Siddharth Chandhrasekar's Bale Paandiya is not a remake of the 1962 Sivaji Ganesan classic of the same title. Chandhrasekar's movie is a combination of comedy and action thriller with Vishnu of Vennilaa Kabadi Kuzhu-fame in the lead role opposite Piaa (Aegan and Ko).
INTRODUCTION
The supporting cast includes Vivek, John Vijay, Jaya Prakash and newcomers Gibran Osman and R Amarendren.
There are also special guest appearances by Shyamsundhar Asrani and playback singers Vijay Yesudas, Srinivas, Naresh Iyer, Anuradha Shriram, Manicka Vinayagam, Rahul Nambiar, Haricharan, Suchithra, Paravai Muniyamma and the film's music composer, Devan Ekambaram.
SYNOPSIS
THE film deals with a youngster called Paandiyan (Vishnu) who believes he is jinxed. Bad luck and calamity seem to follow him like a shadow and he decides the best way to deal with it is to commit suicide. He approaches a hitman called AKP (Amarendran) and asks to be killed. After some persuasion, AKP suggests Paandiyan do a deed in exchange for being killed, but in the time that follows, Paandiyan falls in love with the beautiful Vaishnavi (Piaa). Events take a dramatic turn when Paandiyan decides that he wants to live.
SCREENPLAY
CHANDHRASEKAR'S screenplay does have more than its fair share of gaps in logic but maintains interest and is entertaining.
PERFORMANCES
VISHNU and Piaa are in the most demanding roles of their respective careers. Vivek is a sheer delight with his characteristic satirical look at Tamil Nadu but repetition and predictability make his performance lose some of its shine in the second half. Asrani reminds viewers of his role in Tick Tick Tick by repeating his punchline from that film.
CINEMATOGRAPHY
SOUNDERRAJAN and RB Gurudev experiment with light and angles in the film and their work in the stunt sequences is by far the most impressive.
MUSIC
DEVAN Ekambaram's music is disappointing as one expects a singer to have a better concept of appropriateness of tunes for a film. Two of the songs are good, the best being Happy.
DIRECTION
CHANDHRASEKAR has made an impressive debut with fresh ideas and unusual characterisation.
OVERALL
THIS film, which starts as a comedy, turns serious in the second half, but its youthful charm makes it easy to enjoy.
Last week's questions and answers:
Q: Who was Vaseegaran's female co-star in his debut film?
A: Priyamani.
Q: Which film, directed by Rajkapoor, had Sathyaraj and Meena in the lead roles?
A: Vallal.
Q: In which movie did then legendary Sivaji Ganesan play the dual roles of a policeman and a Catholic priest?
A: Vellai Roja.
This week's questions:
1. Who directed Vishnu's debut film?
2. Name the Sivaji Ganesan thriller that was the first Indian movie that did not have any songs.
3. Who directed the films 'Unnai Naan Sandhithen' and 'Udhaya Geedham'?
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