Jungle Chapter; English title: Anima and Persona) is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language gangster film written and directed by Thiagarajan Kumararaja in his directorial debut.

[2][3] The plot takes place in a day in the lives of the six protagonists, played by Jackie Shroff,[4] Ravi Krishna, Sampath Raj and debutants Yasmin Ponnappa, Guru Somasundaram and Master Vasanth.

It ran into difficulties as the regional censor board in Chennai raised objection against the film, giving it an adult rating besides demanding 52 cuts.

Singaperumal (Jackie Shroff) is an aged gangster, who forces himself on a girl named Subbu (Yasmin Ponnappa), but is unable to perform and vents his frustration by slapping her.

Later, his right-hand man Pasupathy (Sampath Raj) tells him that a large stash of cocaine worth ₹20,000,000 (US$230,000), has entered the city.

Pasupathy sees the profit, the long-term benefit (to control the cocaine market with such an ample supply), and the recognition if they are able to pull off such a deal.

The man is actually the cocaine courier, who routinely transports various stashes of drugs in and out of the city and collects a relatively small fee ₹10,000 (US$120) for each trip.

Seeing Subbu in tears, Singaperumal asks one of his men Sappai (Ravi Krishna) to take her out and comfort her so she is prepared to perform for him at night.

En route in the car, one of the men receives a call from Singaperumal, who orders him to bump off Pasupathy as soon as the stash is acquired.

Kaalayan and Kodukapuli find the cocaine stash and the phone number of a prospective buyer (Singaperumal and Pasupathy).

[9] However, despite announcing the project, it was called off later that year and Charan started producing the film Kunguma Poovum Konjum Puravum in May 2008.

In late 2008, while Kunguma Poovum Konjum Puravum was in post-production stage, reports surfaced that Charan and Kumararaja were going to revive the project, with noted Bollywood actor Jackie Shroff being roped in for a leading role, making his debut in Tamil cinema.

Shroff was said to play the role of a "hoodlum",[12] who was chosen after Kumararaja had approached several other Tamil actors, who declined the offer, fearing of their "image".

[citation needed] Kumararaja had stated that the voice modulation and pattern of the Kaalaiyan character were based on Somasundaram's performance in the play Chandrahari, which eventually resulted in casting him in the film.

[14][citation needed] Yasmin Ponnappa, a popular Bengaluru based model, who had appeared in television advertisements and won many beauty pageants, was selected for the role of the lead female character.

Her role was, however, written for Pooja Umashankar, keeping her in mind, who couldn't accept the offer as she had given her dates to Bala's magnum opus Naan Kadavul.

P. S. Vinod was chosen as the cinematographer, who had earlier shot films like Musafir and My Wife's Murder, while Videsh was announced as the art director, 'Super' Subbarayan as the stunt master and Kalyan and Ajay Raj as choreographers.

[11] Yuvan Shankar Raja was signed as the music director, who was working on a gangster film again after the likes of Arinthum Ariyamalum, Pattiyal and Pudhupettai.

Kumararaja divulged that he actually hadn't anyone in mind, but joined with Yuvan Shankar, following producer Charan's recommendation, who shared a "good working relationship" with the composer.

[citation needed] Initially a soundtrack was also planned to be composed, with Gangai Amaran being roped in to pen lyrics,[citation needed] however Charan disclosed later that the film would feature no songs at all,[16] becoming Yuvan Shankar Raja's second film project after Adhu without a soundtrack.

[2] The committee had demanded 52 cuts and several consequential sub-cuts, particularly due to profanity and excessive violence, before permitting a theatrical release.

[2] Kumararaja, who admitted that he had expected difficulties in the censorship, disapproved of the board's demands as he wanted to present the film uncompromisingly to the audiences.

[17] He claimed that the usage of "bad language" was "part of developing the characters" in his story, while he also disagreed with bleeping out the "objectionable" words since he felt "it throws audiences off the film's narrative".

The India Daily lauded the director and the producer for making a "strikingly different film that is raw, realistic and is just like watching angry men up close", further adding that "picturizing crude realities of life so real needs amazing guts".

[19] The leading actors, particularly Jackie Shroff and Sampath, were appreciated for their performances, being labelled as "perfect", while film score and cinematography were praised as well, citing that "Yuvan Shankar Raja deserves all accolades for a fantastic re-recording" and that "Vinod's lens captures the darker sides of city life well".

The reviewer also spoke in high terms of the cast and crew, pointing out Guru Somasundaram's performance whose "gleeful cackles at the rooster fight, pathetic rumblings to his son and wide-eyed act in the Lodge are wonderful to behold" and Yuvan Shankar Raja's score, described as "easily [one of] the movie's biggest strengths".

[21] A reviewer from Chennai Online wrote that the film was made "near-perfect" featuring "some stunning performances, sharp dialogues and excellent camera work and music".

Jackie Shroff and P. S. Vinod, in particular, won high praise from the critic, who wrote that the former "proves his class" and "shines in the don’s role", while they had done a "terrific job and should be considered a major factor for the film’s success at the box-office".