Pandiarajan’s son Prithvi has a third attempt at the box office through Pathinettam Kudi. His previous two outings did not get the desired result and this time he has resorted to a tried and tested formula, at least in recent times.

Pathinettam Kudi is about a group of friends and their escapades with romance thrown in for an additional dimension. The premise is something akin to what we have seen in many recent movies; four boys working together under a person running petty contracts; they spend almost all their time together and are willing to do almost anything for each other. That is how they end up as facilitators for a love story of one among them. The problems that follow and the way out of them is the crux of the movie.

The two things that the movie has tried to lean upon are the bonding of the male group and the excitement of an elopement followed by a chase. The bonding aspect works for a while. How much ever overused, the backslapping camaraderie of a few friends still entertains us; but the humour does get typically low brow at times. At other times you also have to sit through some pretty lame jokes. But the overall portrayal of the relationship shared by the four boys is quite good.

The romance however happens too fast, like many movies over the years; it almost looks frivolous and never really gathers your sympathy or feelings. So, the subsequent events don’t really excite you in the overall context of the story, but those scenes have been shot quite well. Some of these portions and the final minutes of the film are very heavily inspired from Naadodigal; a bit more originality wouldn’t have hurt.

Prithvi delivers one of his better performances to date but has to do a lot more if he has to follow his dad’s footsteps. The other youngsters playing his friends have done neat jobs in quite uncomplicated characters. The heroine doesn’t make a big mark. Singam Puli as the employer of the youngsters makes you laugh on many occasions. The technical departments have done just about enough for the film.

Pathinettam Kudi is a film that has relied heavily on wit and friendship to carry it through. But, there is only so much that these elements can do in the absence of a strong central theme. The movie is about four carefree youngsters and ends up that way; carefree and languid. Apart from the moments of humour and companionship; there is not much of an impact.

Verdict: Mildly amusing ‘friends’ flick