Pudhu Pettai

Pudhu Pettai (2006) : Brief Review -

Surely among the Top 5 Best Gangster Films ever made in India. Dhanush and Selvaraguavan both have outdone themselves. When i look back at my list of Best Gangster/Crime dramas, i find Classics like Nayakan, Keeridam, Thalapathi, Spadikam ruling the top spots and then there are many others following the decreasing ratio of quality till 2020. That includes Dhanush's own Vada Chennai too, which, i feel is overrated and looking at Pudhu Pettai it's definitely Overrated! I don't care about others, but this is The Best Gangster Flick i have seen in this millenium. What Bollywood couldn't do in 90s and 00s decade even after making good gangster flicks like Satya and OUTIM, that full proof "Classic" tag was missed but Pudhu Pettai has it in 2006 when Gangster flicks were craving for masala elements. After running away from his home teenager Kumar falls in with a gang and slowly rises through the ranks of the Criminal Underworld. His new identity is Kokki Kumar, the Don and wanna be MLA whom everyone fears. You know the basic formula of gangster dramas that no matter how courageous, fearless, reckless the guy is, he must commit a blunder to cause his downfall and with Pudhu Pettai everything is top notch. And it's pleasantly surprisingly because it doesn't look typical. I wanted Kumar to do a blunder and he does exactly at the interval point. That entire idea of two marriages was such a new experience to see in Indian Gangster dramas. And when i wanted him to go through torment, he does and even that part was so intelligently crafted. Performance wise, Dhanush has outdone himself. I'm Speechless. Supporting cast is excellent too. Selavaraghavan does wonders at director's chair with his amazing talent. What a fabulous framework and what a gripping narrative it was. Three hours into crime world and i never felt bored, courtesy team Pudhu Pettai. Overall, an absolute Classic that shouldn't be missed at all.

RATING - 8/10*

By - #samthebestest.

An apt movie replicating the real south Indian gangsters.

Selva Ragavan had did a good home work on making this movie .People think gang leader should have huge built body, which is actually not. Most of the gangsters are brutal in behavior but looks thin and lean. Kokki Kumar's noxious behavior in this film is very well framed in to different scenes.

A gangster film never looked this good and real. The Energy and raw power brought in to this movie is admirable. Even though it imitates minute things from "City of god", Selva Ragavan has shown his own signature in Pudhupettai.

It is one of the best gangster movies after Nayagan in south Indian movie.

This is certainly for the kind of audience who love to watch reality in cinema .

-Arun DX...

Pudhupettai - Undoubtedly one of the best Tamil films, set the benchmark for how to make a gangster movie in Tamil! Dhanush, who is a superstar now, was a budding, promising actor back then, hits bull's eye in his portrayal of the Gangster named "Kokki" Kumar. The movie, though wasn't much celebrated at the time of its release, instantly became a cult classic, a few months after. The movie is like a poetry in motion, even though some cinematic liberties are taken in few scenes, the overall feel is so realistic and hard hitting. Right from being a naive adolescent to becoming a ruthless gangster, Dhanush simply rocks every frame he is in, which is literally every frame:-) The supporting actors are all very believable and they did a great job as well. Selvaraghavan is a director who always experiments with different genres and makes a huge impact with his films, even tough they aren't financially successful and this movie is the biggest example of it. Do watch this movie, if you're a lover of pure cinema

Selvaraghavan has managed to picture a movie that careens past the usual reality check in films and perches itself atop a hill. A gargantuan talent that has been latent in Dhanush has been exposed. The veracity and his luminous capability to scintillate his dialogues with authenticity is what implodes the shell that the film initially cocoons itself in. The movie wings itself into a political drama that unflinchingly emanates a feeling of relativity. The movie bludgeons relativity to such boundless extents that by the end of it, the viewer is sure to have a sure shot idea of how politics in India works. Kudos to Selva Raghavan for creating a gangster film that saunters happily past the line designed for success and it is a film not to be deigned with.

This movie is an inspiration to all gangster, crime movies from 2010 in Telugu and Tamil.