Por Movie Review

Bejoy Nambiar’s films so far have all been more about the presentation and style, above the substance that they have to offer. And rightly in the same line, his latest venture in Por is a film that gives us little in terms of its writing and explorations of themes, but more in beauty and belligerence.

The film is about the college rivalry between a newbie Yuva (played by Kaalidas Jayaram) and a senior in Prabhu (Arjun Das) who come across the same path in more than one way. The film grapples many themes and sub-plots into one, asking the audiences to take what they like and leave the rest in the background. At times, it does feel like there is a lot taking place at the same time, but for most parts, the film is busy presenting all these details with great styling and entertainment, much like Bejoy’s previous films. The climax sequence, which is a tribute to Athena, is shot as a single take with the runtime being close to more than 20 minutes –  one of the interesting aspects of the film.

Arjun Das does a great job in the film, with his superb dialogue delivery again working as a big positive. On the other hand, Kaalidas is a superb fit even though some of the dialogue delivery could have been better.

The film really heats up in the portions where both these actors come together on the screen. The two female leads in Sanchana Natarajan and TJ Bhanu are nice fits to the film, and apart from being just the eye candy, they have unique roles as well.

Por is technically brilliant with its cinematography, editing, stunt choreography and the production design working out well, and Bejoy once again shows that he can smash these departments to great control.

On the whole, Por is a film that can show off with its theatrics and would have been a great watch if the writing had stepped up its game as much as its technicalities.

Verdict: A neat film made on the rivalry between two characters in a college backdrop!