Bhooloham  -  This boxer delivers both punches and misses

Bharath Vijayakumar

A lot of change happens from the time a script emerges in the minds of a filmmaker until it takes it's final shape. Audience these days are always on the move and what looked exciting when an idea blossomed the initial time might even look outdated by the time it hits the screens.So how does Bhooloham that has been lying in the cans for a while fare? Does this boxer pack a punch? 


Plot: 

A boxer is on a crusade against sportsmen being pawns at the hands of corporate bigwigs. 

Cast: 

Earnestness has been the hallmark of Jayam Ravi. He might or might not come out on top but his commitment towards the job on hand has always been palpable. As the ruffian who acts on impulse he does a very good job. He has to ham it up at occasions as his character has eccentric streaks and to his credit he pulls those off without making a mockery of himself. Prakashraj plays something similar to what he did in the recent Inji Iduppazhagi. But this portrayal is lot more grounded and believable. 


The punches and the misses: 

The striking aspect about Bhooloham is that it is essentially a sports film unlike most which merely use sports as a backdrop. Boxing takes centrestage right at the beginning and everything that happens  is atleast remotely connected to it. The love track is almost non existent if you excuse a couple of forgettable scenes. The film has a sense of direction throughout. But the first half does seem stagnant at a few places. That said you cannot deny the fact that you hardly recollect a redundant scene in the film. After the hero identifies the real evil the film does jet along towards the finish line. The boxing sequences look life like with a definite authentic feel to them. Despite the raw edges it is surprising that the film never really has any rash action sequence or an item song out of nowhere.The focus mostly if not always stays within the ring. Srikanth Deva's songs does surprise a bit. They are not catchy or hummable numbers but there is no din and the lyrics sometimes actually registers with you. The film could have been a little more crisper. A few jump cuts show up now and then. Probably inevitable because of the delay. Delivering a sermon is all fine. But an American able to comprehend the message spoken in 'Madras Baashai' is literally taking us for a ride. And this is another film that has truly black or white characters. Somehow when this happens you are sort of taken back by a few years when commercial Tamil cinema had only two characters 'MGR' and 'Nambiyar'. 


Bottomline: 

Bhooloham does deliver a few knockout punches. But the frequency of these punches is on the lower side. On the whole it is an eminently watchable film that shows glimpses of potential in scaling greater heights. 

 

Rating: 2.5/5

Bhoologam is currently rated 53% at MC, post your rating and review here