It's been a couple of weeks since we have come across any interesting releases. With Sachin having announced his retirement yesterday, the mood has been quite sombre & that's when I noticed Dulquer's "Pattam Pole" being released here from today. Though the trailer didn't impress me much, I decided to give it a try after all his films has never been disappointing. So will it be the perfect recipe to kick start the Puja holidays???
Shot in the backwaters of Aleppey, the film begins with Riya (Malavika Mohanan) eloping with her boyfriend, Karthik (Dulquer Salman). Naturally their parents gets worried & the issue seemed all the more complex as both of them belonged to two different communities, with Karthik being a Tamil Brahmin & Riya, a Christian. But the fascination of the lovers were short-lived & they return to their respective abodes as they become strapped for cash and their egos get in the way. Both of them get back to their normal lives but love was bound to rekindle once their armor of ego wore off. But are their parents gonna be so timid a second time around???
To the ever bulging list of debut directors, we have yet another & it is none other than the renowned cinematographer, Alagappan. Call it coincidence or not, but Dulquer's previous film was also by a cinematographer turned director, Samir Thahir. Now coming to the film , we can actually slot it into the category of rom-com & though it feels fresh, the script by Girish Kumar is as predictable as Manmohan Singh's silence. This is the main reason why the second half seems quite dragging though the running time of the film is just 120 mins. Jomon's visuals deserves praise while Jayachandran's music was impressive especially the title track though it felt more like an album.
One of the reasons why the films seems passable are solely due to decent performances with the prominent being Dulquer, who was natural & in sync with the character. Malavika has done a decent job for a debutant & oscillates from being good to average. As for the rest of cast, Archana Kavi & Anoop Menon does bring a smile while Lalu Alex & Jayaprakash has done their roles aptly.
Verdict: It's unlikely to have a great opening as the promos hasn't been catchy though the songs has been topping the charts. With a pretty predictable script, the film will struggle to captivate the audience. In short, you can give it a try as its a passable rom com!!!
Rating: 1.75/5
Regards...Ben
