Sigma review: Jason Sanjay’s debut directorial is a guidebook on rookie mistakes

Guru (Sandeep Kishan), the protagonist of Sigma, is a struggling library owner and podcaster. He lives in an inherited, dilapidated bungalow that doubles as a library—a space his late mother cherished and asked him to protect. However, along with the property, he has inherited a crippling debt of Rs 1.5 crore from his late father, leaving him struggling to make ends meet. Strangely, in the many scenes set in the library, we see only books on engineering and various other study course/exam preparation. There isn't a single work of literature, not even a cheap paperback. That glaring absence pretty much sums up the film: Sigma — the directorial debut of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay's son, Jason Sanjay — lacks any real writing.

Shallow writing, exhausted tropes

Kotlapati Veerayya Reddy (Sampath Raj) is a dreaded drug kingpin who has over a thousand crores hidden in a vault in an undisclosed overseas location. For reasons entirely unknown, Reddy hands the key over to Ezhil (Kiran Konda), a man who has just ratted out his previous partner. If Veerayya is truly the terrifying druglord he is said to be, he wouldn't just hand over the key to his goldmine — he shouldn't have even mentioned its existence to a known traitor. But pausing to question such logical discrepancies in Sigma only adds to the burden of watching a puerile film bogged down by pretentiousness and amateurish execution.

Also Read: #Love review: Netflix Tamil series is a breezy watch on compatibility vs chemistry in relationships

Ezhil is predictably killed by the betrayed drug lord and his body ends up buried next to the protagonist's bungalow. Through sheer contrivance and lazy writing, the key falls into Guru's hands. Hoping to solve his financial woes, he attempts to blackmail the villains, kicking off a tedious series of action sequences devoid of creativity or coherence. Featuring a pothead comic sidekick, a suburban Chennai assassin hiding his ammo behind a picture of Lord Murugan and a cliché underground gambling club, Sigma is a wannabe heist thriller that tries far too hard to be cool and funny. Unfortunately, it merely apes the stylistic quirks of the genre without investing in the solid writing required to pull them off.

A glaring example of this shallow writing is the romance that blooms between an assassin and the villain’s consort. In their first scene together, he pours corrosive acid on her to extort information. By their third scene, they are in bed together, mouthing painfully cringeworthy romantic dialogue. Ultimately, she becomes the catalyst for him to go rogue against his boss. These are dated, exhausted tropes and Sigma handles them poorly.

Also Read: Pooja Meri Jaan review: Mrunal Thakur, Huma Qureshi film aims to challenge stereotypes, but lacks ed

An amateurish attempt

Ultimately, Sigma isn’t a film that warrants deep analytical scrutiny, as it fails at the absolute basics of filmmaking, including shot composition, editing, and scene transitions. Many scenes are marred by choppy cuts and abrupt jumps, amateur mistakes that might be forgivable in a student short film or showreel, but not in a feature-length theatrical release.

Except for Sampathraj, Sigma has nothing that seems to be worthy of a feature film. It lacks both engaging content and quality of form. Jason's film is a chaotic ride and an unpolished misfire that mistakes borrowed aesthetics for genuine cinematic style. Sandeep Kishan and the rest of the capable cast are left adrift in a script that is just a copy of a copy of a copy…you get the drift.