Film: Pattaiya Kelappanum Pandiya
Director: SP Rajkumar
Cast: Vidharth, Manisha Yadav, Soori, Kovai Sarala, Ilavarasu
Pattaiya Kelappanum Pandiya is a light hearted take on the travails of two brothers, carefree and capricious. While one is the driver, the other is the conductor of an omni-bus that plies between two towns. There is not much novelty in its plotting nor in its narrative style. But a neat screenplay, a smooth flow of scenes and loads of humour keeps it from sinking into mediocrity. Soori is the life of the film. Revelling in his role, the actor delivers his lines with great relish.
As the bus journeys between two towns, we get to see the usual happenings we have witnessed in films like Jannal Oram. There is a regular commuter (Manisha fitting in suitably) with whom hero Vidharth falls in love; there are the drunkards and eve teasers; and a miscreant whom the director reserves for the last, when he needs a villain to pop up. For Vidharth it is initially one-sided love. Vidharth renders a mature performance, sharing great chemistry with Soori. Whether it’s the domestic scenes of Vidharth, with Ilavarasu and the inimitable Sarala playing his parents; or whether it’s Imman Annachi as the owner of the bus lamenting about his losses. Watching him cross various hurdles to pave the way for his marriage to Manisha abounds in cliche. The ending seems forced. The narration could have been crisper towards the latter part. Pattaya... may not have the best of screenplays, but it’s a fairly watchable and a clean wholesome family entertainer thanks to it’s humour quotient - and Soori.