UTV’s Poi Solla Porom (U) is also praiseworthy for the sense and sensibility beneath the line of comedy.Its a story of seemingly uncaring children and responsible parents. A crisis stirs chords of affection and unity in the family. Sathyanathan (Nedumudi Venu) aspires to build a dream home for his wife and children with the money he gets after retirement, while son Uppilinathan (Karthik Kumar) is keen to go abroad. So, when an avaricious land broker (VMC Haneefa) gets him a piece of land and also allows the menacing Baby (Nasser), who is into illegal land deals, to occupy it, the family gets together to fight it out, matching fraud for fraud. Help comes to them in the form of Asif (Bosskey), Uppili’s girl friend Amritha (Piya) and her father, whom everyone calls ‘Daddy’ (Mouli).
Director Vijay deserves to be lauded for many aspects of PSP. One, of course, is the cast. Vijay brings out the best in Karthik Kumar, who looks every inch a software professional. He matches, and, at times, overtakes Parvin Dabas who did the part in KKG. Till date, no other director has used Karthik so well. Vying for top honours is Mouli who steals the show with a mind-blowing performance. In the part of ‘Daddy,’ posing as the rich man Varma from Dubai, he wins hands down. Again, it’s quite a break for Bosskey, who does a neat job as Asif, the man plotting to teach the villain a lesson. Underplay is the key and both Bosskey and Balaji (the secretary) emerge successful. New find Piya gets her expressions right though lip sync is an obvious problem. But Suchi’s (she’s dubbed for her) lively voice adds pep to Piya’s expressions. Boman Irani who did Nasser’s role in KKG showed how villainy can be funny … even likeable. Nasser as the land grabber isn’t far behind, but Irani is surely ahead. Nasser looks obese in PSP but it adds to the fun and Nedumudi Venu as Sathyanathan is natural, but again, he only comes a close second to Anupam Kher’s classic portrayal of Khosla Senior. Actor Rajesh who has lent voice for Venu is a definite value-addition.
Vijay’s dialogue, both humorous and thought-provoking, tickles the viewer almost throughout. Na. Muthukumar’s meaningful lyrics, the montage shots for the tracks and the tunes in general are highlights of M.G. Sreekumar’s music. But Gopisundar’s re-recording score is a little too loud for comfort. So, when the instruments fall silent in crucial scenes it’s a relief. If lighting can add to the fun, cinematographer Arvind Krishna’s does. The scene of the first meeting between Nasser and Venu, where the lighting is exaggeratedly eerie, is one such. Editing (Antony) is another satisfying aspect.
Vijay’s remake is as enjoyable as its Hindi counterpart. And in his urge to innovate, he introduces a few more sequences which go down well with the viewer. Kireedam, Vijay’s maiden effort, may not have fetched him the desired results. But this time round, he has understood the pulse of the audience even while sticking to his stand of providing standard fare. The makers should laugh their way to the bank. They deserve to.
