Veteran director P Vasu has made very ordinary fare under the name, Thottal Poo Malarum (the touch will make the flower bloom) -- the Tamil venture to launch his son Shakti as a hero.

Apart from the acknowledged cast and crew, Vasu has been assisted in this endeavour by another senior megaphone wielder KS Ravi Kumar, as a guest artiste. Towards the climax, Kumar makes a crack, 'I only hope that your story isn't spoilt by silly circumstances.'

A college stalker (Shakti) decides to chase a rich heiress (Gowri Munjal). Her mother (Suganya) does not like it and transports the girl to Mumbai, to be cocooned by her brother and hoodlum (Raj Kiran). After a few puzzling incidents, the bad man decides to play marriage broker. After a feeble attempt at an anticlimax with the help of a pillow (!), all is well that ends well.

Nasser plays a 'tutorial professor' (is there such a being in the real world?) and parent to Shakti without doing much. It is obvious that Vadivelu has lost his bananas. The rest, including Munjal, are wasted.

Since his father Vasu has been credited with the story, screenplay dialogues and direction, Shakti certainly deserved better.

The title alludes to a flowering bloom. Calling it a bloomer would be more like it.

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