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Polladhavan (2007)
8/10
Cult Hit, to be Remembered!!
23 November 2014
Warning: Spoilers
"Polladhavan",popular debut of Vetri Maaran,and second innings break for Dhanush in his career, is a Cult favourite for its screenplay which cruises on the voice-over of the two lead characters,Prabhu and Ravi and also for its realistic depiction of the life of slum and the adventures when two young men,as distinct as chalk and cheese rub against each other.

The Director focuses on details of characters,events rather keeping watch on the continuity of the film. Vetri Maaran is to be appreciated for the well developed, significant and powerful sub- plots of the film.The sub-plot of the ego clashes between the gangster trio,"Ravi","Out-u" and "Selvam"is a treat to watch and is a classic portrayal of North Chennai Gangsters and is very significant in the climax of the film.And the Sub-plot of the proceedings of Prabhu's family is reality ground and very relatable.

The love sub-plot of Prabhu with a girl seems unnecessary,but Vetri Maaran has under-written this love sub-plot by placing music- video style song montages,which is reasonable in the first half of the movie, but later annoys us in the second-half,where interesting main plot of the story is disturbed by unwanted song montages which is a shame for the director having done a film so close to perfection.

But Vetri Maaran wins our heart with his sub-plot which tells Prabhu's love for pulsar motorbike!!This is the most beautiful and blissful part of the movie, every male is sure to cherish even after a long time.And Dhanush wins our heart too, with this sub-plot and we have no choice, we become a fan of Dhanush.No wonder this movie ignited the star-dom of Dhanush.

The Inciting incident,which triggers the main plot, comes towards the end of the first-half when the stage is set perfect after the two lead characters have narrated their stories enough for us(Vetri Maaran's switch of narration between the two leads is to be seen in the film) to follow them then after until the climax which is a thrilling, action filled experience.

Enough spoken about Dhanush, the other lead Daniel Balaji gives a performance which in intimidating and powerful, which takes the film to another level,also accompanied by the performance of Kishore,who lives a true gangster and also not to forget the performance of Pavan who plays "Out".Banu Priya,Murali fit the family roles so good.Special mention to Sentrayan,who plays the bike thief is a revelation,and Anju who plays Gangster's wife, a very rare role to T.Santhanam and Karunas complete the script and give it the realistic feel.Ramya has done justice for her job,though she is placed in the most annoying portions of the film in the second half.

Cinematography by Velraj suits the film tone very well and Editing is very crisp.Music handled by G.V.Prakash & Co. is good especially when Prabhu cherishes his new bike.

Vetri Maaran says he is inspired by "Bicycle Thieves" for this film,while he just shares the one-line and some few segments and Polladhavan if far different from the Italian Masterpiece.Yet a very bold gesture.

If not for the flaws and commercial elements forced, Polladhavan is sure a Masterpiece, but unfortunately it fails,yet its ripples will be felt forever for all its goods and is a Cult-Hit!!
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Pudhu Pettai (2006)
10/10
A Masterpiece!!
23 November 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Rebellious Director Selvaragavan comes up with a movie which is to be remembered for another century in south Indian film industry."Pudhu Pettai" follows the journey of Kokki Kumar from his troubled adolescence to becoming a prime-time Gangster.The Movie is ground to reality mostly throughout,except for some cinematic exaggerations at places which is reasonable and convincing for the establishment and arc of the lead character.

The director is to be appreciated for his raw,savage take on the tone of the story, for the scenes are bold enough to take us into the journey of the lead character.The screenplay speaks for itself, for events keep unfolding every three minutes of the movie and cruises through to Fade Out.The song montages are cleverly used, which is to be seen in the movie and not discussed in this review.

Cinematography by Arvind Krishna and Editing by Kola Baskar are far ahead of times(at least in the period the movie released) and the visuals and the pace of the movie speaks for it. Vfx is cleverly used for some scenes to amplify the mood of the scene.

The Music of the film needs special recognition.The songs and the background scores both gel with the movie and are a milestone for Yuvan Shankar Raja in its own merit.The Sound Design of the movie also worth recognition.

The cast of the film do all the honors to take the script into the cinema medium successfully and they do it in great style and charisma.The lead Dhanush gives an Epic performance of his lifetime.Be it action,arrogance,sentiment,etc.Dhanush pulls it off in great style and perfection.Hats off!! The others Sneha,Soniya Agarwal,Azhagam Perumal,Bala Singh and every face that appeared in the movie is handled well by the director and they become a part of the story so perfectly, we never feel anything alien about them.

The film has blood,gore,violence,sex,profanity and many more, but all for good reasons and the director convinces us for his bold vision, that we are never gonna accuse him.

To conclude, Pudhu Pettai is a Must-watch and a rare gangster film of south of India to be cherished forever for its nativity,characters,events,morals and for its genius.
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