Goli Soda Review - This fizz does give a high

PUBLISHED DATE : 25/Jan/2014

Goli Soda Review - This fizz does give a high

Goli Soda Review - This fizz does give a high 

Bharath Vijayakumar


Goli Soda is noted cinematographer Vijay Milton's second dabble at direction after Azhagai Irukkirai Bayamai Irukkirathu. The genre is a complete U turn from his previous flick. Does this 'Goli Soda' pack a fizz?

 

Plot:

Goli Soda is essentially a tale of the underdogs taking on the powerful. Four adolescents make a living by carrying loads in a market area. Life is fun for them despite the hardships. What irks and saddens them is their lack of identity.To set it right they set up a small business with the help of a local trade union leader. As they begin to reap the benefits of their hard-work they get into a tangle with gangsters and life isn't going to be the same anymore.


Cast and Crew:


The four boys who made an impression in Pasanga team up as the lead players in Goli Soda. Their performance brims with confidence and for their age they have an assured screen presence. The two girls too make an impression. Sujatha Sivakumar shines as their mentor. The lead villain has done a good job and the dubbing (Samuthirakani's voice ?) elevates the impact. Imman Annachi adds fun to the proceedings.

 

Music by S. N. Arunagiri (songs) and A. Seelin (BGM) is neat. The movie has a live feel to it thanks to Vijay Milton's cinematography. Certain frames are shaky and add to the candid camera feel. Vijay Milton had earlier successfully employed this in Vazhakku En 18/9. Director Pandiraj has written the dialogues for the film which ranges from being realistic to cinematic. Dialogues like ‘We are not old enough to hit them back but we are also not too young to run away’ strike a chord. Antony's editing keeps the proceedings quite gripping and the running time of the film is just right at about 2 hours. The stunts are nicely done. They are actually over the top scenarios but the stunt choreography has nicely the masked the exaggeration. 

 

What sets it apart?

Goli Soda is a surprise package as you would be least expecting an action film with the 'Pasanga boys' splashing on the film's posters. The film starts of much like Marina and you are actually expecting a docu-drama on the lives of the kids in Koyambedu. But things take quite a bloody turn before the intermission. Despite the seeming impossibility the director has the audience rooting for the kids to take on the baddies and this is where Goli Soda emerges triumphant. Much like many commercial potboilers the baddies here too are shown clueless and react in hurry throwing common sense out of the window. But having forgiven our mass heroes all this while we can definitely give some patronage to these kids from Goli Soda.

 

The lip sync at a few places has been taken for granted. The Powerstar-Sam Anderson song though done with restraint is definitely out of place in the film and adds no value to it. The violence is a little sadistic and we feel the stomach churn a little more as it involves kids. But thankfully it is not shown explicitly.

 

Bottomline:

Goli Soda certainly packs a fizz. The fizz is a little overdone in the second half but nevertheless gripping. Watch this gripping action drama which has a bunch of teens in the forefront!


Rating

Related Links :  Goli Soda User Rating

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