I had no intention of watching this film on the day of its release. But once I heard "Osarattum Pathu Thala" track, there was no going back. I don't think AR Rahman has composed a song like this ever. He was not wrong when he mentioned this song was his favorite from the album at the music launch event. Pathu Thala is a remake of the hit Kannada movie "Mufti" where Shivraj Kumar played the role of STR. It would have been a challenging one to pull off for Simbhu considering the age factor and influential background of the former. However, I should agree that he did pull this off.
The movie starts with the kidnapping of Tamilnadu CM and the CBI trying to solve the case. During the investigation, they realize that a sand mafia headed by don AG Ravana (alias AGR, played by STR) is closely involved in the case. They appoint one young officer (Gautam Karthik) as an undercover agent to sneak into the den of AGR. While the storyline seems to be interesting, however, the script and the presentation of this premise do not do justice to the movie. There is no sense of urgency or seriousness in the fact that the CM is missing. In fact, at one point, a character in the film tells that no one cares about the lost CM anymore. Despite this, it's the mass elements and the performance of the lead actors which keep you engaged, to some extent.
Performance wise all have played their part well. STR menaces the screen with his screen presence but then he enters the film only in the second half. He does shake a leg for "Namma Satham" song but the crucial last bit was edited....we expected a fast one from STR there. Gautam Karthik plays the role well. Not much of a role for Priya Bhavani Shankar and others. GVM's character could have been written well with more scenes but that also falls flat.
The background score does elevate some scenes and at the same time downplay some scenes. I wished the "Osarattum" theme followed all mass sequences. But no complaints. The cinematography was apt and so is the editing, especially the fight after the interval and the climax. Dialogues are sharp and have a political overtone. The scenes which show the other side of AGR were very cliché and could have been made more realistic. The CG work was very ordinary.
Director Krishna is promising. I liked "Jillunu Oru Kaadhal" and liked his second film "Nedunchalai" even more. But unfortunately, he went off the grid for a long time. For some reason, Pathu Thala looks outdated both in the theme and in its presentation too. Some changes to the script or presentation may have helped. But the rule of a remake is to stick to its original. Can't blame him. Hope he gets to make some original film very soon.
Overall, Pathu Thala will be a scream for STR fans and an average one-time watch for others.
Rating: 3/5
