Movie review 'Poovarasam Peepee': Is a thriller with the right mix of comedy, adventure and sentiments

DIRECTION: Halitha Shameem

RATING: ** 1/2

Not often we get to see movies with children in lead roles in Tamil cinema. Though the recent ones like Pandiraj’s Pasanga and Vijay Milton’s Goli Soda where children occupied the centre stage won accolades and box office success, debutant Halitha Shameem’s Poovarasam Pee Pee travels in a new premise – a thriller with the right mix of comedy, adventure and sentiments.

The film revolves around three kids Harish who is fondly called Antenna (PraveenKishore) a tech savvy , studious Venu Kanna (Guarav Kaalai) and street-smart Kapil Dev (Vasanth) who are close buddies. The threesome enjoys their summer vacation by indulging and exploring the areas surrounding their village together. On a rainy day, even as they were having a splash on the riverside, the kids witness a gruesome rape and murder which put them in a state of shock initially. While others in the town are made to believe that the victim, a washerwoman was drowned by flood, the kids resolve to unmask the culprits who are also into nefarious activities and how they accomplish it intelligently forms the rest.

Halitha Shameen, a former assistant of Samudrakani , Mysshkin and Pushkar –Gayathri duo should be lauded for attempting a crime subject with no big names and child artistes helming the affair. With a cracking plot, she has proved her mettle despite a limited budget. She has managed to bring the best out of all the lead three kids and there are considerable amount of lighter moments as well. The local FM idea used by the kids to nab the culprits is well conceived and executed by the debut director. Where she actually errs is that she goes overboard at times with her dialogues.

Perhaps taking cinematic liberties, some of activities and dialogues mouthed by the lead child actors’ characters do not mirror their age and may not go well with the family audience. Even the puppy romance (which includes a romantic number) looks ridiculous and far from reality. Cinematographer Manoj Paramahamsa’s poetic camera work is topnotch. Music by Arul Dev is good with rerecording warrants special mention. Halitha has also taken the onus of editing. The running time is too long and wish Halitha could have used her scissors well. Despite few flaws, the film is worth a watch for its novel attempt.