Review: Pattiyal

Pattiyal is inspired by the Thai film "Bangkok Dangerous" (there is a slight hint of City of Gods as well). Sorry, if I broke the bubble, its not original. But, I have to admit that it has been well adapted to the tamil milieu, it is technically slick and has some amazing performances. Pattiyal is just what Kollywood needs to spice things up in what has so far been a dull 2006.

The story is centered around childhood friends Kosy(Arya) and Selva(Bharath)who are contract killers.The bearded Kosy is very talkative and very very drunk throughout the movie. Selva, who is deaf and dumb can talk only through his eyes and hands. Arya as Kosy is fantastic. He is no wonder the rising star, women like him for obvious reasons, the college going crowd considers him cool, the audience at B and C centres seems to have developed a special liking for him after his Arindhum Ariyalum portrayal of the 'local' rowdy. So it wasn't very surprising to hear women shriek and men shower confetti on Arya's introduction. Bharath plays the mute Selva to perfection.His performance was a revelation, because I thought he over acted in Chellamae and didn't particularly shine in an ensemble film like Boys.In Pattiyal, Bharath manages to transform himself from a cold hearted killer, to a trusted friend, to the lovesick youngster with such amazing ease.

Saami(Cochin Haneefa) is the middleman who provides Kosy and Selva their targets. Its nice to see such a talented actor like Haneefa back in a tamil movie. I can never forget his performance in Mahanadhi-to me, that was the epitome of evil. In Pattiyal his character is not as villainous but nonetheless he comes up with a brilliant performance. Contract killing in chennai is portrayed as something thats very unorganized. Kosy and Selva are just normal guys who lead a very ordinary life in the slum playing football, watching TV and going to movies. Similarly, Saami is a government employee who gets into the killing business for the money. Infact, the local goons in the slum are not even aware of the Kosy-Selva- Saami nexus.

Saro (Padmapriya) and Sandhya (Pooja) complete the star cast. Saro lives in the same slum as Koshy.For some inexplicable reason, she is head over heels over the perenially drunk Koshy (Woman, wake up! he kills people for a living). There! got that off my chest.I wanted to yell at her in the theatre but the constant shrieks for Arya made me a little nervous. Selva's heart warms up for Sandhya, a pharmacist, when he goes to her shop to get some medication for his cold.The scenes shared by Selva and Sandhya slackens the pace of the movie. I guess its because Pooja has to talk for herself as well as Bharath which at times tests ones patience.The romance track could have been just as cute as Sandhya (Pooja). I think I am being a little harsh because Ghajini has kinda raised the standard bar. Padmapriya, ex-analyst at GE, through Pattiyal has gone for an image makeover. She goes the distance to shed off the "pretty, shy and dimunitive girl" image that she acquired from her last hit, tear jerker movie Thavamai Thavamirundhu - How?- What else, an item number. I must admit that it wasn't as bad as the ones you get to see from Malavika and Namitha. I guess the Sania Mirza quote - "well behaved women seldom make history" must have struck a chord with Padmapriya.

Now to the cons. The first half is incoherent. An insipid flash back (The last time I liked a flash back was Dhool where the Vivek-Vikram-Jo voice over's was something novel and funny), random murders and some random scenes which just add some more reels to a very short movie (run time 130 minutes). But, its just a small blip in an otherwise taut and well executed movie. The climax is absolutely riveting where Bharath delivers a knock out performance.The songs are brilliant, YSR seems to be conquering new heights every passing month (His releases in the last 6 months- Sandakozhi, Kanda Naal Mudhal, Kalavanin Kadhali, Pudhupettai, Pattiyal, AIBI- Impressive!). The director (Vishnuvardhan) has picturized the songs imaginatively. The "Poga Poga...." song is the pick of the album and manages to tickle your funny bone on screen.

I know this a late review, anyway its a good movie go and watch it! :)

PS. Appan coming shortly- So sorry !