Jailer review: Rajinikanth and Nelson Dilipkumar rediscover the magic of a good masala film.

Indian masala films, the lifeblood of the Tamil film industry, are often considered inferior to serious issue-driven films. Yet, when done right, they can deliver an experience like no other. The alchemy of good masala films appeared to have been forgotten by filmmakers at least in Tamil cinema, when Nelson Dilipkumar reminded us how it is done with Rajinikanth--the de facto poster boy of Tamil masala films. The ingredient that has been missing from commercial films of late is respect; Nelson has plenty for this genre in Jailer.

Ironically, a film titled Jailer cannot be contained in one single genre. The shift from one genre to another is pretty distinct and interesting. At one instance, we are watching a family drama, then it becomes a revenge saga, and then it transforms into something which I will not reveal because it will be a spoiler. And the surprises keep coming, just like the enjoyable cameos. A part of Rajinikanth's punchline in Jailer goes like this: "I am the king here. My words are the rules." It's like Nelson telling about how he handles films here. The rules and genres of Jailer keep changing, but one cannot complain because it is pure entertainment.

In recent years, Rajinikanth's films have fallen into two categories. One consists of films about a protagonist who loses all his wealth and starts from scratch to become Padayappa or Annamalai or Muthu. The other category is the Baashaa template: The guy with a past who is now living a life of non-personhood but when destiny comes calling--or even just one phone call--the superhero comes out. Jailer belongs to this second category too. Tiger Muthuvel Pandian is a sweet grandpa who spends his retired life making YouTue videos with his grandson an entitled brat (a call back to Rajinikanth films).

The film begins with the disappearance of Assistant Commissioner of Police Arjun (Vasanth Ravi), who is on the trail of a mafia gang and its leader Varma (a brilliant Vinayakan). When Arjun refuses to stop the investigation, he goes missing. Muthuvel Pandian concludes that his son has been killed and starts his own revenge saga by seeking help from friends from his jailer days, which results in delightful cameos from Kannada superstar Shivarajkumar, Malayalam superstar Mohanlal and Bollywood star Jackie Shroff.The film could have been named Rajinikanth and friends because the cameos help a lot in terms of creating what’s called theatrical moments.