Shifting from the urban backdrop of his earlier films (Sollamalae, Rojakoottam, Dhishyum), director Sasi for the first time ventures into the rural milieu. An adaptation of the literary work ‘Veyilodu Poyi’ (of Sa Thamizhselvan), ‘Poo’ depicts the deep and unselfish love of a simple village girl Maari for her cousin Thangarasu. A love she treasures in her heart even when circumstances force her to marry another, and he to a girl of his father’s choice. A love, which derived pleasure and joy from the other’s happiness.
Sasi has crafted his film with honesty and sincerity and given it a realistic feel throughout.
The characters are rooted to the soil, with their simple aspirations and dreams. With most of the actors being freshers, they add a touch of conviction and realism to their performances. ‘Poo’s central character is Maari, her heart obsessively set on her cousin Thangarasu, her playmate and close buddy since her childhood days.
Maari had carried her feelings into her adulthood, not realizing that Thangarasu may not have the same feelings for her. Playing Maari is Parvati, a rising actress of Malayalam films (‘Notebook’, ‘Flash’). The director has extracted a splendid performance from her.
Parvati plays Maari with perfect understanding, bringing out the various nuances of the character, as Maari goes through the various phases of her life. Her little pleasures and pains, the innocence and hurt, and the coming to terms with what fate had doled out to her. It’s a performance that reminds you of Priyamani in ‘Paruthiveeran’.
The plot moves forward after Thangarasu’s return from Chennai, where he had gone to study engineering. Thangarasu’s father (a good performance here), had braved a lot of humiliation and insults and toiled hard to give his son a higher education. And when the man’s wealthy employer had come seeking for Thangarasu’s hand for his only daughter, it was a proud moment for the father.
But Thangarasu had dreams of his own. As the narrative progresses, we see the characters facing moral dilemmas, as they get caught in the harsh realties of life. The dialogues are earthy and meaningful. Particularly towards the closing scene where a guilt-ridden Thangarasu’s father consumed with guilt opens out to Maari.
Maari’s agonizing cry at the end will linger in the mind much after we leave the theater.
Thangarasu’s is more a supporting character, and Srikanth plays it with his effortless ease. A complete natural is Ingo who appears in a few scenes as Maari’s husband. The director has used a couple of symbolic shots to good effect. Like when Maari is praying for a wedded life with Thangarasu, there is a chant of ‘Govinda Govinda’ in the background, giving an inkling of what fate had in store for her.
There are some delightful touches of humour too, like the scene where a little shepherd boy’s ruse to find his lost cell phone in the fields.
Some of the scenes at the tea-stall work out well. But trying to pull the tea-stall owner into a crucial moment of the story, seems a tad contrived.
After a feel good film like ‘Raman Thediya Seethai’, Moser Baer has given yet another sensitively crafted product. Sasi’s ‘Poo’ is a refreshing film, far removed from the routine commercial potboilers. It’s one of the better films to come out in recent times.