POOVARASAM PEEPEE MOVIE REVIEW

The small budget film 'Poovarasam Peepee' is the debut film for Halitha Shameem, a former protege of Pushkar-Gayathri, Mysskin and Samuthirakani. Co-produced by cinematographer Manoj Paramahamsa, a film on kids is very much welcomed, due to its rarity in Tamizh cinema, except for the recently released 'Goli Soda'. So, can Halitha pull off another charmer like Pandiraj's 'Pasanga' or?

The protagonists are the kids and the trio of Pravin Kishore, C.Gaurav Kaalai and Vasanth have come out with decent performances. Pravin Kishore has a very good screen presence and timing with his dialogues. C.Gaurav Kaalai, has the capability to bloom into an artiste with good dialogue delivery. Vasanth, the cherubic comedian of the trio, looks very comfortable in doing his role. The rest of the kids such as Varshini, Agalya, Gayathrishree, Bharathi, Guhan Kaalai and Ajith are apt for their roles, especially the former two. The antagonists played by Giri Prasath, Kaali Venkat, Sai Hari, Sundar, Karthik and etc have come out with what was expected from them. Kaali Venkat stood out among this lot, with his convincing and confident performance. Samuthirakani makes a cool cameo, towards the climax.

The film was mostly shot on real locations, hence the art direction mostly comprised of props. T.Muthuraj must be complimented for the prop settings he did, especially with windmill and the tree swathed with answer sheets. Also, the minute detailing on the props used by the kids was very authentic and reflected the setting the kids belong to. Editing task has been handled by the director herself. Though she neatly arranges her sequences, the editing was abrupt and thanks to too many sub-plots, the film drags unnecessarily. Some chopping could have done wonders to the film. The film's real highlight is the beautiful cinematography work done by Manoj Paramahamsa. The rain sequence, deserves a special mention for the exquisite framing and camera movement. There are plenty of good landscape shots and Manoj's creativity speaks volume, if you notice the sequence featuring the boys discussing about answer sheets on a tree. Halitha Shameem also takes charge of the color grade of the film and it complements the look and feel of the script, quite well.

Aruldev's music composition passes muster. "Ko Ko Ko" is the opening introductory song for the kids and was shot entirely on a rural school compound. The song highlights the naughty pranks thrown by the kids in the school and Manoj's tight angle in cinematography, deserves mention. "En Ulagam" is a bit song, highlighting the squabble between the boys, in regards to their mini love episodes. "Gnayiru Dhinangalil", throws focus on each individual kids' ambitions and personal joys. The final climax song is the "Angry Birds" song, which has montages of the kids on their plans to bring down the culprits. The background score by Aruldev was okay, though the beginning portion, which had heavy melodramatic score, was really unwarranted.

Halitha Shameem's script is unique in its idea of having juvenile boys solving a crime case. That's an obvious inspiration from popular writer Enid Blyton's formula for her 'Famous Five' series of story books. Halitha seems to have a knack for funny and quirky dialogues, but the staging and execution was far from flawless. There are plenty of sequences with abrupt endings, which jerks the screenplay, losing maximum impact, in the process. Halitha throws in a lot of unnecessary sub-plots which drags the film and at the same time, does not linger enough to register in our minds nor evoke any empathy from us. But still, Halitha should be appreciated for sticking to the lead characters and drawing up sequences, befitting the age and capabilities of the young kids. The radio broadcast sequence, takes the cake among Halitha's ideas. Halitha has trod the fine thin line, of balancing adult issues together with kids inquisitiveness very well, which deserves appreciation. A surprising aspect of the film, must definitely be the liberal usage of English among the rural kids and some of the terminologies used, definitely reflects the impact of globalization. 

'Poovarasam Peepee' - Kids will take a liking to the film, adults might find it as a neat and family friendly time-pass.


Ratings: 2.5/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL