When Casting Amplifies Hype: Leo v/s Jailer

 Lokesh Kanagaraj's directorial Leo starring Thalapathy Vijay in the lead is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated projects in the whole Indian film industry. The hype was created with just the news of a collaboration between Vijay, who is one of the most popular stars, and Lokesh Kanagaraj, who created an intriguing cinematic universe with the blockbuster movie Vikram and became the most sought-after director. Fans and movie lovers are extremely curious and excited about how Lokesh will present Vijay's character and the further development of Lokesh Cinematic Universe (LCU). Parallelly, a project that rose to headlines only because of Superstar Rajnikanth- Jailer, which marks the first collaboration between Rajnikanth and director Nelson got equal anticipation and hype because of a huge star cast that includes The Complete Actor Mohanlal, Kannada Superstar Shiva Rajkumar, Jackie Shroff, Sunil and Tamannah Bhatia and became a proper pan-Indian project just like Leo. After this, Lokesh started skyrocketing the hype with a huge star cast. As it is strongly rumored that Malayalam actor Joju George, who has carved out a place for himself in the industry with his exceptional acting skills in some content-worthy projects recently, is all set to join Leo along with Mathew Thomas and Babu Antony (from Mollywood), excitement is overshadowed by fear and pressure.

Nelson was highly criticized for his previous project and Jailer must mark his comeback. As the superstars have assembled from different industries, the storyline should satisfy the fans and most importantly, proper characterization is mandatory. All characters portrayed by the stars should create an impact among the masses, otherwise everything would go in vain. If the stars are used as fillers to build hype, it would be subjected to a high level of criticism as Lokesh has set a benchmark on how to use the stars properly with Vikram. From a story that was initially just made for Rajnikanth to one with such a huge cast, the pressure on Nelson is worth a thought.

Lokesh on the other hand, has the massive responsibility of showing a new face of Vijay (in terms of acting, performance, and character development), at the same time respecting his stardom and giving a proper space for brilliant actors like Joju, Sanjay Dutt, and Arjun to perform. A unique and compelling story would suffice the need, but over expectation and pressure can act as villains in Lokesh's plan.

Expectations From Jailer

It is obvious that Jailer is a commercial flick. Thus, the main objective must be to make use of the stardom of the cast. With such a huge star cast, all that the audience expects are some high-octane action with a thrilling screenplay (which was missed in Beast). As it is a fresh project, proper character development is the primary necessity. A small proportion of cliche, would go unnoticed if the screenplay is good and also if the stars are given proper space to let the fans cheer for them.

Expectations From Leo

Lokesh must be highly careful to avoid any kind of cliche, as this is the main aspect to satisfy the audience. He must outdo himself with some unique actions, storyline, and character development. With huge stars along with some critically-acclaimed highly intense actors, Lokesh is expected to eliminate typical commercial scenes and give more importance to the storyline and the performances that would further build more layers of LCU. The audience is exposed to movies like John Wick, which has story-building within action scenes and is a benchmark for action movies, Leo's stunt sequences should stand apart without scope for comparison. Here too, brilliant actors should not be used as fillers.

Fan Fights on Social Media

 The fans are eager to promote the film of their favorite star and it is fair. But, purposeful degrading and hatred against other films is unethical and unacceptable. Let there be healthy competition, but these unethical practices would be like disrespecting the hard work of a huge crew behind these projects.  Criticisms would give rise to unique, content-worthy projects, but disrespectful tweets and posts for purposeful degrading would affect the survival of the industry as a whole. Let us cherish good films.

Jailer directed by Nelson stars Rajnikanth along with Mohanlal, Shiva Rajkumar, Sunil, Jackie Shroff, and Tamannah is expected in August 2023 and Leo directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj and starring Thalapathy Vijay releases on 19th October 2023.