Pollathavan - Review

By: Settu Shankar
Saturday, November 10, 2007

Pollathavan is one of the yesteryear blockbuster movies of Superstar Rajinikanth, which gave him a major breakthrough at a very crucial stage of his career. His son in law Dhanush borrowed the title of the movie hoping that it would give him success. There is nothing wrong with this but one should work hard to reproduce a film to get better results.

We have often seen the typical Chennai culture as the backdrop in every Dhanush Film. Pollathavan is also not an exemption from the cliche. May be Dhanush feels that it is very safe and convenient but for the viewers point of view, it bores them more than anything else. The director, Vetrimaaran, has shown some novelty in the script and given a 'bike' a vital role in the script. It is on its wheels that the script moves.

Dhanush and his friends (the usual comedian Santhanam&co) are a jolly bunch who are as carefree as can be. Suddenly Dhanush falls in love with Divya alias Ramya. Dhanush's father Murali is not satisfies with his son's irresponsible ways. There is a showdown between the two and Dhanush blames his father for his irresponsible lifestyle. Eventually, he gets some money from his father to prove himself. But the twist begins from here.

He gets a bike rather a new life. And it is this bike that sends him into some unwanted territories infested with strange curves and stranger twists. He is sucked into the underbelly of the city that sees blood as a matter of fact. It is one hell of a roller coaster ride, over which he has little control. How he handles it all is what forms the rest of the gripping story.

We have to pat on the back of the director for using Dhanush in an apt role. Dhanush also plays his role with ease and gives the heart and breath to the role. Kuthu Ramya has a decent role too in the film and she has done the justice to the same. Murali as the stentorian father and Bhanupriya as the typical mother have acted well. Santhanam and Karunaas comedy is hilarious in most parts with excellent timing for one-liners.

Daniel Balaji has doing the role the villain in this film. May be this film makes him as a full time villain in Kollywood.

There is nothing interesting in GV Prakash's music. The remix of yesteryear classic 'Engeyum Eppothum…' does not make the fans of the yesteryear song lend their ears to it as it is a largely irritating tune. The camera work is ok. As a debutant director, Vetrimaaran's sincere efforts and Dhanush's hard work makes the film watch worthy.

Verdict: Watchable!
Credits:
Cast: Danush, Divya, Daniel Balaji, Karunaas, Santhanam
Music: G.V.Prakash
Direction: Vetrimaaran
Production: Group Company