Film: Pourudu
Cast: Sumanth, Kajal, Suman, Nassar, Subbaraj, Ali, Brahmanandam, Sunil, Raghu Babu and others
Dialogues: Marudhuri Raja
Music: Manisharma
Cinematography: Sudhakar Yekkanti
Choreography: Prem Rakshit
Art: Ravinder
Action: Selva
Produced by: D Supriya
Banner: S S Creations
Presented by: Annapoorna Studios
Story, screenplay and directed by: Raaj Aditya
Release Date: January 13, 2008
CBFC Rating: U/A
What's it about?
Ajay (Sumanth) aspires to be a civil servant and tops in UPSC exams. He finds love in another student Samyukta (Kajal). His father Paandu (Suman) is right hand man to a local don Zaheer (Nassar). While son believes in the legal system, father works under the other parallel power system. Their ideological clashes put son and father fitting against each other. One day, Zaheer cheats Paandu and kills him. Now it is the turn of Ajay to rise against that power system.
Analysis
Not to be typecasted as mere 'romantic hero', Sumanth comes up with this complete action film. However, Pourudu, is bogged down by the beaten to death plot line of a son taking avenge on the killers of his father. The second film director Raaj Aditya (he co-directed Usha Kiran Movies's Ishtam earlier) has tried to give fresh look to the routine action drama by incorporating stylized narration and neat characterization. But towards the end he looses track. The first half is okay; post the interval the drama falls into the regular mode.
Most of the film looks very serious and whatever the little comedy that has fails to entertain. It has shades of Ram Gopal Varma's Sarkar, especially the episodes of Suman and Nasser are taken from it. Only that it is not that gripping as that film was. On the whole, a very average action film and disappoints.
Performances
As an actor
Sumanth scores in good way. He looked morbid in his earlier film - Classmates. Pourudu gives him enough scope to be energetic and he uses it to the fullest. Another good feature is that Sumanth, for the first time, has done some excellent steps and improved as a dancer too. Senior actor Suman as good as father and the ideological clashes wishes with his son are handled well. Kajal looks glamorous. Comedy by Brahmanandam and Ali (in a role similar to that of he did in Chiruta) doesn't evoke laughter.
Director Raaj Aditya has technical finesse but is handicapped by weak script. Music by Manisharma is good, so is Sudhakar's camera work. The film has rich look.
Bottom-line!
Pourudu is a regular action drama. Sumanth scores as actor but he is dogged down by the poor script. It fails to impress as its second half is too boring.
Rating : 3/5
Reviewed by Navya Vaitla
