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PERAANMAI ( TAMIL , 2009 )

Director : S.P. Jhananathan

Cast : Jayam Ravi , Vadivelu , Roland Kickinger , Urvasi

My Deepavali was kick-started with this movie , and let me make this very clear that if this movie is going to be any indication about my Deepavali weekend , I think this is probably one of the worst ever.

Peraanmai revolves around a group of College Girls who attend a NCC Training Camp , in some far-off hill station place . Dhruva ( Ravi ) is an Forest Instructor / Officer , who has come from the Tribal Area and passed through the system to make a name for himself , and this caste issue is subject to frequent humiliation by his superior and the girls.

The girls are under the constant watch of a Nun played by Urvasi . It is very well established early in the movie that certain girls , 5 to be precise , are least interested in working with Dhruva , thanks to the caste issue. And they resort to all sorts of silly pranks to humiliate him.

Ironically , at the end of the Camp these very 5 girls are selected by Dhruva to venture into the Forest for a whole day under his guidance. What happens when a freak accident leads to a series of events , is what Peraanmai deals with.

The opening sequences show a Rocket all set to be launched by a Space Agency , and as a group of scientists point out , this rocket would aid India in its agricultural research . Further as the movie progresses , we realize that a group of foreigners land in the jungle to destroy the Rocket with a missile. And Ravi , as always gets his share of bashing up , this time under the pretext of saving the country.

The story and script definitely oozes with so much potential and it would have been much better if this was given better treatment. The first half is easily one of the most horrendous bit of comedy I have ever come across. The Director clearly establishes the 5 girls' dislike for Dhruva , very early in the movie. But why for God's sake does the audience have to be subjected to torturous sequences which repeatedly show the girls playing out their never ending schemes to defame Dhruva.

Scenes like these clearly choke the viewer and you just begin to think about exiting the Cinema hall. No wonder there was a mini-exodus from the Theater not even halfway into the movie. the first half is so shoddy you wonder if this movie was made by the same Director who made that beautiful movie "Iyarkai". Nothing short of torture , this is the worst part of the movie , and drags on for long , thanks to a few misplaced songs.

Post-interval , things somewhat fall into place , when the 5 girls and Ravi are stranded in the forest , and realize that a group of 16 foreigners are in the jungle , to destroy the rocket . The portion between the pre-interval sequence and a the initial portion of the second half manage to keep you interested , but later on you can't stop feeling choked again , especially when Ravi and the 5 girls decide to confront the mini-army themselves , heavily inspired by some seriously ridiculous dialogues from Dhruva.

Screenplay is extremely poor , and the pace could have been sustained easily if a majority of the silly pranks were edited. The second half is somewhat better as far as the pace is concerned.

There is nothing in the movie , which makes the audience connect to the characters. In my opinion , a movie should have at least one character whom the audience can relate with , and that enriches the whole experience. In this case , you just cannot stop laughing at the sheer obscurity of the characterization , especially those of the girls and the superior Officer.

There is some hint of a brief romance between Dhruva and a girl called Ajitha . This too is shot in the shoddiest manner , and the love scenes evoke unintended laughter from the audience. Especially the sequence where Ajitha steals Dhruva's pistol , is dragged beyond reasonable limits and truly tests your patience.

Acting by Jayam Ravi can be described as mediocre at best . He does perform well in some scenes but in many portions , thanks to some horrendous characterization , irritates you with pathetically written dialogues . The girls all overact happily , adding to the audience's woes. Only the character of Ajitha seems to have even tried to act . Wonder what the Director was thinking about the characterization.

The comedy track by Vadivelu seems grossly out of place , and have not we seen enough of him playing the bumbling Hostel warden ? Urvasi comes up with a decent performance in a brief role. The Superior Officer is another classic case of overacting.

Music by Vidyasagar is least pleasing , and the placement of the songs does not help either. I mean , how can anyone just break into a dance , almost semi-nude , in a waterfall , when hardly half an hour has elapsed since their jeep plummeted into destruction , and you are stranded in the middle of a Forest area ? This as they say , happens only in India :(

The foreigners.. Ah , such a terrible bunch when it comes to acting and dialogues , with a mixture of British and French and American accents , all led by the giant sized Anderson , played by Roland Kickinger , another import from Hollywood.

The second half I thought , would have some credibility , but towards the end of the movie it is nothing but all boom boom stuff , with guns and bazookas blazing all around. The action scenes are so pitifully shot , you just begin to wonder who actually is firing at whom. And Dhruva , a Forest Guard seems to be an authority on weapons , ranging from Land-mines to The latest machine guns . Beats me. And the girls , whom we are made to think of as bumbling pranksters , are finally shown to be people capable of handling technology such as Radar , Rockets , Passwords etc. Probably Kollywood's answer to Charlies' Angels ? Wonderful , the audience are not fools ,Sir.

The movie has so much potential , with a strong storyline and script and even though I do appreciate the makers for trying out something new , it does fall flat on it's face. A classic case of potential being wasted.

I will go with 2 out of 5 for Peraanmai , and that too merely judging its potential and not just the actual outcome. Frankly speaking , with all that women power trying its best to come to the fore , coupled with shabbily filmed action sequences , and an overdose of patriotism , it was like watching a Kollywood action version of Chak De India . Much better was expected from the Director of "Iyarkai". This one is a big disappointment.

My Deepavali is off to a poor start thanks to Peraanmai.

Verdict : 2 / 5 ( Poor )