Polladhavan

Dhanush & the art of motorcycle

Dhanush seems to be back in the groove in Polladhavan. It is a movie that highlights the strength of Dhanush. The boy next-door image has been his forte which was utilised well by director Selvaraghavan.

Taking a leaf out of Selvah’s book, debutant Vettrimaran has cast Dhanush as a happy-go-lucky youngster, who freaks out with his friends, kicks up ruckus on the streets and indulges in romance with a girl whom he comes across in a bus stand.
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The movie reminds one of Pudhupettai in parts. Dwells on the underworld in Chennai and how an innocent youth falls victim to it. Dhanush, as Prabhu, has lived the character. His transformation from a careless youth to a responsible son has been dealt well. After a fiasco in his last Parattai Engira Azhagu Sundaram, the actor has ensured that he got his act right. Murali as Dhanush’s strict father is an apt choice. Bhanupriya as a doting mother performs the role with ease. Dhivya as Dhanush’s lady love has nothing much to do but to appear for a couple of song sequences appearing in skimpy costumes. Santhanam and Karunaas provide humour. Their oneliners portray life in Chennai. Daniel Balaji has carried on from where he left in Vettaiyadu Vilayadu.

Vettrimaran’s non-linear narration and packaging style deserve special mention. The climax stunts inspired by Matrix has been choreographed well. But could have certainly avoided gore and bloodshed. The director seems to have done his homework well for he captures the daily life of the local goons in north Chennai to near perfection.

Prabhu (Dhanush), an aimless youth, is chided by his father. He questions his father’s upbringing. The angry father throws a part of his savings challenging him to come up in life. Instead Dhanush buys a motorcycle. The rest of the movie revolves around the motorcycle.

The bike gets Dhanush a job, saves his life from an accident and gets him his lover. But later he loses his motorcycle and all his fortunes go missing one after another. In his bid to trace his missing motorcycle, he crosses swords with a dadha (Daniel Balaji). They now target his family to seek revenge. Will Dhanush save his family and get his bike back forms the rest of the story.

The young G V Prakash has come up with catchy tunes. But it is Yogi B, a Malaysian rap singer, who steals the show coming up with a racy remix of yesteryear hit song Yengeum Eppodhum.

A movie for action-lovers, Polladhavan is a filter coffee served with the right Chennai flavour