Film: Pokkiri Mannan
Director: Ragow Madesh
Cast: Sridhar, Spoorthi, Singampuli, Mayilsamy, Ramesh Reddy
He is a seasoned dance choreographer and the lead dancer in group dances in innumerable films. And now Sridhar makes his debut as a hero in Pokkiri Mannan. He confidently essays the character of Marudhu a wastrel who gets a chance to redeem himself. And in the routine fight-action-emotion scenario, Sridhar passes muster. It is only that he, at times, is so like the boy-next -door, that one has a rather tough time trying to identify the hero from the rest of his friends.
There is a sense of deja vu throughout, the plot seeming like a weak copy of earlier such formula flicks. It’s a lazy screenplay with nothing fresh or exciting either in its scripting or in its narrative style. It revolves around Marudhu, who leads a carefree lifestyle, whiling away his time with like-minded friends. There are the routine boozing binges, the irritation caused to the family and the neighbours due to their antics. There is nothing here that we haven’t seen before. Marudhu encounters Archana ( Spoorthi from the Kannada screen) and it’s love at first sight for the hero. Marudhu’s way of wooing her is by pretending to be pushed by a friend in a mock fight, and falling all over her. His ploy seems to have worked, for the girl thaws towards him soon enough. Enters the Dubai-returned Kali (Singampuli going overboard with his act) who aspires to be the next councilor. With the election round the corner, Marudhu and his friends make plans to squeeze him dry. There is an attempt to generate humour through the antics of Marudhu and gang here. But they fall flat, like the scene where Marudhu persuades Kali to marry the newly-elected councilor Gunavanthi, a woman with a dubious reputation. Kali and his partner in what seems like a bad joke, get to feature in a song, a medley of some classic Tamil hits.
Post-interval it is action-time for the hero. There is the new entrant to the plot, Teja the villain of the piece (Reddy, the film’s producer). Teja gets a dramatic introduction scene, a privilege the hero had missed. Teja even gets to do a sizzling song-dance number. He is a gangster who brews illicit liquor in the woods and his spurious stuff is a killer drink. Needless to say Marudhu takes on the whole gang singlehandedly. There is a futile attempt to convey a message.
Sridhar has choreographed the song-dance numbers. But not one number stands out. Considering that he is a seasoned choreographer and this his first ‘heroic’ venture, he surely could have taken more effort. The film hadn’t raised any great expectations, so there is not much of a disappointment either.