This past week's big release was director Suseenthiran's 2nd outing with Vishal, Paayum Puli. A lot was expected out of the film due to the success of Pandiya Nadu and also the director's reputation for making consistently watchable films. Plus, Vishal as a cop, the Imman factor, Soori and Kajal Aggarwal were other pulling factors.
Audiences may have expected the director to have treated the romance between Vishal and Kajal in an enjoyable manner, thanks to his earlier works in Naan Mahaan Alla and Pandiya Nadu where the romance tracks were refreshing and the heroines weren't there to just flaunt their skin in the song sequences. But in Paayum Puli, Suseenthiran really disappointed in this aspect and a majority of the audience felt that Kajal wasn't even needed in the film.
Her characterization as a timid, child-like woman who doesn't know to ride a nova and doesn't even have the courage to cross the road (with an apt song titled 'Muyalkutti') was pretty annoying. All she did was flaunt her slender figure and move her body in revealing attires, in the two dispensable song sequences. Not to forget, breaking bubbles while waiting at a signal. Of course, the hero finds all this very attractive and falls for her, instantly! The heroine's role and Kajal's portrayal of the same came in for heavy scrutiny in the ruthless Twitter world, as it didn't contribute in any way to the film's actual content.
All this, coming from a director like Suseenthiran was definitely disappointing. Even in his earlier film Jeeva, I felt that had he stuck on to his core cricket politics premise and not diluted it too much with comedy and romance, the impact would have been stronger. The same way, here in Paayum Puli, though the comedy element from Soori gelled better with the plot as he too was a cop, the needless songs and the unimaginative romance were major fillers. The heavy Pandiya Nadu hangover, with the presence of similar family characters and sentiments, was another downer.
But overall Paayum Puli isn't a bad movie, as the second half did have some good moments when the film turns into a tense investigative cat and mouse game between the police and baddies. The interval twist, a convincing Vishal, an enjoyable Soori, Samuthirakani's commanding show, the impressive camera work by Velraj and Imman's RR are high points. Had the director been more focused and gutsy enough to eschew the aforesaid fillers, the film would have pounced straight into our hearts. A case of promise not fulfilled. Better luck next time, Mr. Suseenthiran
