Puli

Too much emphasis on the ingredients that went in to the film, but too little care for the end result? At least that's how I felt watching the movie. The best analogy I could give is trying to create a dish out of other tasty dishes like biryani, payasam, dosa etc., by mixing and mashing them together. By ingredients here, I mean all the characters like Lilliput, talking turtle, one eyed monster, the star cast, Visual effects etc., It's as if the makers were focused primarily on adding as much to the mix as possible.

It's a visual extravaganza for sure, but in the end isn't as engaging as one intend it to be, not by a long shot. I can't pin-point any single aspect because it fails on so many levels. For one the talent of so much star cast seemed to have been wasted. Is it the script? Is it the less than stellar songs and BGM? Is it the mismatch between the stars and the script? You decide. What I can say is that it failed to keep me engaged. Goes to show, just throwing in huge sum of money for extravagant sets, visual effects, big stars is not enough to create a successful movie.

Having said all of this I still gave it 4 stars for the bold attempt, which even though is a failed one. I really wished for this movie to match the hype surrounding it because at the end of the day I want our movie makers to think outside the box and such movies are hard to come by these days. I hope the makers can at least get the money they spent on it back, because I don't want the industry to get discouraged from making such movies.

I expected a minimum level of entertainment when I decided to watch the show in the first day itself. Also the campaigns for the promotion of the movie added much weight to the expectations, which always highlighted the big names casted in the film.

Yes! The thread had a lot of potential. Even though it was a centuries old storyline in the fantasy genre. A hero, going on a hunt to retrieve his love from a scary castle. A lot of hurdles on the way, lot of fantasy creatures, and never seen before places to pass through.... There was more than enough room for an Adventure, action packed visual treat in the given plot. Even with this familiar fantasy thread, the movie could have been made a memorable one, with a strong screenplay and some advanced cinematography and editing. Even the background scores and the songs were well below the average, which made it painful for the audience.

Starting 3-4 scenes, had somewhere some resemblance with bahubali. I am not complaining, but this is what i felt. Again, the camera didn't seem to use any kind of tints to create a feel of ancient days. Video as well as the audio department failed pathetically in taking the audience to another world. Even switching between scenes was not fluidic. The frames which displays the title for the first time and the introduction scene of the hero were at wrong timings, and couldn't generate any punch. The nicely trimmed hair of hero again added artificiality in the age in which the story happens. The costumes and make-up was not that bad , but lack of that colored tint in the scenes revealed that the materials were all modern.

In many occasions, we could feel the resemblance with many famous fantasy movies, and it was expected. The castle area appeared to have been adapted from the prince of Persia video game, and some monsters, weapons, and some fight sequences adds strength to that belief. Any one who have played that game(warrior within) would have come across the same feelings when he watch this movie. This opinion is just my own feelings and i don't want to argue about this.

Anyway, there were some occasions, or moments which gives the idea that direcion was not completely dry. And in many scenes VFX could show its potential too. Graphics was strong, but couldn't make its use to the best extent. Writer had good idea and good level of imagination and failed badly in the execution part. With this much amount of money and a proved set of actors, the movie fell miles short of a masterpiece.

Films like this make the Indian films look bad. This is the worst film from Tamil film industry in a while, even though not from Vijay. He made even worst films than this. This film underestimated the viewers in a deep level and checks the patience at high level.

I seen the film but I didn't like a bit from it. Not even the graphics because it doesn't matter for a film like this with the poor story and script. The story is usual revenge film includes killing parents, kidnapping lover(s),item songs,exploiting feminine dances, etc. is not at all interesting. Puli had high resemblance with the BAAHUBALI in a very bad way even though it is an adventure fantasy film. Directors like Chimbudevan must see films like BAAHUBALI to get an idea about the current path and quality of Indian films. Even if it take in Tamil film standard Puli will be the black sheep because Tamil films is peak at its film's variety, quality and intelligent. This Puli is enriched with cheap Humors, bad actions and non sensing punch dialogs. It looks like a pollachi made film with bad dress.

Please guys learn a lesson from this film and please not encourage them to make this kinda films for the sake of existence of film industry.

Somewhat OK movie,can be a good one for Vijay fans but definitely not for others,visuals are fine but not PTO Baahubali' s level,same old story with very few unpredictable moments but very average time- passer,but a new try in Fantasy genre but certainly over-hyped.VJ,Sridevi,Sudeep,Shruti,Prabhu impress. Does not seem to justify its budget.Chimbudevan deserves an applause for trying to do something new but this movie definitely does not satisfy expectations.But certainly a new tryout for VJ also.His dance moves were better than the movie itself.A lazily told big budget fantasy action adventure that does not pack a punch.

I would just like to highlight few pros and cons and then finally ending up with my conclusion.

Pros: Boldness to make a fantasy film. VFX Vijay Cineamtography Art Direction

Cons: Screenplay Music Wasted the cast's potential

Opinion:

It is a fantasy film and they mentioned that it is a "Family entertainer". Let's say they tried doing a Disney- style film which didn't excel, but common it is a good attempt and encouraging these kinds of movies is something that I would love to. Now let me share my opinion.

Simbudevan tried giving a family entertainer with a unique movie genre that South Indian Industry is afraid to venture into. Also, I believe that he wanted to direct the overall story a simple one. But, the problem arises when the other small stories come into play where the main story of the movie gets saturated. however, if that's the case and he wanted to direct a typical commercial film, then the movie would have become a fantasy story tailored only for Vijay and it would have been a typical "Commercial" movie with just the word fantasy added in front.

No way I am telling this movie is Awesome. If people want a "Solid Mass commercial packed action fantasy drama film", then there is good chance for them to get disappointed. But, if people look this as enjoyable fantasy film that they would love to watch and appreciate or want too enjoy this with their family, then do give it a try.

I do support and like this movie, but, my request to Simbudevan is that that we need these kinds of movies and when you are planning to direct in this genre, please make a unique story coz we are known for fantasies and we can definitely make a "World Class Movie". And director like you, it is definitely possible.

So basically, I Liked it very much but not Loved it for sure. Even when I tried watching it 'open- minded', it did not get me intrigued enough throughout the movie. All I can say is go with an open mind and you will like it. I would also like to appreciate the entire Puli team to give us this genre of Tamil movie after a long time.

Conclusion:

Overall----> To put in a nutshell, a journey(Movie) which was supposed to be amazing got tiring a bit due to many diversions(Screenplay) in the forest. Puli's roar is not majestic enough, but, it did try really hard.