PULI - movie review

Yesterday we went to watch the Puli movie.  It was a matinee show and the tickets were totally sold out.  We had chosen to watch the movie despite its poor reviews for the sake of its director.  Chimbu Devan is the director of '23aam pulikesi' and 'Irumbu kottai murattu singam'.  Though the latter did not fare well at the box office, the former was a huge hit and a turning point for the hero.  This director chooses to play with plots best suited for children.  But then the reviews were true.  My seven year old did not understand the plot and the gory killing scenes were far from any child's entertainment.  It was atlast a love story with interesting twists and turns.  A old wine in a new bottle.  The villain captures the heroine and the hero goes after 'the damsel in distress' and rescues her from the cruel antagonists.

There are two heroines in the movie.  One being Shruti hassan and the other is Hansika.  Shruti hassan is the love interest in the first half and Hansika in the second half.  In fact Hansika is introduced just before the interval.  The costumes could have been more Desi type.  It is said these 'Vedalam' group comes from a distant land.  So the fact that Sridevi's and Hansika's costumes are more western based could be excused.  But why does the others costumes also have a western touch.  Could have concentrated more on the costumes I guess.  There could have been more cladding for the ladies I guess.  I could see Zippers in a few Vijay's costumes and the fact everyone wears boots and shoes in ancient India... I am not sure if this is true.  Same with the hairstyles.  How does the young vijay get such a military cut when others grow such long hair, including the father Vijay.

The fact that it is being compared to Baahubali is a bit of a stretch.  There is nothing to compare.  The story line of Baahubali to the costumes to the portrayal of the characters, everything is an exact fit.  And when the defect shows, the story is so mesmerizing that we don't notice them.  But the film makers say that the comparison is made in terms of the grapics.  There is this fact that Puli has 2500 VFX shots while Baahubali had used just 2000 VFX shots.  What these technology terms are and how they are reflected in the movie just goes above my head.

There were a few times when the comedy part kicks in and the theater is a laugh riot.  For as far as the fantasy part goes, Chimbu devan has done a very good job.  Creating an entire world for the Lilliput, the giant tortoise, the unbreachable fort, the vedalam characters and many more are simply good and the graphics has helped him to turn a dream a reality.  Puli is a film, worth watching once to bring those nostaligic 'Vittalacharya films' memories back.