Jagame Thandhiram () is a 2021 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film written and directed by Karthik Subbaraj and produced by YNOT Studios and Reliance Entertainment. The film stars Dhanush, James Cosmo, Joju George, Aishwarya Lekshmi and Kalaiyarasan. It marks the Indian film debut of Cosmo and the Tamil debut of George. In the film, Suruli, a carefree gangster in Madurai, is recruited to help an overseas crime lord take down a rival, but later gets caught off guard by the moral dilemmas that follow.
The project was initially announced in April 2016 with Thenandal Studio Limited bagging the project, but eventually got shelved due to the financial problems surrounding over the production house. It was revived once again in February 2018, with YNOT Studios acquiring the rights for film production. After an official launch in July 2019, the film began production in September 2019, with shooting taking place across London, Madurai, Rameshwaram and Jaipur and wrapped by December 2019. The songs and background score was composed by Santhosh Narayanan, while cinematography handled by Shreyas Krishna and editing done by Vivek Harshan.
Jagame Thandhiram was scheduled for a theatrical release on 1 May 2020, but was delayed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the makers initially planned on releasing the film only in theatres, this decision was dropped in February 2021 in favour of a worldwide digital release through Netflix on 18 June 2021. It was dubbed and released in 17 languages, across 190 countries. The film received mixed reviews from critics who praised its cast performances (particularly Dhanush, James Cosmo and Joju George), cinematography, technical aspects, soundtrack and musical score, but criticised its pace and screenwriting.
Plot
Suruli is a gangster from Madurai who runs a paratha restaurant. Due to his thug-like behaviour, he is unable to find a bride and even when his marriage is fixed, the bride runs away when she finds out about his criminal background. His notoriety comes to the attention of an Englishman named John, who is a right-hand man of a London-based white supremacist don named Peter Sprott. John offers £ per week to Suruli if he works for Peter against a rival don Sivadoss, who is Peter's arch-nemesis and has considerable influence among London's Tamil-speaking population.
Suruli accepts the offer with the intention to use the money to eventually settle down and give up his criminal activities, and leaves for London where he learns more about Sivadoss and his gang as well as their activities which involve smuggling weapons from conflict-ridden countries in exchange for money. Led by Suruli and John, Peter's gang raid Sivadoss's boat yard where the smuggling is in process under Sivadoss's right-hand man Rajan. During the raid, Suruli kills Rajan as well. Sivadoss and his gang realise that Suruli Is responsible for killing Rajan and kidnaps him.
Suruli and Sivadoss negotiate to kill Peter under the ruse of inviting him for a "peace talk" to end their feud, in exchange for £ as well as a paratha restaurant in London. During the "peace talk", Suruli betrays Sivadoss and hands over an aruval to Peter, who uses it to hack Sivadoss to death. As a reward for Sivadoss's death, Peter offers Suruli a designated area in London to start his business and allow Tamils to live there, and christens the area Little Madurai.
Meanwhile, Suruli falls in love with Attila, a Sri Lankan Tamil singer. When he initially approaches Attila, she reveals that she is a widow with a seven-year-old son named Dheeran. However, Attila soon reciprocates Suruli's feelings. While on a date at a park, they are attacked by Sivadoss's remaining henchmen Deepan and Dharani, who have sworn to take revenge on Suruli for betraying and helping Peter to kill Sivadoss. Deepan shoots Suruli, leaving him critically wounded. However, Suruli soon manages to recover under Attila's care. One day, Suruli captures her after she injects a mysterious drug into his drip bag with the intention to kill him. When confronted, Attila reveals why she wants to kill him.
Past: Attila, Dheeran and Attila's brother are the only survivors of an aerial attack on their village in Sri Lanka during the Sri Lankan Civil War. It is also revealed that Dheeran is not Attila's son, but her brother's son. At a refugee camp, they are convinced by Sivadoss's aide to join Sivadoss's gang, who would help them move to London under the guise of husband, wife and child and are offered fake passports. On the way, Attila's brother is caught and thrown into Peter's private prison, which is used to hold refugees and illegal immigrants, but Attila and Dheeran safely make it to London.