Pokkiri Raja Movie Review

March 4, 2016

2 minutes read

Review Overview

Performances

Screenplay and Direction

Technical Aspects and BGM

A good attempt on fantasy comedy!

Pokkiri Raja, at best, is a good attempt on fantasy comedy and fun while it lasts.

Cast: Jiiva, Hansika, Sibiraj, Ramdoss, Yogi Babu & Others

Cinematography: Anjaneyan

Music: Imman

Editing: Sabu Joseph

Dialogues: Gnanagiri

Written & Directed by: Ramprakash Rayappa

Produced by: PTS Film International

Release Date: 04-03-2016

Run Time: 02:21:00

Director Ramprakash Rayappa, who made a content-driven, nifty thriller in his debut with Tamiluku En Ondrai Aluthavum, has come up with another interesting genre–fantasy comedy–for his sophomore outing Pokkiri Raja. However, the outcome, this time, is not as satisfying as his maiden effort.

The film takes its own sweet time to establish the quirky yet mildly relatable fantasy element–contagious yawning, which drives the story forward. Ramprakash Rayappa conveys an air of story-telling competence when he puts to use uncomplicated situations to make audience get the drift of the genre. Despite a plausible set-up, the follow-through is inconsistent, making Pokkiri Raja an unremarkable second outing for Ramprakash.

Sanjeevi (Jiiva) is an IT professional who gets fired over and over because the management finds out that his yawning is contagious and puts every other worker into sleep mode. Sunitha (Hansika), a socially-conscious IT worker, spearheads a team that stands up against public urination. Cooling Glass Guna (Sibiraj in a badly miscast antagonist role), a dreaded gangster known for his twelve ruthless murders, faces the wrath of Sanjeevi and Sunitha when he publicly urinates. The rest of the film deals about the cat-and-mouse game of Sanjeevi and Cooling Glass Guna, who wants to take revenge for shaming him in public.

Though the fantasy element used by Ramprakash is not unwaveringly bizarre, he has made a good attempt to weave situational comedy to get moving. The conceit Ramprakash has settled on is fantastic but he clearly runs out of entertaining, engaging ideas to invest in the story-line.

While the first half tries its best to set the pace of the film, the second half is where things come together to provide some rollicking fun that lasts for thirty odd minutes before the film approaches the climax. The characters are pretty underfed with mundane state of affairs. Had Ramprakash provided more muscle to his leads to draw the attention of viewers, Pokkiri Raja could have been a satisfying comedy-fantasy.

As usual, Hansika’s bad lip-sync is something one has to put up with. Imman’s background score is noteworthy in the short historical flashback sequence which is done well despite the shoestring budget. Ramprakash deserves a pat on the back for attempting to explore something new once again.

Toting up, Pokkiri Raja, at best, is a good attempt on fantasy comedy and fun while it lasts.