Pokkiri

When I saw the Telugu original of Vijay's Pokkiri after news of the remake had been announced, I felt that Vijay would have a real hit on his hands if director Prabhu Deva toned down the violence and improved the comedy track. He has done the latter but not the former. And that violence is the only sore spot in the otherwise entertaining masala film that should help Vijay bounce back after the dismal failure of Aadhi.

Thamizh(Vijay) is a rowdy who is ready to align himself with either of the two big gangs in the city as long as the money is right. Priya(Asin), a dance teacher, is impressed with Thamizh after he helps her and her liking slowly turns to love. Thamizh finally becomes a part of the gang of Ali Bhai(Prakash raj), who is holed up abroad and rarely comes into town. Things come to a head when Thamizh eliminates most members of the rival gang led by Narasimman(Anandraj). Thats when Priya sees his true nature too.

When a movie's hero is a rowdy, how acceptable the romance is comes down to how it is presented and Prabhu Deva, who is no stranger to directing romances, does a good job here. Vijay and Asin have a number of cute meetings and the fact that she develops feelings for him doesn't require complete suspension of disbelief inspite of his 'profession'. Though their track does start off a little vulgar, it proceeds decently from then onwards. The two have good chemistry and encounters like the one in the elevator are good proof of that.

While Prabhu Deva adds something original to the romance and the comedy, he has imported the action sequences almost scene-by-scene from the Telugu version and that makes the movie quite violent. The body count is real high and people are disposed off in gory ways using a wide variety of sharp instruments. But the film proves that the situation and the picturization do have an impact on how the violence comes across. The sequence just before the intermission is relentless, bloody and sustained. But because of the location, the unexpectedness of the violence, Vijay's fury and Asin's horror at his acts, it is thrilling and intense.

By Vijay's recent standards, Pokkiri is quite a classy movie. The entire movie has a nice sheen to it and Prabhu Deva uses techniques like quick editing, split-screens, etc. to add some style to the visuals. Vadivelu is his usual crude self though and pulls the movie's classy tone down. While he does have a link to the main story, he mostly has his own segments and they decrease in quality and laughs as the movie progresses (the water tanker bit is the worst of the lot). But his short dance for Suttum Vizhi Chudare... almost makes up for all his other misses. His near-perfect imitation of Surya's steps for that song brings down the house. Apart from Vadivelu's track, Prabhu Deva's touch is evident in the way Dhamu and his mother, after a hero-centric scene to boost Vijay's image, make appearances in the rest of the movie.

The film's pace is upped a little once Prakashraj makes an appearance. The big twist is quite predictable but manages to be thrilling because of the way it is presented. A couple of other revelations do manage to be surprising(i.e. if you haven't seen the original) though. Like the pre-intermission sequence, the climax is also very violent and bloody. But here, the violence comes across as gratuitous and over-the-top.

Vijay has really cleaned up after Aadhi and probably looks the best he has ever looked. He has obviously tried to imitate Mahesh Babu with a low, understated dialog delivery but it doesn't look very natural since we're familiar with his style and it makes him look less energetic than usual(except in the song sequences). Asin looks gorgeous though she doesn't get a lot of chances to show off her acting talent. Prakashraj has by now perfected the art of combining villainy and humor and makes us laugh when he tries to stave off sleep in jail. Nasser is solid as usual while Mukesh Tiwari makes a really detestable cop.

The combination of Prabhu Deva and Vijay doesn't produce as many sparks as expected in the song sequences. While all the songs have their moments, none of them stand out on the whole. Vasantha Mullai... is the most entertaining of the lot while Dolu Dolu... contains some nice visuals and sets.