Jul 09, 2006 03:41 PM
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As I wrote for “Pattiyal”, Entertainment and realism are seldom found together in Tamil movies. Pudhupettai is the classic example for intolerable realism which has not even a pinch of entertainment. Oh yes, there are songs but merely inserting songs here and there will not constitute for a decent entertainment.
Selvaragavan’s films were often brutal in approach, clear in narration and have great impact on the audience. He handles fragile areas (with success) which other directors dare not touch. This time, brutality is the only aspect that is apparent, while other credentials are long forgotten.
“Kokki” Kumar (Dhanush) runs away after witnessing his father killing mother. Lost in the hands of cruel destiny, he grabs an opportunity to join a gangster group. From there, he keeps rising ranks ruthless in the approach and selfish to the core. Whether he got all he desired, was he able to retain his achievements and has he really succeeded in life – should be the rest of the story (I am not sure)
I often appreciate realistic movies but not at the expense of entertainment. Pudhupettai is absolutely realistic both in the script and picturing (save same contrivances) but, for what? Is somebody ready to sit through a collection of meaningless ordeals? In real life, we witness many clueless encounters and unnecessary deviations but they don’t hold fit for filming. You have to cut them short and connect it to the theme. Pudhupettai tumbles with the above said mistakes. One scene doesn’t lead to the other, instead each stand on their own as contradictory as the protagonist.
Pudhupettai stands equally with Mumbai Xpress in sloppy narration. MX proclaimed to be a comedy but was cruelly boring. Every scene proved to be worse than the previous with no clue on where the story is headed for. Same holds good for Pudhupettai.
No character in the movie, agrees Dhanush as a gang leader, but somehow they accept him in the subsequent scenes without much thought. He crosses each of his leaders at some point of time for nothing though this behavior is justified as hunger for power, but it’s a weak excuse. Picturing, camerawork, and acting are fantastic but the pointless story spoils every good attempt made. It’s pretty laborious to sit through the whole playtime as the story wavers in all direction.
Dhanush plays his part religiously but it seems stretching his luck of success with repeated heroism oriented movies. It’s high time; he builds up the body to suit for roles apart from a juvenile freak. Sneha (with lesser makeup) looks natural but has fewer quotas to perform. Sonia Agarwal is as pathetic as her role and nothing more to say. Other characters fit well and look realistic. The background score and songs lacks nativity and appears outlandish.
The only part where I felt a little bit excited is the ending. Dhanush blurts out an enjoyable parody of political speech. The stage in which he speaks has a background image of three leaders’ faces, the last one being Dhanush. This is the best scene I enjoyed out of the whole movie.
Pudhupettai would have been a milestone (or at least watchable) had the story and narration were clear and to the point. I would say to watch this movie (fully) is an acid-test to the viewer’s patience.
