A mix between the ill fated 'Massu Engira Masilamani'
and Raghava Lawrence's blockbuster franchise 'Muni aka Kanchana'
director Kanmani's 'Peigal Jaakirathai' gives a different spin to the
tried and tested horror comedy which has a truly touching climax if you
can sit through till then.
The story begins with a money lender Annachi (Thambi
Ramaiah), who always has a dozen henchmen with him and while many fear
him, he has his own fears of his dead lover Rose Mary haunting him.
Someone comes up with the idea of hiring a man without fear of anything
as body guard and their search leads to Saravanan (Jeeva Rathnam) an
orphan who constantly attempts suicide unsuccessfully. Saravanan
convinces Annachi that ghosts don't exist and this leads him overcome
his fears to such an extent that a now brave Annachi becomes an
exorcist. Meanwhile Saravanan falls in love with the Eshanya daughter
of Manobala who rejects him, causing him to once more attempt suicide by
falling into the water from a bridge. Saravanan on the verge of
drowning is saved by unknown people and the ghosts of an Old Man, a
middle aged man and woman and teenage girl follow him to the house and
terrorize him by asking him to do silly things like eating loads of
cake, going around the giant wheel for the whole day, stealing a ring
from a DIG and a car owned by a drunkard. What is the agenda of the
ghosts forms a riveting and touching climax.
Thambi Ramaiah has got a meaty role as Annachi and he
manages to deliver a few laughs here and there with his antics. Jeeva
Rathnam is passable as the hero Saravanan, while the heroine Eshanya
does not have much to do. For a film that has Manobala, Black Pandi,
Mottai Rajendran and John Vijay in the cast 'Peigal Jaakirathai' is
quite disappointing in the comedy area as the spontaneity is missing as a
whole.
Director Kanmani can be appreciated for the last
fifteen minutes or so when the reason for the ghosts haunting the hero
is revealed. There is also a touching scene between John Vijay who
plays a suspecting husband and his wife, but it is simply out of place
in this film. Music by Maria Jerald and lyrics by Madhan Karky and
Vivekha support the proceedings and especially the climax song draws
attention. Cinematography by Mallikarjun is adequate.
Verdict : On the whole the core idea is good, but is let down by a mediocre screenplay and lead pair who lack charisma.
Rating : 2.5/ 5
No comments:
Post a Comment