PONMAALAI POZHUDHU MOVIE REVIEW

Aadhav Kannadasan, grandson of the legendary lyricist Kannadasan, makes his screen debut in a poetically titled film directed by AC Durai who again is a debutant having assisted the likes of Krishna and Suraaj.

The title Pon Maalai Pozhudhu seems to suggest the young impressionable years (or times) which eventually become the foundation for life. It is a coincidence that the Tamil audiences are subjected to similar themes in a very short span. A few weeks earlier, it was Aadhalal Kaadhal Seiveer that talked about love and its ramifications in the life of college students and now in Pon Maalai Pozhudhu (PMP), the quintessential indispensable ingredient of Tamil cinema, viz. THE LOVE strikes school going students.

The main idea that the director wants to convey is good on paper and thought but his execution of this well intentioned initiative lets him down. The manner in which things are spun over this axle should have been done in an interesting and engrossing manner.

It is actually quite puzzling to look at the way youngsters are portrayed in our films. It appears that all of them are obsessed only with ‘love’ and nothing else and go to their respective schools and colleges only to fulfill this desire. This appears far removed from reality and cannot be considered as a good influence on the vulnerable minds.

Aadhav and Gayathri (Nadula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom) are in their 12^th grade and belong to parents who reside in two extreme points in the spectrum in their thinking and social stature. While Gayathri’s family is affluent, her dad is a short tempered uncouth ruffian. On the other hand, Aadhav’s father Kishore is much balanced and sensitive to his son’s feelings but is a struggling middle class man. The contrast in their characterization is well brought out.

One of the pluses of the film is its casting. Aadhav and Gayathri are quite convincing as school going young adults. Aadhav is natural, uninhibited and is a good find. He dances well and justifies close-up frames for heavy duty emotional scenes. Gayathri, in the scene where she snubs her brother with a liplock with Aadhav, the young girl emerges successful. 

Kishore loses himself to his character of an understanding father who does not want his son’s life to end up like his. He brings in a lot of dignity to his role with just a few words but loads to express through his eyes and body language. Anupama Kumar as his wife dishes out her role with empathy. Arul Das is perfect as the unreasonable dad with his cantankerous outbursts and angry demeanor.  In fact, his characterization appears very real and comes out trumps.

Sathya’s Iravugalil stays on with good picturization but all the other songs appear to be an extension of one another and are a forced protraction. Loud RR does not help the proceeding in any way.  

Pon Maalai Pozhudhu has its moments and dialogues in some places sparkle and they all mostly belong to Kishore and Arul Das conveying the anxiety of parents.

In sum, here is a product that had good purpose but the manner in which it is implemented leaves a lot to be desired. Had it been tuned to the right frequency, PMP would have worked better.