Poojai

Poojai comes up as Diwali’s ‘overflow’ release. Produced by Vishal with himself as the lead, the film boasts of an ensemble starcast, and Hari’s usual tech team. So what works, and what doesn’t?

Poojai is a cocktail of Hari’s earlier films (excluding the cop stories). The film follows the usual commercial routine of comedy, songs, fights and family sentiments. Hari spins his story around a flurry of characters, linking them up to each other and finally sorting things out. Thanks to the lead pair Vishal and Shruti Hassan, the film is watchable throughout. While Vishal keeps it going with his manly acts, Shruti and her cute expressions provide the much needed ‘aww’ moments. The comic track which includes Soori, Pandi and Imman Annachi never manages to tickle the funny bone, except for a few one-liners. Sathyaraj and Radhikaa Sarathkumar do have notable roles to play here, but their characterisation is half baked, which results in an average final note. The rest of the cast which includes Abinaya, Thalaivasal Vijay, JP and more do fit the bill well.

Technically, Poojai is just decent with mainstream cinematography and hurried editing. The stunts are the solace in Poojai, executed well by Vishal. Music by Yuvan is pedestrian, and his stale re-recording adds to the worries.

Director Hari sticks to his basics and comes up with yet another film on the same lines as his previous ones. Poojai has some interesting moments here and there, but the excitement is brought down with the insertion of forced comic sequences and unwanted melodrama. Had the director concentrated on bringing in some more brain into the script, the film would have ended up becoming a racy tale to watch. Right now, it just ends up being a commercial entertainer to watch if you have nothing else to do.

Customary commercial potboiler!

2.25 / 5