Poo Review

The innate determination of women has been written about extensively across many cultures…. 'Hell hath no fury like that of a woman's scorn' is one of them. 'Poo' also weaves a tale of a woman with tremendous determination….caught up with the fragrance of love in all its innocence and benevolence. A cinematic adaptation of Tamilchelvan's short story 'Veyyilodu Poi', 'Poo' successfully carries over the literary flavor to celluloid. Hats off to director Sasi for the transition! However, the real star of the film has been actress Parvathy who has debuted in Tamil filmdom with 'Poo'. Having literally lived the character of Mari that she has played, the actress leaves a mighty stamp in the hearts of audiences with a performance that will be remembered for years to come. 'Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs' wrote Shakespeare. When a woman is in love the smoke intensifies so much that it engulfs her very self to an extent that it dictates every move of hers …. 'Poo' stands testimony to these thoughts….and yet there is something about 'Poo' that is so very pristine….true love above all else…. A slice of rural Tamilnadu comes alive right from the onset. The film follows the life of Mari, a rural girl with an incredible affinity to her cousin (Thangarasu). Both, as children share a world that is filled with laughter, pranks and even embarrassing moments. But as time the weary traveler plods on, the golden gates of childhood close behind them forever. Even as many a cherished moment fades into distant memory the affinity that has blossomed into love stays true. Thangarasu is off to Chennai to pursue a course in Mechanical Engineering and Mari finds herself working in a cracker factory chirping away all the time about the man-of-her-life to her dear friend and colleague. Scores of questions are raised as the film unfolds. Would an engineer want to marry a simpleton like Mari? Is Mari's love such an overdose that it'll destroy even her? etc…. Societal pattern plays a huge part all through the film. Thangarasu's father, a hard working man uses his bullock cart to transport wares and is extremely happy to be referred to as 'Pennakaarar' (courtesy, he owns a pen and knows how to write too….). The man is ecstatic at the fact that his son would soon be an engineer earning huge sums of money. Thangarasu becomes the toast of the village thanks to his studies. Would Mari's desire, societal norms and wavelength of thoughts converge? The crux of the film deals with all this. All relationships in the film have been made with an abundance of realism and that is a major strength. Music by debutant S. S. Kumaran is refreshing and one gets the feeling he would be a musician to watch out for. The cinematography has been apt and one gets the feeling of being scorched by the hot sun through the lens of Sakthi Saravanan. Kudos to Srikanth for having accepted to play the character of Thangarasu. Though he knew very well that Parvathy would be the actually star of the film and not him, he has ventured to be part of this good story. Not many heroes in Tamil filmdom would do that. If Parvathy can back this performance in her forthcoming films one can jump onto the roof and shout - a star is born. On the whole the film is such a refreshing change from the regular hullabaloo of so-called commercial masala entertainment. 'Poo' would definitely join the ranks of 'Kadhal', 'Azhagi', 'Subramaniapuram' and the like which went on to rake in big money.