January 30th, 2009
PADIKATHAVAN (Tamil)
Directed by Suraaj
Starring Dhanush, Tamanna, Suman, Vivek, Shayaji Shinde, Pratap Pothan, Atul Kulkarni
FULL of fun and fights, this movie has none of those cartoonish scenes like fighting with cartoon bull or a boat suddenly plunging under a ship, as in Villu, also currently playing in theatres.
Padikathavan pokes fun at action scenes in Tamil movies where the hero takes on a gang of hoods and sends them flying with a single punch.
But this movie is not without faults either.
It seems to advocate youths to kidnap the girls they love from their families, Eve-teasing at college and for youths not to go to work.
But if you don’t take the movie seriously, it’s rather enjoyable, and then instantly forgettable.
The storyline is also nothing new.
Dhanush plays Rocky, the only one in his family who is not educated. As a result, he is always the butt of jokes.
His friends encourage him to marry an educated girl to earn his family’s respect.
Rocky links up with Gayatri (Tamanna).
However, he does not know that she is the daughter of an underworld gang leader (Suman).
One of the funniest scenes involves Rocky going with his family to ask for the hand of a girl in a village.
Comedian Vivek also provides some laughs as a character who unites lovers in trouble while veteran actor-director Pratap Pothan is hilarious as Rocky’s father.
Tamanna (Kedi, Kalloori) has acted in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil films, including Ayan with Surya.
She seems to be giving sexy Nayantara (of Billa fame) fair warning that she’s aiming to be the No.1 heroine in South Indian movies.
Dhanush had built up a big fan base and this was given a tremendous boost when he became superstar Rajnikanth’s son-in-law.
Padikathavan is doing well at the box-office and will be another success for this wiry hero with his boy-next-door looks.
If this run continues, it will be a hattrick of sorts for him after his recent Polladhavan and Yaaradi Nee Mohini.
