Poovarasam PeePee – Movie Review
Review Overview
Narration
Performances
Music and Cinematography
A Gratifying Experience!
Debuante director Halitha Shameem’s Poovarasam Peepee is a neatly written and near-flawless film. It is inventive film-making at its best, a plot of cracking ingenuity with rich details and a well thought-out screenplay.
Cast : Gaurav Kalai, Pravin Kishore,Vasanth, Varshini, Agalya, Kaali Venkat
Music : Aruldev
Cinematography : Manoj Paramahamsa
Editing, Written & Directed by : Halitha Shameem
Produced by : Manoj Paramahamsa & Dr.Sujatha Chenthilnathan
Banner : V Talkies & Baby Shoe Productions
Release Date : 30-05-2014
Run Time : 2 hrs 35 minutes
Debuante director Halitha Shameem’s Poovarasam Peepee is a neatly written and a near-flawless film. It is inventive film-making at its best, a plot of cracking ingenuity with rich details and a well thought-out screenplay. Halitha proves that you do not need high-end technical artistry to put together a beautiful film if you have a solid script in hand irrespective of the backdrop.
The low-key promotions are likely to send overtures that you are in for another Goli Soda or Pasanga kind of film. But PPP is quite different from the two as far as content goes. It is about three young happy-go-lucky kids Venu Kanna (Gaurav Kalai), Harish (Pravin Kishore) and Kapil Dev (Vasanth of Aaranya Kaandam and Veyyil fame) with a devil-may-care attitude and how they spend their summer vacation.
In PPP, Halitha questions the innocence of childhood with a delicate subtlety. Everyone undergoes a psychological change upon witnessing a gruesome incident in their childhood. The director, who has had a seven-year stint as an assistant to film-makers including Mysskin and Samuthirakani, has critically explored the repercussions of violence in childhood in a sensible way.
Simply put, Poovarasam Peepee is how three carefree kids brutally unmask the culprits behind a murder. Though not a cakewalk, a 155-minute long story to accomplish the task does challenge the patience of a cinephile. That’s where you get to feel Halitha, who is also the editor of the film, has not used her scissors well.
Be it capturing the deserted paddy fields, or the lush greenery nature of Pollachi, or the pristine river streams, Manoj Paramahamsa’s frames are lyrical and topnotch. Manoj is also the producer who bankrolled this earnest project. Arul Dev’s background score is impressive with his productive use of haunting violin pieces for scenes, which would otherwise look insipid.
The signature achievement of Halitha Shameem in PPP is her sagacious handling of orchestrating a riot scene between Hindus and Muslims. Yes, she has written that scene with animated characters. For a moment, it may leave you wondering “Is this better than what Kamal Haasan did in Aalavandhan?”. You are bound to miss the entire sequence in a blink of an eye if you gaze away from the screen. You are tipped-off.
Halitha’s layered writing neatly laces issues such as globalization in the narrative without any rhetorically overblown dialogues. Apart from crafting and conceiving the film, Halitha has also written lyrics for it. A definite talent to watch out for. Overall, Poovarasam Peepee is a satisfying experience.
The author tweets at @MadrasBachelor