K. Balachander's Poi is the movie of the year!
Only one cinema was running the movie in the Klang valley and at the 9pm show, there was hardly a crowd of 50. Poi has been touted as KB's 101st movie and was in production for a long time. Producer is KB-find-Prakash Raj, who also has a role in the movie.
Poi will definitely not find favour with today's generation. There is no kuthu song, no foreign locations, no group dancing, no 5 minute fights, no sexy heroine in wet clothes, no double entrendes, no graphics, no, no, no.
But as typical of KB movies, you come out of the cinema hall
thinking. Even my kids enjoyed the movie (although I wished it ended differently) and we spent some time discussing the movie!
The basic theme of the movie is a battle between desire and fate, which are given forms in the movie (KB himself and Prakashraj). The game they play is Snakes & Ladders. The love theme used in the movie is incidental; it could be any other part of life.
Like Gods of Heaven the gamemasters make their moves. Fate, with his silent laughter, doesn't throw the dice. In one sequence he says, when you get what you want you call it luck, if not, you blame it on fate!
Coming to the story, it is a simple love story. Hero has clashes with his father and decides to disappear to Colombo. There he meets a girl who he thinks can be his ideal partner. He proposes, she disposes. Fate intervenes and brings in a third person in play - a past love. Girl pits one man against another and then finds that she is indeed in love with one. Just as the fruit is in reachable distance, girl makes unusual request. We are now at the end of the game. A throw of two will complete the game, while a throw of one will bring the dice back to starting point. Which will it be?
KB proves that he is the master of celluloid, with his skillful play. Every single frame, character, song, dialogue is intertwined against each other. Sit back and listen to the story teller as he crafts his story against your racy mind.
Actors: KB is known as the man who can make even a rock act. He is the Director who introduced today's super stars of Rajini and Kamal, and not to mention several others including Vivek and Prakashraj. In this movie, the leads are new thus being able to live the story without any other associations. Needless to say, both leads played to perfection. Uday who looks like Surya some instances, is funny, weird, witty, laughs, cries and is carefree youth personified. Heroine makes statements with her eyes.
Secondary characters are great too - some we know (like Renuka) while some others make their first big screen appearance. But talents are abound.
Songs: All songs are incidental to the movie. Listen to the lyrics and understand the movie better. Hitler pennE hitler pennE is already popular to an extent and can be heard on the soundwaves.
Hero is unable to pronounce the second La (in Tamil) and several funny sequences follows. Eventually he masters the pronunciation and sings a song complete with all words with the second La. :)
For the first time ever, a song begins with LaLaLaLaLaLaLaLaLa (2nd la). Who else but SP Bala can do justice to such a song. For people who do not know how to pronounce the 2nd La, this song is a good exercise. :thumbsup:
Music: Vidhyasagar brings life to the movie with his background music, complete with dts effect. Besides SPB, Shankar Mahadevan also belts out with his powerful vocals.
Camera: must be mentioned. Poi is poetry in motion as the sceneries of Colombo is magnificiently captured in celluloid. Plenty of seaside images gives the movie a holiday feel.
And lastly, why the title Poi?
What is not Poi in our lives?
Verdict: Five Stars
Another review:
http://movies.sulekha.com/tamil/poi/review/pageno-1.htm