SP Jananathan likes his lectures. In Purampokku Engira Podhuvudamai, we see a variety of them. Communism, toxic dumps, the state of our prison system…there’s enough space for them all in this film. Which should give you an idea of its run time. At a little over two and a half hours, this is one long lesson.
One that entertains in parts.
Entertainment though is not the point here. Jananathan is more interested in the takeaways. He wants to educate, not entertain.
Minor concessions are made to entertaining people. The songs, for instance. The Kalaasi song gives a brief history of Vijay Sethupathi’s Yemalingam. ‘I drink because I can’t handle my job’ he sings, making a mournful confession type scene completely unnecessary. Smart.
Karthika Nair’s wardrobe choices too must be one of those concessions. She is exquisitely turned out. Hair in perfect waves, make up intact at all times. There’s no artifice about her though. She plays the aggressive Kuyili as it was meant to be. Direct and brutal and unabashed; India’s answer to the black widow. Shame she doesn’t have many stunt scenes… unless you count that acrobatic dance she does with Arya.
*****
Arya’s Balu we’re told, is a very misunderstood man. One who works tirelessly for his people, his country. An altruist, in the truest sense of the word. In the process of his altruistic pursuits, he manages to do something traitorous and is sentenced to death.
The movie then unfolds as a political thriller, involving several players. There’s a police officer, Macaulay (Shyam), who holds the law sacred, but is prone to excess. Karthika Nair as Kuyili, a firebrand activist who tirelessly plots to break Arya out of jail. In the midst of it all is Arya and his deadpan stare – mouthing dialogues that sit ill at ease on his tongue. When his Hindi sounds a whole lot better than his Tamil, well that’s when you know you’ve got a problem.
Samuthirakani had played a similar role in Kaadu; and was a much better fit. Arya with his high quality shampooed hair and movie star looks is gloriously miscast.
*****
Vijay Sethupathi plays an alcoholic version of his Idhaba role; prone to overacting in certain scenes, like the one where he rolls around in the beach. In the first half, he’s consistently melodramatic. Cursing the world, his mother and everybody else for his fate.
It is towards the end that he settles down into his role. He is manipulated into doing the very thing that he dreads the most. He pays a heavy price.
*****
Like Peranmai, this film is brutally honest. In the former, Jayam Ravi continues to live in the shadow of his superior. His fight had no meaning, at least not the tangible kind. There’s no promotion, no glory. Life is as it was before.
Recommended
With Purampokku…, it is the same. All the preaching that Arya and his band of activists do..it doesn’t effect a miraculous change in society. Macaulay does not suddenly have a change of heart; the Government doesn’t put an end to toxic dumps. Balu’s sacrifice doesn’t really change anything. Life goes on like it did.
There’s no neat post credits sequence that spells out a happy ending. The struggle continues.
*****
Shout out: Om Puri as Vijay Sethupathi’s father. A cameo appearance in the truest sense of the word.
Not Cool: Srikanth Deva’s background score is so very Mission Impossible.
*****
The Purampokku Engira Podhuvudamai review is a Silverscreen original article. It was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the movie. Silverscreen.in and its writers do not have an advertising relationship with movies that are reviewed on the site.