A comic entertainer, it’s about a simpleton who confronts heavy odds and manages to surmount them. In a role right up his sleeve, Karunas essays Velu, a coward who to his dismay finds himself being selected as a policeman. A remake of the 1990s Malayalam film Aanaval Mothiram (itself a rehash of the American film Short Time), it’s a mildly pleasant watch.
The early part is about how Velu avoids dangerous situations in his line of duty, his cowardly acts earning him the ridicule of his colleagues. Comfortable in his role, Karunas (his home production) plays these scenes with flair. A mix-up at the hospital makes Velu believe that he had a fatal disease and that his days were numbered. Assuming that death while on duty would fetch his family a heavy insurance amount, the cop puts himself in dangerous missions. With a newfound bravado, he tackles situations head on, leaving his colleagues bewildered. These situations are sporadically engaging. But the scenes of Velu deliberately trying to alienate Kalyani, his intended bride (Angana), with acts depicting him in compromising situations, leaves much to be desired. These and the item numbers seem more as an excuse to pep up the glamour quotient.
Bharat Reddy as Velu’s gutsy colleague Suresh, makes a smart cop, but hardly gets any challenging moments. There are a whole lot of comedy actors here like Kovai Sarala, Manobala, Singampuli and M S Bhaskar who play Velu’s colleagues. Delhi Ganesh as the perpetually inebriated cop manages to raise some laughs. Though not exactly a rollicking fun fare, the film makes for better viewing than Karunas’ recent releases.