Daring, clever attempt by newcomer

Cast: Shiva, Disha Pandey, Paravai Muniamma, Venniradai Moorthy, MS.Bhaskar etc
Director: C.S.Amudhan
Rating: * *

Till now, spoofs on Tamil films were restricted to TV programmes. Now a spoof on a bigger scale has hit the silver screen for the first time, defiantly titled Tamizh Padam. It’s an uninhibited attempt by newcomer C.S.Amudhan. A liberal parody of hilarious one-liners and amusing punch-lines, based on the contrived romantic and emotional sequences of formula films results in a rip-roaring laughathon.
The plot: A simple story which pops up countless times in Tamil cinema, a rag-to-riches tale with the hero bashing the baddies and winning the heroine in the end. The movie opens on a rainy day, when a baby boy is born in a village called Cinemapatti in Madurai. Startlingly, the child starts speaking to its grandmother (Paravai Muniamma) immediately. The newborn insists that she take him to Chennai to become an overnight hero in cinema and a political big-gun.
In the next scene, we are shown that the boy has grown into a youth Shiva (Mirchi Shiva) while pedalling a bicycle, a cliché in so many Tamil flicks. Soon he fights villains in the market area, utters sharp and witty dialogues and dances for kutthu numbers, all of which make him eligible to become a superstar overnight.
Like most Tamil heroes, Shiva too has a group of friends who study in college: Nakul (M S Bhaskar), Siddharth (Manobala) and Bharath (Venniradai Moorthy), in the process taking a humorous swipe at all the ageing heroes and comedians who are still cast as college students on screen. When Shiva falls for his classmate (Disha Pandey), he tries all the familiar antics. When the girl’s father refuses to give his consent to the alliance, Shiva does odd jobs and becomes a crorepati, reminiscent of so many Vikram films. It gets even more rib-tickling when we are told Shiva is an undercover police officer who sets out to clean the city of criminals. Shiva fits the bill to a T. Paravai Muniamma in a pivotal role evokes instant laughter. Even the funny and meaningless lyrics in songs are mocked in Kannan’s music composition in the number ‘Oh Maha Zeeya’. But while the first half is racy, the second half drags.
Nirav Shah’s cinematography is a major plus point and adds value to the movie.
All said and done, Amudhan, ably supported by his producer Dorai Dayanidhi, deserves praise for his satire on Tamil cinema. But what remains to be seen is how many viewers will relate to the spoof, connect the numerous jokes and enjoy the movie.