On a commercial spree -- Pori
A LARGER THAN LIFE IMAGE FOR JEEVA: Pori
Pori
Genre: Action
Director: Subramaniam Siva
Cast: Jeeva, Puja, Nagesh
Storyline: Shocked by the
way land grabbers cheat
innocent people the hero
takes up the cudgels for
them.
Bottomline: Treatment goes
awry.
Flippancy and levity give way to a serious topical subject that opens towards the end of the first half in Nivi-Pavi Creations' `Pori' (U). After an offbeat attempt in `E,' Jeeva emerges with `Pori' to mark his presence on the commercial circuit. He is a one-man army, who takes on powerful villains with the predictable ease of a cinema hero. The normal human psyche always wants the evil punished and the good rewarded. So what if realism is overpowered by unnatural heroism!
Filmmaker Subramaniam Siva re-enters after a bumper harvest with `Thiruda Thirudi' a few years ago. His choice of subject is innovative, and astuteness in parts of the dialogue enjoyable.
Hari (Jeeva) is a seemingly fun-loving young man who's a responsible shop owner too. His father (Nagesh), a well-meaning, retired schoolmaster, buys a piece of property for his son to set up a bookstore. And when Hari gets to know that the premises had been fraudulently sold to his dad even without the real owner's knowledge, he rises against the land grabbers who continue unfazed with their task of cheating the gullible public.
Director Siva sends across a note of caution to us through `Pori,' and has to be commended for it.
Nagesh shines
Jeeva is apt, heroine Puja acquits herself well and Nagesh proves his calibre yet again. His voice sounds slurred at times but the timing, as usual, is excellent — so is his body language. And it's a treat to watch the actor reacting perfectly to others' dialogue, even when he doesn't mouth any. The villain, who unabashedly imitates the voice modulation of Prakashraj, is made to look like a brainless buffoon rather than a mafia don, when he needlessly follows Hari's instructions and heads towards a vague destination!
In the titles, the graphics hurt, the camera offends and the background music jars. Certain sequences make you wonder if it is actually `Iyarkai' technician N.K.Ekambaram's cinematography! Neither is there anything actually eye-catching about G.K.'s artwork. But Anthony's editing lends perceptible tempo to the narration.
Group dances that seem to follow each other once too often make you wail in agony, especially because composer Dhina's use of instruments is sheer attack on the eardrum in the name of music. Yugabharati's `Paerunthil' is a soothing lyric that offers solace with some melody. But the `Manmadha Raasa' like number in the second half injudiciously placed in the midst of high-action drama is unbearable for its crudeness! Also, the heroine's introduction sequences are protractions that affect the pace of `Pori.' Screenplay is a definite sufferer.
`Pori's theme that comes to the fore rather late, is new ... and that's about it.
MALATHI RANGARAJAN
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