Pichaikkaran

My review: Pichaikkaran

I am a fan of Sasi right from his "Sollamale" days for the clarity of his movie making and certain delicate nuanced transgressions that would often elevate even mundane of proceedings. Be it "Rojakootam" or "Dishyum" or the most impressive movie of his so far "Poo" or even the least profitable movie of his "555", his movies always evokes curiosity and makes for a riveting viewing. His latest movie is "Pichaikkaran" which sadly is a letdown if you expect a vintage Sasi movie. 

Even though the story is certainly a novel one (Sasi acknowledges in the end that it is actually inspired from a real life story) the screenplay has too many digressions and distractions that after a point it gets tedious. Also the pace is very sluggish for the kind of genre the movie belongs to. In spite of it the movie keeps you interested throughout the running time mainly due its sparkling razor sharp dialogues. They keep coming accompanied by thunderous response from the crowd which is the main reason why you don't slip into a slumber. Movie's nucleus works well too, which is the ever relevant and Tamil cinema's reliable poppet that is mother sentiment. 

Though the movie can't be classified as a mass masala entertainer, it has couple of well conceived and presented mass moments that keep the viewers enthralled. Part of the appreciation must go the actors as well. Vijay Antony has once again chosen a role that suits his histrionic abilities and he has done justice to it. He could have performed a bit more in the sentiment and romantic portions instead of too much of underplay that often borders on sleep walking. Satna Titus is easy on the eyes and performs well too instead of adorning the movie's cutesie portions alone. The two actors who come as the protagonist's friends are terrific. They get to mouth the movie's most whistle worthy dialogues. On the flip-side the movie's antagonists are annoyingly cardboardish. 

Vijay Antony's background score is adequate while in his music only one song passes muster which is "Nenjorathil". Movie is technically tacky, a throwback to the 90s era. On the whole, terrific hard hitting dialogues, mother sentiment and couple of superb mass moments salvages patchy writing and lackluster direction. 

Bottomline: Noble intentions. 

3/5