After the spectacular ‘Baahubali’, we were all set for an encore with ‘Puli’, yet another period fantasy from the South. But this one, also full of kings and queens and enslaved villagers and a handsome young prince who will set everything right, is a crashing bore.
Vijay plays the valiant Maru Dheeran, lover of the pretty Pavazhmani( Shruti Haasan), who goes chasing off after her into the land of the blue-eyed ‘vetaals’. He is accompanied by a couple of jokesters, and a talking bird. On the way, he gathers up a few little people who are there strictly for comic relief, a turtle who can see the future, and a growling big black cat. And a few other things, the recounting of which is even more painful than the watching.