Pandiyanaadu Movie Review

Starring : Vishal, Lakshmi Menon, Bharathiraja, Vikranth

Direction : Suseenthiran

Music : Imman

Production : Vishal Film Factory

Pandiyanaadu starts with the death of a local gangster and the fight over who should be taking his place. In line are two of his own men who have split into separate factions. And on the calmer side of town are Siva Kumar (Vishal) and his family. Siva’s brother works in the mining department and his father played by Bharatiraja is a calm going man content with his family. Siva works as a mobile phone service man in the back room of a showroom. I have been to a service centre recently and what was behind the door (like all doors saying No Admission) made me curious, though much wasn’t explored on that front it was a nice dose of realism.

Kattama Ravi, the more dangerous and audacious of the two in the race for the chair goes on a killing spree eliminating any potential enemies and eventually gains control over the town. One of Siva’s friends (played by Vikranth) whom he would turn to in tough situations needs to protect his lover, who is now married to someone else from one of Ravi’s henchmen who obsesses over her (played by Harish). Siva’s brother taking some strict action against Ravi’s illegal mining knots the fearful protagonist in another conflict with the dangerous Ravi.

The Siva Malathi love story provides us with some clean humour, the songs in spite of the badly dubbed lyrics were still bearable for the visual component and the film stands out mainly for its super choreography of the action sequences. After the screenplay had done its job of setting up these fights, the choreography and the cinematography made sure the emotional drive is retained to move you to the edge of the seat without realizing it.

After yet another stretch of desperate commercial failures this looks like the one that will bring back the love and the money to Vishal. The film’s central conflict of pushing a scared and restrained protagonist to finally rise and fight is a used idea, but, when done right it can still engage one. Suseenthiran’s screenplay creates a convincing arc for Siva to have no other choice. The film keeps you guessing till the very end and Siva’s final confrontation was valid, necessary and exhilarating.

Verdict : Tightly scripted and has some of the best action sequences in recent times