The last time Vijay Sethupathi and Director Gokul teamed up, they gave us the iconic Idharkuthane Aasaipattai Balakumara; the tale of many different individuals meeting over a night that changes their life forever.
Apart from its already cult classic “Friendu, love mattere” lines as well as “Aaromale” jokes being a huge crowd pleaser, the movie allowed a rather different brand of comedy to enter into Tamil cinema.
The sort of comedy that is so intentionally absurd that you don’t find it awkward (Take the scene where VJS goes to find leftover liquor in a mill full of wine bottles). The situations were wacky and you did not mind it.
Now, comes Junga, the director’s third movie after the dissapointing Kashmora. This time, he teams up with VJS who knows the brand of comedy Gokul likes.
Unfortunately, Junga fails at exactly why IABK succeeded. The absurdity of the comedy just doesn’t fit in the locales of Paris (Parrys). With a done to dusted revenge plot, the director tries very hard to compensate it with funny situations. Take the scene where Junga goes to Parrys thinking it’s Paris. Or the instance he finds out that he had paid 25 lakhs for a fur coat for Yogi Babu. Instead of being angry, he cries. This endears him to the audience.
Junga unfortunately doesn’t get enough of these scenes that sets the character apart. Junga’s peculiar character of being very stingy with his spending is seen more of an afterthought rather than organically integrated to the story. Would the story have made any difference if Junga spent lavishly? Maybe not. It’s there to evoke laughter, but at no major impact. Another example would be the scene where Junga decides to swim to Camphord to save Sayeesaha. The humor is received with complete dead silence at the theatre with barely anyone recognising the joke.
The movie of course has its moments. The grandmother, known as Patti Don is a screamer! Her dialogues were a huge crowd favourite and her chemistry with Saranya Ponvanan (playing Junga’s mother in a Chennai slang) is brilliant. The director could have extended that angle rather than changing the setting to France. Sayeesha looks and dances like a million bucks, but her dubbing artist unfortunately reminds you of Hansika.
Siddarth Vipin’s music impresses as the background score but barely registers any interest as a standalone song. Madonna Sebastian’s compete waste of talent is definitely not something to be welcomed as well.
In summary, Junga is one of those movies you laugh long enough to forget why you started laughing at the first place. In what stands as a sequence of funny scenes rather than a funny movie, Director Gokul definitely needed a better plot and story to justify the jokes. All said and done. Vijay Sethupathi continues to endear himself to the crowd. Well done.
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