After a mass Osthe, Silambarasan features in Podaa Podi directed by debutant Vignesh Shivan with Varu Sarathkumar, daughter of Sarathkumar, as screen partner. Podaa Podi was in the cross hairs for its lengthy duration in the making. However, the film does not look dated at all thanks to its premise.
The story is set in London where the lead pair meets, falls in love amidst dance as the backdrop. It is an apt debut vehicle for Varu who has a good screen presence and emotes quite naturally and spontaneously. The young girl has a powerful face and if she takes care of her weight, she is bound to go places in the industry.
STR does not leave any opportunity go waste when it comes to showcasing his chiseled torso and gets appreciative claps from women audience in the opening number 'Love Pannalaama Venaamaa'. The collective effort of dance choreographer, editor and cinematographer comes to fore in this number.
The first half is breezy and Vignesh Shivan makes the audience sit up and take note of the freshness in his execution. Through Varu and STR, he clearly etches the characters of current urban youth and their 'matter of fact' attitude. Their impulsive decision making, candid outlook, a superficial viewpoint towards life and taking life as it comes with no mushiness are all well portrayed.
Characterization of Varu and STR are one of the salient features of PP. While Varu remains the girl who has been raised in foreign shores, STR, by his own admittance, represents the quintessential Tamil male who despite his geographical placement, continues to prefer dominance over his woman and feels it his right. Although Shivan cannot be found fault for writing such a male character, it does sound very regressive when STR just calls out to Varu for making more babies!
While Shivan is successful in hooking the audience in the first half generating a surprise element through his lead characters, he fumbles in the second half with his archaic take on Tamil culture and sentiment much in contrast to the tone that was set in the first half. The pace and the mood change in the second half and the course of the screenplay does tend to meander with detours in track. You start wondering where the director wants to take his story to. Having said that, Shivan should also be appreciated for eschewing sleaze, even when the story gives a lot of scope for it.
Dialogues not only capture the irreverent mood of the youth but also convey the superficial nature of the lead pair's relationship. Varu opting to speak for herself works very well for her as her unique diction and dialogue delivery gives much credence to her character. She dances quite well and gracefully too and for the kuthu number she delivers the right kind of movements. The mischievous glint in her eyes when she lies to STR is a delight to watch.
For STR, the role suits him well and he plays with a lot of conviction. The actor should be lauded for essaying a young father's role unmindful of his image. He also deprecates himself taking help from his characters in previous films. The supporting cast of VTV Ganesh and Shobana does their roles well.
Dharan's compositions are the biggest plus for PP and the young man scores in RR too. Dance choreographers need special mention as the film is based on dance and they have done good work at that. Cinematographer Duncan Telford captures London in its colorful mood and the dances in its vibrant hue.
Toting it up, Podaa Podi is an ideal festival outing for youth, which has good looking cast, fun moments, nice songs and a few peppy dance numbers.
Verdict: Good youth time pass
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