from the Jailer showcase are already a hit with the fans.
Bottomline
Rajinikanth, an actor with generational audience is usually not worried about how to cater to them, rather with what to cater. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that the Jailer showcase has most definitely woken up many dormant Rajini-fanboy and girl hearts, which is exactly what the actor needed with this film and at this point in his career.