By Galatta [ September 14, 2011 ]
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After Aptha Rakshaka (Kannada) and Nagavalli (Telugu), director P. Vasu is back in Kollywood with Puli Vesham, starring RK and Karthik in the lead roles. The film narrates the journey of an innocent youth from village to city. RK dons the role of a rowdy and Karthik plays an encounter specialist. A lot of youngsters come to Chennai in the hope of making it big. But they aren’t aware of the difficulties they have to face in the city and are forced to live a mechanical life. They put on a mask to hide their emotions and lead two lives: one for themselves and another for the world. This is what Puli Vesham (U/A) is all about.

Puli Vesham narrates the story of an innocent villager Maniyan (RK), whose life takes an U turn after a series of incidents. How far can a person go to save the lives of their loved ones forms the basic plot of this film. A particular incident changes Maniyan from a loyal servant to a dreadful don. Why and what made him to do so is narrated in a big flashback!

We also have Karthik, an honest police officer who wants to eradicate the criminals from the city. Unlike his counterparts, Karthik's way of handling criminals are pretty different. There are many twists in the film such as Sadaa (a police officer in disguise), Divya Vishwanath as Thamarai (the only daughter of Maniyan's landlord) and Mansoor Ali Khan (a paid killer and kidnapper). There are some interesting twists and turns post the interval and the story ends with a clichéd climax.

Performance-wise, RK has tried his best to play the role of a ruffian, but the biggest letdown is his costume which doesn't suit him. Karthi as usual plays his part well. (But why should he speak his dialogues so slowly?) Sadaa appears in a guest role as a police officer and Divya Vishwanath gives an average performance. Mansoor Ali Khan is too loud whereas Ilavarasu is perfect for the role.

P. Vasu's script and screenplay are interesting in the first half but the pace falters after the interval. A couple of songs and scenes could have been trimmed to increase the pace of the film. Music by Srikanth Deva is average while Durai Karunamoorthy's camera and Don Max's editing are appreciable. Rajashekar's stunt sequences need special mention.