PERAANMAI - Review !

Starring: Jayam Ravi, Dhanushika, Liyashree, Saranya, Varsha, Vasundhara, Roland Kickinger, Vadivelu, Ponvannan, Oorvasi.
Direction: SP Jananathan
Music: Vidyasagar
Production: Ayngaran International

This Diwali’s first release Peraanmai directed by S P Jananathan deals with an entirely different theme but strikes a low key especially in the reliability segment.

Jayam Ravi is the forest officer who is appointed to his post thanks to the quota system of the government but a deserved one at that. His superior Ponvannan belonging to an upper caste does not let any opportunity pass by in insulting him. Tolerating his insinuations and invectives, Ravi performs his job well. In addition to training NCC cadets, in his spare time, he educates the children and adults of the forests. Jananathan has used this as a platform to convey communist thoughts through out the film. While some are sharp, many are muted by the censor.

During the process of training 5 NCC girl cadets in the dense jungles, Ravi’s team stumbles upon a shocking discovery which could be dangerous to the nation. How the team counters the enemy and protects the nation from foreign hands forms the rest of the story.

The trials and tribulations of a lower caste person working under an upper caste boss are well etched out. When Ravi’s marks are compared with that of the cadets in a derogatory fashion, his expressions speak a million. The actor looks smart having shed oodles of weight.

Director’s brilliance shines in the sequences depicting the girl’s pranks and tomfooleries which come across as very natural and enjoyable. All the girls have done their part well. The slow pace of first half which is allocated to the girls hating Jayam Ravi picks up momentum in the second half after spotting foreigners in the Indian forests and the action sequences that follow. Jayam Ravi’s climax sequence is power packed and is praiseworthy

On the flip side, though the theme is something new, Peraanmai lacks in the department of credibility. Ordinary NCC cadets, handling sophisticated machinery is too hard to believe. It is also not explained how Ravi handles the latest missiles. Can Ponvannan not hear the noise when he comes in search of Ravi in the forest? Perhaps Jananathan must have thought that the audience will oversee all these errors when it comes to their motherland.

Verdict: Peraanmai – A low key affair