PAAGAN – REVIEW
Another debutant director Aslam forays into filmmaking with Paagan which has Srikanth and Janani Iyer in the lead. It is a romantic comedy set in western Tamil Nadu small town Pollachi and shifts to Tiruppur.
Aslam and his producers must have thought that comedy is the best formula that is working at the box-office. Throw in Parotta Suri and Black Pandi as hero Srikanth’s friends along with Kovai Sarala as the mother; you have a comedy riot in the first half.
The real hero of the movie is a cycle that plays the ‘Suthradhar’ that makes the story move forward. The cycle owned by Subramani (Srikanth) narrates the life, times and romance of its owner who is very sentimental about it. The cycle plays an important role throughout the film. Subramani and his friends, Velliyangiri (Soori) and Makali (Pandi) plan several overnight get-rich schemes, which backfire.
Finally they come up with what they think is a safe-proof get rich scheme of the charmer Subramani falling in love with the daughter of the richest man in the town, Mahalakshmi (Janani Iyer). They feel it is the easy way out to get rich as Subramani will inherit all her wealth. But their carefully laid out plans go awry, which leads to further twists in the tale.
The first half of the film is fairly entertaining but the second half it loses track and goes about in circles. From a comedy it becomes preachy and sentimental and a forced climax. Why did somebody have to place a bomb on the poor cycle?
Srikanth looks dashing and debonair and hard to believe he is a village boy. The turn around in his character in the second half is one of the weaknesses of the film, though comedy scenes like him jumping into the well is a scream. Janani Iyer looks beautiful and it is a relief to watch a Tamil girl speaking in her own voice. Soori and Pandi between them have come out with some humorous scenes. Kovai Sarala is too loud and irritating
What’s happening to James Vasanthan ? His music is one of the biggest drawbacks of thefilm. There is not even one hummable number. Laxman's camerawork of lush green of Pollachi mixed with industrial Tiruppur lights up the film.
On the whole Paagan is a light hearted comedy which could have been better if some care was taken over its script.
