Dhanush seems to be bent on doing films with titles borrowed from hit-films of his father-in-law and superstar Rajnikanth. Pollathavan and Padikkathavan are examples. The next film that Dhanush would be doing, borrowing the title from a Rajni film, will be Pokkiri Raja.

The film of course will have nothing to do with the Rajni-starrer released in 1982. Cinematographer R.D. Rajashekhar will make his debut as a director with Pokkiri Raja, which will be produced by Raj TV, one of the leading Tamil television channels. More details are awaited.

Debutant director Jayaraj Vijay's Sudharil Sudhan, with noted Malayalam comedy actor Indrans in the lead (for the first time in his career of over 20 years), has started rolling at the locations of Kuttikaanam, Idukki. Produced by Joy Jacob under the banner of Laseega Media Lab, Sudharil Sudhan includes a bit of seriousness and comedy.

Indrans portrays the role of an ardent Marxist named Ramankutty, who works in an estate in the high range for daily wages. Despite the constant financial crisis in his family consisting of his wife Janaky (Lakshmi Sharma) and three children (Ganapathy, Kannan and Drishya), Ramankutty has a great concern for his political party and its activities. When the party announces a strike against Ramankutty's estate management, Ramankutty is forced to lead the fight against the management. The strike continues for days, leaving his family in misery and starvation. The film then revolves around Ramankutty's struggles in the party as well as his family.

Apart from Indrans, the movie has Mukesh, Kalabhavan Mani, Lalu Alex, Jagathi Sreekumar, Innocent, Sai Kumar, Anoop Chandran, Mamukoya and Bindu Panikar in major roles. Mukesh dons the role of a member in the Human Rights Commission. Jaison J. Nair scores music for lyrics written by Vayalar Sarath Chandra Varma. K.P. Nambiathiri wields the camera.

Poo (directed by Sasi and produced by Moser Baer) is one of the most beautiful films released in recent times. The film was released less than two weeks ago and it has already been selected for a screening at Chennai International Film Festival which starts on December 17th. Not just the Chennai International Film Festival but Poo has been getting invites from various international film festivals as well!

Well, getting selected for an international film festival is in itself an achievement, but getting selected within days of its release is quite a feat, a feat that speaks volumes about its content and quality. Poo, which brought to the silver screens the beautiful tale of a simple village girl, has been running successfully to packed houses, proving that formula films are not the only road to success. This will encourage its producer Moser Baer to make more beautiful films like Poo.

This is only a beginning and no one shall be surprised if Poo lands at the Oscars and brings home an Oscar, such is its appeal and content.

The same old story of revenge, love, family sentiment returns in the name of Thenavattu produced by Sun Pictures. For Jeeva who generally chooses varied and challenging characters, this film will be just one more addition to his kitty and nothing more. Poonam Bajwa the heroine who has nothing to offer.

Jeeva comes to Chennai from Madurai in search of employment. He mistakes his boss Ravi Kale to be a good timber depot industrialist and makes for him sickle, saw and other tools for cutting. However Ravi Kale is a local dada whose job is to kill people.

Jeeva meets Poonam Bajwa in a temple and as can be predicted by a toddler, they fall in love. Meanwhile Ravi Kale's son Sabi who happens to a womanizer eyes Poonam Bajwa who somehow escapes his clutches. Rajan P Dev who is a minister with the ruling party abets the carnages of Kale et al and the desperadoes always go scot-free. There is also an assistant commissioner Sai Kumar whose sister was wronged and killed by the villain clan and he is raging in anger to settle scores with them. The rest of the film deals with how the enemy camp gets decimated by the hero gang and about the revenge saga.

Debutant director V V Kathir who is in charge of story, screen play and direction should have taken extra care especially when this happens to be his first film. When many new directors with innovative ideas enter the fray everyday, Kathir's work does not speak much.

Music by Srikanth Deva does not impress. Cinematography is just ordinary. Stunt scenes by Sumo Arasu do not try anything new.

Thenavattu is for people who just adore illogical masala flicks.

It is difficult to reveal any aspect of the plot of the movie because that might amount to disservice to a carefully crafted work of art. This is not to say that Poo is art-house cinema, it instead treats cinema at a different level where there is neither an antagonist nor a protagonist and only the inscrutable ways of destiny determine the fate of characters who remain so true to the story without even an element of cinematic liberty being thrown in. It seems to be a true interpretation of what Shakespeare so famously said, “All the world’s a stage and all men and women are the players.” Poo is set in the rustic surroundings of Rajapalayam where life is simple and slow and ambitions are limited. It tells the story of two young children, a boy and a girl, their families and their dreams in life. What happens when dreams clash? Someone has to let go of their dream for the others to realize theirs’. It is one person’s love and affection for the other that makes them sacrifice hoping sincerely that the object of their love will have a better life sharing someone else’s dream. It is also “love” that makes people give up their own dreams and believe in someone

else, trusting them with their life. But when sacrifices go in vain and life of the loved one looks far from the bed of roses that had been envisaged, then it is a kind of helplessness that engulfs the mind and one is left to live only in sorrow, grieving the dream that was never to be.

Poo is a movie that has given some budding actors a wonderful opportunity to set foot in the industry and they have done it with élan. Parvathy, the debut heroine has done a marvelous job, not at all showing any signs of inexperience. She excels in all kinds of expressions and an interesting thing is that at times one can detect traces of Padmapriya. Parvathy will definitely be a strong contender for the best debut award this year. Srikanth is on screen after a long time and appears in a role that is not the regular hero type. First, congrats to him for making the choice. He is adequate without being excellent, fitting neatly into the character. But the one who steals the show is the actor who plays Srikanth’s father, he is splendid and one to look out for in similar roles in future. The Rajapalayam accent has been adapted to near perfection throughout the movie. Poo is devoid of any commercial element. There are a few scenes here and there with situational humor that do not fail to amuse. The emotional scenes are the best. Made to near perfection, they will move even the most passive viewer close to tears, especially the climatic scenes. The movie has content that is enough just for a short story and has been narrated fluently on screen.

Then there are stars behind the camera. Cinematographer P.G. Muthiah has done a wonderful job, translating all the rural charm onto screen. Veerasamar has matched the camera with his art. One is left wondering whether the huts are sets or real ones. Debutant composer S.S. Kumaran deserves accolades for his score and re-recording. Three songs, Maman, Aavaram Poo and Choo Choo Maari stand out as excellent compositions. But the one man who deserves an ovation here is director Sasi. This must be his best work to date. Handling the story, screenplay, dialogue and direction, he has given a product that will please all true lovers of cinema. He must also be credited with extracting moving performances from the cast.

Overall, Poo is like a beautiful poem. Poetry is not everyone’s cup of tea and one is not sure how many will be able to appreciate this subtly narrated story of dreams and sacrifices. It is a sincere wish that Poo does well, Tamil cinema will be better off with the success of a movie like Poo. But one finds it hard to see how the movie will achieve commercial success, given its simple yet beautiful narration.