Uthama Puthiran Review

Remakes are a tricky business. Sometimes, having seen the original, the audience may not want to see a remake with different cast. In other cases, the comparisons themselves act as deterrents. Then there's the flip side where the remake garners more success or recognition than the original. But from what I have witnessed it, the key doesn't lie in just the story or the cast. If the person behind the camera calling the shots doesn't have a clear understanding of his target, all hell breaks loose. Titled after the 1958 Sivaji-Padmini flick, Uthama Puthiran has Mithran Jawahar and Dhanush joining hands again after Kutty and Yaaradi Nee Mohini, two other remakes from Telugu. A remake of the film Ready [Ram and Genelia] which is a personal favourite of mine, I have been interested in this film for quite some time but quite fearful that it would fall into the trap that Kutty fell into, turning into a complete disaster with regional adaptation and miscasting of characters. Thankfully, that's not the case.

  

Siva [Dhanush] is a part of a joint family that lives together. Cheeky, fun yet loyal, he will do anything for the people he cares about. After helping his cousin Kalpana [Shriya in guest appearance] elope on the day of her wedding, his father Raghupathy [K.Bhagyraj] refuses to allow him back in the house and orders the family to not even utter his name. Missing home but still upbeat they will accept him back, Siva goes back to college. Here he finds that his friend needs Siva's help in his own elope act. But Siva's plan backfires this time as instead of kidnapping his friends' girl, he and his gang pick up Pooja [Genelia]. At this point Siva is instantly struck by cupid, but Pooja is no easy rose. Although she is grateful they kidnapped her from a pending wedding she was being forced by her uncle Chinna Koundar[Jayaprakash Reddy] to go through with, they are not going to let her off easy. The chase now begins as Siva helps Pooja to get to her friends place but on arrival they find out she is not there. With nowhere else to go, Pooja enters Siva's house and finds refuge but as she quickly becomes one with the family and in turn, recuperates theirs and Siva's affection, the lie she uses to stay with them is caught out by the family, just as she is found by her uncle Periya Koundar [Ashish Vidhyarthi] and taken away. It’s now up to Siva with the help of Emotional Ekambaram [Vivek], to convince Pooja's family and get his girl without the bloodshed they resort to in other circumstances.

As you can see this isn't rocket science cinema. It’s a love story but the central focus is the family sentiment. Considering every other film is a love story, this one doesn't fall far from the tree but the appeal is apparent with an ensemble star cast, good music and great dialogues. While Mithran has once again, brought a Telugu story to Tamil, he has made this his own film also. Unlike the Telugu film, he has changed aspects of the film and the characters which has added his own touch to it. Aiding him in a vital way is Dhanush. This is a guy that some would question his hero status but I, for one, find him to be an amazing actor in an unconventional package. Totally casual and in his element, the actor is in control and flaunts the fact he is apt for the role. Co-starring with Dhanush for the first time, this is the second role Genelia has reprised for a remake [first being Santosh Subramaniam/Bommarillu]. She is one of the few actresses which give a fresh look to her character each time and her acting just gets better. It would be unfair to say she does the same as she did in Telugu but within her well accustomed role, she shines and her chemistry with Dhanush is adorable. A special mention must be made for Jayaprakash Reddy and Vivek. Jayaprakash Reddy has a unique voice and I was worried that he would be dubbed for like other non-Tamil cast members but he surprised me by not only doing his own dubbing but successfully pulling off a distinct native Tamil accent. Unfortunately the same can’t be said for Ashish Vidhyarthi and Surekha Vani [Oy, Ready]. While Surekha scores on the acting and loses as the voice clearly doesn’t suit her, Ashish dubbing artist leaves us confused on which accent he is supposed to have. Vivek on the other hand, tones down his advise-comedy and brings the house down with his expressions.

It’s confession time. I am and have always been very wary of Vijay Antony’s compositions. Yes, they are catchy but given that he is the guy that ripped Rihanna’s worldwide hit Unfaithful and I felt that some of his compositions just don’t make sense, I wasn’t all that pleased with the selection of Music Director. But Vijay proved me wrong and I left the theatres with Ussuma Laresay in my head. However, the songs that are sure to catch your eye for the choreography or visuals would be Ulagam Unakku and Kan Irandil. You may need to watch Ulagam Unakku twice to get over the choreography and superb show of Aarthi [Padikkathavan] busting a move in time with all the boys including Dhanush. In fact, the visuals i.e art and cinematography [M. Thiyagarajan and Balusubramiam] are commendable throughout the film as well.

So what are the cons? Its length. The film isn’t perfect for sure. There are points of the story that you can feel the drag but at the same time, there is a jump in the story that leaves you wondering if the movie had pieces cut afterwards. And the climax is a dampener. While it is a family comedy, the way the director finishes the film leaves a lot to be desired, a thought I had when watching the original as well.

Rating: 3.5/5 – A nice family entertainer