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Poo is poetic – Movie Review |
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| Behindwoods
Movie Review Board |
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Starring:
Srikanth, Parvathi
Direction: Sasi
Music:
S S Kumaran
Production: Moserbaer, Nesagee Cinema |
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“Simplicity is the glory of expression,” said
Walt Whitman, and Poo may be one of the best elucidators of
this quote. It is beautiful without being complicated, moving
without being disturbing and mellow without being mushy. Poo
is about love, relations, dreams and sacrifices. |
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It
is difficult to reveal any aspect of the plot of the
movie because that might amount to disservice to a carefully
crafted work of art. This is not to say that Poo is
art-house cinema, it instead treats cinema at a different
level where there is neither an antagonist nor a protagonist
and only the inscrutable ways of destiny determine the
fate of characters who remain so true to the story without
even an element of cinematic liberty being thrown in.
It seems to be a true interpretation of what Shakespeare
so famously said, “All the world’s a stage
and all men and women are the players.”
Poo is set in the rustic surroundings of Rajapalayam
where life is simple and slow and ambitions are limited.
It tells the story of two young children, a boy and
a girl, their families and their dreams in life. What
happens when dreams clash? Someone has to let go of
their dream for the others to realize theirs’.
It is one person’s love and affection for the
other that makes them sacrifice hoping sincerely that
the object of their love will have a better life sharing
someone else’s dream. It is also “love”
that makes people give up their own dreams and believe
in someone |
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else, trusting them with their life. But when sacrifices go
in vain and life of the loved one looks far from the bed of
roses that had been envisaged, then it is a kind of helplessness
that engulfs the mind and one is left to live only in sorrow,
grieving the dream that was never to be.
Poo is a movie that has given some budding actors a wonderful
opportunity to set foot in the industry and they have done
it with élan. Parvathy, the debut heroine has done
a marvelous job, not at all showing any signs of inexperience.
She excels in all kinds of expressions and an interesting
thing is that at times one can detect traces of Padmapriya.
Parvathy will definitely be a strong contender for the best
debut award this year. Srikanth is on screen after a long
time and appears in a role that is not the regular hero type.
First, congrats to him for making the choice. He is adequate
without being excellent, fitting neatly into the character.
But the one who steals the show is the actor who plays Srikanth’s
father, he is splendid and one to look out for in similar
roles in future. The Rajapalayam accent has been adapted to
near perfection throughout the movie. Poo is devoid of any
commercial element. There are a few scenes here and there
with situational humor that do not fail to amuse. The emotional
scenes are the best. Made to near perfection, they will move
even the most passive viewer close to tears, especially the
climatic scenes. The movie has content that is enough just
for a short story and has been narrated fluently on screen.
Then there are stars behind the camera. Cinematographer P.G.
Muthiah has done a wonderful job, translating all the rural
charm onto screen. Veerasamar has matched the camera with
his art. One is left wondering whether the huts are sets or
real ones. Debutant composer S.S. Kumaran deserves accolades
for his score and re-recording. Three songs, Maman, Aavaram
Poo and Choo Choo Maari stand out as excellent compositions.
But the one man who deserves an ovation here is director Sasi.
This must be his best work to date. Handling the story, screenplay,
dialogue and direction, he has given a product that will please
all true lovers of cinema. He must also be credited with extracting
moving performances from the cast.
Overall, Poo is like a beautiful poem. Poetry is not everyone’s
cup of tea and one is not sure how many will be able to appreciate
this subtly narrated story of dreams and sacrifices. It is
a sincere wish that Poo does well, Tamil cinema will be better
off with the success of a movie like Poo. But one finds it
hard to see how the movie will achieve commercial success,
given its simple yet beautiful narration.
As the saying goes, “Simplicity is nature’s first
step and the last of art.”
Verdict
- Poo – Poetic
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