Paayum Puli - Known Animal In A Familiar Terrain

Bharath Vijayakumar

In a short span Sussenthiran has made some memorable films. The most striking aspect is that he makes these films quite quickly and strikes a neat balance between creativity and commercial viability.

Plot:

A mafia is a on a spree, blackmailing businessmen for huge sums of money and killing them if they fail to oblige. The police force decides to take the undercover route to resolve this.

Cast:

Vishal is at home playing the upright cop. There is a definite uni dimensional feel to his character that fails to spice up the proceedings. Samuthirakini in a crucial role is apt.But once again the 'X' factor is missing. Soori provides a few laughs and it is a relatively better outing for him in recent times.Kajal serves the purpose and to her credit it is an achievement that she does not make us detest her despite playing the 'too naive to believe' heroine for the umpteenth time.

Crew:

Imman's songs are catchy but serve only as speed-breakers. The stunts are kept to a human level but the adrenaline rush so crucial to an action film is missing.

Direction:

Paayum Puli is an eminently watchable flick. But it falls short of what you would expect from Suseenthiran. The film follows a linear narration. More surprisingly it reveals quite a lot quite early on. The undercover aspect is revealed in a few minutes. The trump card of the film which is the identity of the villain too is revealed at mid point.While this in itself is not a problem there isn't enough tension to keep us hooked. We know how all this would end. Hence packing the proceedings with interesting events becomes a must.This is where Paayum Puli falters a bit. The tactics the hero employs to nab the culprit fail to evoke an awe. While a comparison is not the right way to go about it, the 'Thani Oruvan' hangover has us asking for more in this cop flick. The first half in fact follows a very strict template. The item number had no place in this film.The second half makes for more compelling viewing with quite a few emotions working out reasonably towards the climax. Despite a predictable fare it is to the credit of the maker that he has us with the film till the credits roll.

Bottomline:

A watchable template action film in an all too familiar setting.

Rating: 2.75/5

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