It’s always a special feeling to see a Tamil boy shine in the world market; We have our very own Dhanush rubbing shoulders with top French actors like Bérénice Bejo and Gérard Jugnot; he has done an incredible job to pull off a good show on a turf that he is not much used to. But, apart from the Dhanush factor, there is hardly anything that a Tamil film fan could connect with, in Pakkiri. Yes, it’s a dubbed movie with a nice storyline but should you watch this film in Tamil? Maybe not?

Raja Kumaraguru Lakshmipathy (Dhanush) is a poor street magician living in Mumbai. He sets off on a journey to find his estranged father in ,Paris with a fake EUR 100 note. Raja eventually gets dragged on a never-ending adventure. His journey takes him to places like London, Spain, Rome, Libya and eventually to Paris again. The story involves different cultures and different languages but all the characters in Pakkiri talk in Tamil, which makes it less realistic and at places a little confusing.

When you translate a novel into a film, it is important you make it in an extensive manner. How can Raja speak the language that the Europeans speak? How can he travel between all these countries so easily? Are the cops that dumb? Even fictional stories need to be told in a realistic way, which was missing in Pakkiri. According to the script, Raja is someone who struggles for his livelihood but with what was shown on screen, it looked like everything happens for him very easily. Most people he meets are actually nice and they help him overcome his struggle. The lead's relationship with some of the characters wasn’t established well enough. And the love story looked very weak and lifeless.

We get to see Dhanush as youthful and well-groomed as ever. The naughty, cheeky, flirty side of Dhanush is also on view here and it is an easy outing for this experienced star, even though it is an atypical ground for him to perform on. Amidst some mediocre acting by the supporting actors, Dhanush stood tall with his natural expressions. He is the lifeline of Pakkiri and it would have been really hard to sit through this Tamil version if not for him.
The film moves along at a pretty leisurely pace and one can't go in expecting a racy ride from start to finish. Weighing all the positives and negatives, Pakkiri is ultimately an effort which needs to be positively considered. A leading star like Dhanush, going out of his comfort zone to explore something new altogether, is a huge decision that demands application and deserves appreciation. Pakkiri deserves to be seen for Dhanush’s effort but nothing else!

Rating: 2.5/5