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Director Boopathy Pandian's Tamil film Pattathu Yaanai is an average fare, marred by a poor script and weak performances, writes S Saraswathi.
After the success of Malaikottai (2007), director Boopathy Pandian and actor Vishal Krishna team up together for another commercial entertainer, Pattathu Yaanai.
Action King Arjun’s daughter, Aishwarya makes her debut in Tamil films.
Keeping in mind the current trend, comedy superstar Santhanam plays an important role in the film. Seetha, Jagan, Pattimandam Raja, Manobala, Mayil Sami and Vada Poche Sarithiran form the rest of the cast.
The film is produced by Michael Rayappan under his Global Infotainment banner, while the film’s US distribution rights have been acquired by GK Media. The dubbed version in Telugu titled Dheeradu is also being released simultaneously.
The story opens in Karaikudi, where Gouravam (Santhanam) is a well-known traditional cook making a living undertaking orders for marriage functions. He is forced into taking an order for a local goon’s wedding and is not happy about it.
Saravanan (Vishal) and his four friends, who come to work for him as junior cooks, offer to help him but land him in even greater trouble and they are forced to flee Karaikudi.
The story shifts to Trichy, where Saravanan and his friends have grand plans of opening a restaurant with the help of Gouravam and his money. Here, just like in Malaikottai, it is love at first sight for Saravanan when he sees Aishwarya (Aishwarya Arjun). Things go wrong and as their love deepens we are introduced to two rival gangs, Kasi and Manaa along with a ‘Madurai Anachi’ who are constantly at each other’s throat.
In the first half, Vishal plays a meek and spineless character, but predictably just before the interval we see a completely new avatar as Vishal turns aggressive and starts bashing up all the innumerable goons he has been running away from all this while.
Music by S S. Thaman in Pattathu Yaanai is forgettable. Even the love anthem by the famous Gana Bala fails to evoke any enthusiasm.
Santhanam seems to be the current favourite among most directors these days and as far as performances are concerned, he lives up to the expectations. His brand of comedy seems to be gaining popularity, and he manages to shoulder just as much or sometimes even more responsibility than the heroes themselves.
Vishal’s character is very boring, even the first-class action sequences, for which he is well known seems to be missing in the film. He appears to be disinterested and fails to make any kind of impact. The film does not seem like an ideal platform for debutante Aishwarya Arjun, who does not have much to do.
Pattathu Yaanai is a disappointing half-hearted effort by both Pandian and Krishna. The film has a poorly written script and has neither the music nor the performances to carry it through. Only the comic elements in the film and Santhanam make it watchable.
The villains themselves provides some comic relief towards the end of the film, which is welcome break in the second half, that has Santhanam appearing only in the climax.
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