Pattathu Yaanai marks the coming together of the hero-director duo after their teaming in Malaikottai. Touted as a complete entertainer, it packs in action, sentiment, romance and comedy. But neither ingenuously crafted nor judiciously integrated, they remain as bits and pieces in a screenplay that meanders with no focus.
The film opens on Santhanam and gives one the feel that he would dominate the scene for the rest of the film. But it doesn’t quite turn out that way, the actor left in the lurch as the plot progresses. Gowravam (Santhanam) runs a rundown eatery, has a problem with a local thug, and wants a way out. Enter Saravanan (Vishal), looking for a job as a cook. Servile and respectful, Saravanan and his cronies take matters in their hands. To help their new ‘muthalali’ out of his problem, they suggest Gowravam sell his hotel and go with them to Tiruchy and buy a hotel there. But Gowravam finds himself stranded on the streets of Tiruchy, left to fend for himself. Saravanan and his cronies experience a series of misadventures, as they get entangled with the affairs of warring thugs, and try to help out a family in distress.
The film marks the debut of Aishwarya (daughter of action king Arjun). But the debutante doesn’t quite jell with the role of the homely Aishwarya, and seems out of place in the milieu. She comes out best in the dream-song sequence, where she gets to sport trendy outfits, seeming more comfortable in them.
Vishal’s is a low key entry, and an equally low key performance. Even when a baddie removes his shirt to showcase his muscled frame, Saravanan plays it cool. He doesn’t repeat the act, the way one would have expected any hero worth his salt to do! Incidentally, Vishal has yet to get a script and a role that would tap his full potential.
The plot is an old one, the screenplay long winding. Too many characters keep popping up. There are too many villains in the arena. And as new ones get added, the earlier ones get side-lined. There is a long dreary flashback for Saravanan to add to the sentiment factor. There is a bit of fun towards the end where John Vijay, a baddie, is harassed by constant ‘wrong’ calls from a call-taxi driver. Shorn of freshness in its plot or presentation, Pattathu Yaanai offers nothing to entice the viewer.