Akshay Shah Reviews "PATTIYAL" (Tamil, 2006)

PATTIYAL( Tamil, 2006)

The genre of “Gangster films” is no doubt one of my favourites! Movies like SATYA, COMPANY, VAASTAV, KAANTE, MAQBOOL, D etc are ones which I simply love and so far in my rendevous with Tamil cinema I had yet to see a worthy gangster film-until now.

Vishnu Vardhans PATTIYAL is a dash of Ram Gopal Varma, a slice of Quentin Tarantino with more than a passing nod to Tamil Cinemas own Bala-and the movie makes for a rivetting watch.


The movie revolves around Kosi(Arya) and Selva(Bharath)-both hitmen for a underworld middleman Sami(Cochin Haneefa). Kosi kills with a unblinking ruthlessness and he doesn’t seem to care what the body count is as long as he comes out unscathed at the end of it all. The deaf and dumb Selva on the other hand doesn’t like to kill innocents-beneath his dark and grimy exterior lies a heart….one that’s beating.

When Saroja(Padmapriya) and Sandhya(Pooja) enters both Kosi and Selvas lives things begin to change. While Kosi constantly tells Saroja to go away and treat her like dirt-the shy Selva falls in love with Sandhya with all his life. Despite warnings from Kosi-its evident that Selva is now a changed man who wants to change his life and end this life of killing and violence.

When Kosi and Selva are given a large sum of money to conduct one final killing of a local MP Nachinmuthu Gounder(Santhanabharathy) things finally come to a grinding halt..what happens next? PATTIYAL provides the answer.

Gangsters with little to no remorse, unparralled show of power, guns, violence…Vishnu Vardhans creates a gangster tale which Hindi cinema has witnessed time and time again-however its change of setting to the South makes PATTIYAL a interesting watch. Vardhan presents characters at the edge of a society that most people don’t don’t even get to see-and he gives us a birds-eye-view on what life is like. The relationship between Kosi and Selva reminds one of Satya and Bhikhu in SATYA as well as giving a passing nod to Chithan and Sakht in PITHAMAGAN. The romantic interludes between Kosi and Selva too draw an heavy inspiration from SATYA-infact the scene where the four go out for a coffee is more-or-less been ripped off, and even actress Padmapriyas performance has a heavy hangover from Shefali Shahs classic act.

However Vardhan succeeds-he paints a rather bleak and tragic picture of friendship, loyalty, murder, love and violence and the age old theme of “those who live by the gun die by the gun” is presented in a relatively slick and emotionally gripping manner. There is also constant in-movie reference to films, movie stars and much more. Just witness the scene where the duo go to threaten a movie star who Selva is a huge fan of-and after threatening him he asks for his autograph! The action sequences have been shot with flair, and the undercurrent of tension and violence has been superbly canned. The finale bears more than a passing nod to Tamil cinemas Bala(SETHU, PITHAMAGAN) yet the outcome is rather well done.

In terms of performances both Arya and Bharath give rivetting , gripping and heartfelt performances though on the whole both the actors haven’t appealed to me much.

Arya is a knockout as the emotionless Kosi. His delivery, style and lumbering persona are just spot-on and towards the climax when he starts “changing” and tells Padmapriya that he wants to leave this life-he is again simply superb. He portrays a “don’t give a fuck” attitude to a T and his scenes with Bharath too are brilliant.

Bharath gives a excellent account of himself in a rather complex role. As the dumb and deaf gangster with a conscience Bharath is simply outstanding in portraying the nuances of his character through his eyes, facials and body language. He manages to touch the viewers hearts-and even his silence speaks volumes. The scenes he has with Pooja and with Arya are just wonderful. Though his almost child-like looks aren’t the usual trademark of a Tamil Hero-with this character the looks work fine as fine. In saying that-the only problem I had with Bharaths act is that it seems heavily inspired by Vikram-yes the spontaneity and raw energy is all there but one cannot help but think of Vikram when watching this performance as there is evidently a hangover.

Padmapriya is efficient and has a rather bubbly persona on-screen. Pooja is excellent in her part though her character too has more than passing nod to Satyas Vidya(Urmila).

Cochin Haneefa is excellent-an absolute knockout as the slimy middleman. The final shot is unforgettable.

Technically the movie is slick-the sets in the movie are superb, and the camerawork too is slick though some shots have clearly been inspired by Bollywood and Hollywood! Yuavraja Shankars music too is good-though some of the songs seem to be forced and seem out of place.

All up PATTIYAL has a rather oft repeated story, but the treatement, presentation as well as performances (not to forget the vibrancy and raw nerve) that Vishnu Vardhan has made the movie with ensures that it’s one that has to be seen!

Sidenote: PATTIYAL I probably enjoyed slightly more than others given my love for the genre-and also given that the movie has been inspired(and at times ripped off) from many known Hollywood/Bollywood sources it makes it all the more fun seeing the movie transported into this milieu!


7.5/10.0