When you saw Pizza you realized the potential of the maker. He had the ability to freeze you in fear for over two hours and then with a delicious twist made you realize that he was all the while conning you. You were not disappointed with the fact that you were fooled all this time. Rather you clapped at the amazing control the maker had over you. In fact there was a clue that you were going to be tricked right at the start of Pizza during the starting credits when you watched a story about a haunted house in anticipation, only to realize that the camera had zoomed in on a TV show in front of Vijay Sethupathy and Remya Nambeesan. Karthik Subburaj gives you a clue that he is going to con you and then still manages to make his trick work.

Though drastically different from his debut work, Karthik once again works magic with his 'expect the unexpected' tactic. Jigarthanda has many surprises packed in. Most striking is the out of the blue change in the genre in the second half. While this shift might either be a pleasant or rude shock for you depending on your sensibilities, it is to the credit of Karthik's directorial skills that he keeps even the section of the audience who did not buy this genre change entertained.  And unlike Pizza, Karthik's latest offering is a drama that does not solely rely on the twists  and hence does not stand in the way of multiple viewings . A second viewing actually gives an enhanced experience helping us to soak in many minor detailing that we ought to have missed the first time.

Karthik's canny placing of shots and scenes is a delight if you follow things closely. It starts from very early on in the film and can be found all along.

• As soon as Naren who plays a producer in Jigarthanda accepts to produce a film with Siddharth you have the name of Jigarthanda's producer Kathiresan popping up in the opening credits.
• Throwing sentiments out of the window the title 'Jigarthanda' comes up on the screen exactly after Nasser utters the words 'Kuppai Padam'. Even in the first trailer of the film you had the director's name Karthik Subbaraj soon after Simha says' 'Andha Karthi naaya kollanum'. This man does have a taste for self parody.
• The Malarnthum Malaratha song playing in the first scene overflows into the next with the same song continuing as Siddharth's ringtone. You have a similar scenario later when the Pesuren Pesuren song from Pannaiyarum Padmaniyum playing as a lead to the first romantic exchanges between Siddharth and Lakshmi Menon falling over to the next scene with the same song playing on TV in Simha's house.
• Another brilliant scene is the one  where Sangili Murugan gives a powerful message about life to Siddharth. If you happen to notice, it happens during the very early hours just before the dawn of the day signifying the dawn in the life of Siddharth the aspiring filmmaker. The colour tone in this scene takes it to another level.

There are numerous homages to memorable names from Tamil cinema. 

• Shots of Pasamalar and Ninathale Inikkum running in single screen theatres in the midst of important scenes in the film.
• References to Illaiyaraja, Shankar Ganesh and MSV(the number plate of Sethu's car). 
• Then there is Thalabathy, Nayagan and a still of Rajini from Johnny as the wallpaper of Siddharth's laptop. 
• The starting scene of A....Kumar has a striking resemblance to the trailer of Aaranya Kaandam.
• The icing is when Simha ask's Siddharth for Mani Rathnam's number.

The tongue in cheek humour surrounding sex and porn is nicely done. There is nothing vulgar about them. Siddharth and Karuna have named the henchman who has a weakness for porn as 'Porvaikkul Boogambam'. This is only casually revealed through a scribbling on the wall and not through any explicit dialogue to milk laughter. Soon as they start frequenting the theatre screening these adult flicks to befriend the henchman they even start discussing plot details as to whether Saavi Teacher part 2 is a sequel or not. This scene which leads to a dialogue by Karuna's uncle about the knowledge of World Cinema should have you in splits. Sekar( the rival of Sethu) and his mistress wearing masks of Di Caprio and Kate Winslet while making out is another instance which will leave you with a wry smile amidst the height of tension in the pre interval block. Somasundaram taunting Simha by asking him if he is a 'virgin rowdy' takes the cake. The camera actually focuses on Siddarth and Lakshmi Menon and you overhear this from the background. This scene might not have clicked as it is now had Simha and Somasundaram been in the focus of action.

There is not a single attempt to titillate the audience. Even the most celebrated of our filmmakers have resorted to the aid of scantily clad women for commercial gains. This being a film set against the backdrop of gangsters, an item number in Sethu's den could have easily passed scrutiny. Say for example some random girl thrown in the 'Paandi Naatu' song with thrusting moves.Nobody might have questioned the intent given the backdrop. But the maker refrains and he deserves all our respect. And Karthik's dig at such dance moves in cinema is evident when there is one such shot during the shooting of A....Kumar.

The situations plaguing Tamil cinema have been casually revealed on the go. When Siddharth narrates a plot with a socially relevant message the immediate question from the agitated producer is 'Who has to run behind courts and judges?'. While the scene brings a smile to your face it is a serious concern that the art medium faces today. The dialogues are not very lengthy and yet create the impact. When Siddharth's journalist uncle says he covers only 'Eelam and Politics', pat comes the reply from Siddharth 'Both mean the same'. 

Superficially Jigarthanda might seem like a film that does not condemn the ways of a gangster but glorifies it. But this is not a typical film where the first shot has to be like this and the climax needs to be like this. At the most unexpected time during the 'Kannama Kannama' song you have a shot of a former numero uno gangster left almost all alone by himself, feared by none and now in ailing condition. That is what the Assault Sethus around the world will have to deal with for their sins. And there can never be a more appropriate punishment for this breed which in Simha's words in the film thrives on the kick that comes out of people's fear on them.

To sum up Jigarthanda is a very important film of our times. It does not take the road that is less traveled but a road no one has dared to venture into. Repeated sips of this Jigarthanda is bound to give you a different perspective each time. In the initial phase of the film a renowned filmmaker and a producer are at loggerheads in a reality TV show about what cinema actually is. Well...Jigarthanda is a film that both of them can identify with. An art piece that also entertains!!!