Hello MS world, apologize for not being able to contribute to MS for such a long time. I’ve been extremely busy with my official activities.
Pudhupettai, released about 3 weeks ago, is the brainchild of Selvaraghavan. The film has been released under Lakshmi Movie Makers banner with Dhanush, Sneha, Sonia Agarwal in the lead. Music score by Yuvan Shankar Raja, Chapraya Symphony Orchestra - Bangkok and DJ. Rafiq. Camera work has been handled by Arvind Krishna and Na. Muthukumar has penned the https://lyrics.
Now to the review of the movie. It had been quite sometime since I’ve been to the theatres and decided to see this movie in Mayajaal (for those outside Chennai, Mayajaal is a multiplex that has theatres, bowling point, snooker, game zone, restaurants, shops and bar) just to have the effect of it. I rue the decision as the experience still haunts me a bit.
The Story:
The movies starts in a prison cell when "Kokki" Kumar (Dhanush), an accused serving his term, explaining his life. Bearded and a lean body filled with a spate of injuries, Kumar narrates how his life transformed on a single night. Like any other boy in a slum, Kumar is a student in the Corporation school whose father is a local goonda and his mother a housewife. Kumar’s father has a second family which comes to the notice of his mother and they quarrel. Kumar goes out for a movie to come home and see his mother murdered by his father. His father’s friends help in disposing the body. Shell shocked, Kumar flees from his home and lands in Mambalam, where he finds life hard to handle.
One day he is mobbed with a gang of drug sellers who belong to the party goonda Anbu and circumstances lead Kumar to join with the gang. During a nightly outing of pasting election graffiti in the area of another party, the gang clash with the ruling party and Kumar kills the brother of a minister. This starts the entry of Kumar into politics. While recuperating from his injuries, he falls for a local sex worker Krishnaveni (Sneha) from his gang and demands to Anbu that she be relieved from her work. Kumar goes on to murder Anbu and become the leader of the area that Anbu was managing. Days pass on as Kumar becomes a confidant for his party president (Azhagarperumal). In the due course Kumar eliminates all obstacles and also graduates to area secretary in the party.
With age, people, money, popularity on his side, success gets on to Kumar’s head. In the process, he marries his best friend’s sister Selvi (Sonia Agarwal) after being invited to preside over the marriage. After learning that his ex-lover is pregnant (Sneha), he also marries her and has a son. The rest of the movie depicts the ill-effects of his bossy behavior and also reveals the ugly side of politics.
The Cast:
Imagining Dhanush to be in a "larger-than-life" character is not a pleasant site. This has precisely been the reason for his films like "Sullan" not faring at the box-office. He fits in properly for a fresh-from-school character and does not emote aptly which, I feel, is a basic need characters depicting underworld dons.
Sonia Agarwal is just added for a sentimental purpose. She is neither needed for the movie nor does she emote to the needed level.
The pick of all cast for me is Sneha donning the role of a sex worker. Sneha’s performance is the bright spot in the entire movie. The one scene that stood out for me in her performance is when Dhanush ties the knot on Sonia while presiding her marriage.
The Brain behind:
Selvaraghavan has disappointed in this movie. The script is not too juicy and dwells entirely around Dhanush. Its understandable that in a bid to save the sinking professional life of his brother, Selvaraghavan has overdone a lot and the entire movie has become a bloody-affair. A better theme like the ones in "Kadhal Konden" or "7G Rainbow colony" could have really saved the day for Dhanush.
The Sound:
"Enga area ulla varathey" is a song that hit the market hard and was being played at most tea shops when the audio released. For me, Yuvan has done what he could provide maximum for such a script. Yet I feel let down for by the background score (the score is not available at many places while BG could have added some spice to the entire scene) and the music on the whole.
The Verdict:
You should be the fittest person to survive inside the theatre watching this one. This is not definitely a product from Selvaraghavan’s school.