What is this thing between the newbie actors and their choice to go for romantic comedy drama? Particularly, with the small screen actors foraying in to Tamil cinema. The latest to ride that wave is actor Rio Raj who ventured in to Tamil cinema as a lead hero in Nenjamundu Nermaiyundu Odu Raja. The actor is now back on screens with his latest drama Plan Panni Pannanum. Director Badri Venkatesh who gave us the remarkable Baana Kaathadi has helmed the entertainer. So, how has the film come out? Is it comical enough to give actor Rio Raj the commercial success that he is after? To know that let us get in to the movie review.
Plan Panni Pannanum Movie Poster
Plan Panni Pannanum depicts the events that transpires around two young IT professionals Sembi (Rio Raj) and Raju (Bala Saravanan). Sembi and Raju work in an IT company in Chennai. They are our typical hero and his sidekick having fun in life. They are in a mission to book a model to dance in their office function. They approach Captain (M. S. Bhaskar), the manager of a model (Anaika Soti) and make a down payment to book her. Things take a drastic turn when Raju’s sister (Poornima Ravi) elopes with (Siddarth Vipin) to Kodaikanal in order to get married. Now the duo has to find out Raju’s sister and bring her back home. To figure out the whereabouts of Raju’s sister they nab one of her close friends, Amble (Remya Nambeesan), who has sent her friend to her native village in Kodaikanal. Amble is gearing up to go to US to work in an offshore project. But Sembi and Raju strongarms her to come along with them.
Together they set about a journey to Kodaikanal. On their way they come across silly characters (Robo Shankar and Tiger Garden Thangadurai) who tag along with them in order to keep throwing quips at us. Gradually, Sembi falls for her and yes, the romance track box is ticked. When Plan Panni Pannanum enters the second half it ditches the comical tone and takes on the melodramatic tune. We come to know more about Amble. Her father (Aadukalam Naren) wants to get her married. But Amble is ambitious and desires to go abroad to work. Crossing all the characters on their way can they reach Kodaikanal on time to stop the wedding, or will they have a change of heart, will Amble get to live her dream is what makes the rest of the flick.
Director Badri Venkatesh has a habit of garnering the attention of the audience by the way he titles his films. His previous film was titled Semma Botha Aagathey and this time he goes with yet another peculiar title name. The title of the film gives away what to expect of the film. To an extent it does deliver on its promise. But the problem with Plan Panni Pannanum is it relies heavily on its fun portions and does not have a gripping story to spearhead the proceedings. Story teller Badri Venkatesh moves the first half of the film just with random comical sequences. In the second half he suddenly realizes the need for a message in the film. Up on which he directs the flick towards the melodramatic lane. From their Plan Panni Pannanum begins to lose our attention.
At a very latter stage of the film, Badri Venkatesh brings in an antagonist character in the form of G. Marimuthu who disappears with couple of scenes. Also, the chemistry between Sembi and Amble at no point hits the right note. Things were fine until the point they moved as acquaintance. When the romance angle kicks in, it seems like a forced attempt. If director Badri Venkatesh had chosen to keep Plan Panni Pannanum as an out and out comical entertainer, it might have ended up providing few more laughs for us. But as he did not, it ends up as a disappointing affair.
Actor Rio Raj is solid and his sense of timing add to the comical quotient of the entertainer. Actress Remya Nambeesan has bagged a meaty role to which she has done absolute justice. Comedians Bala Saravanan, Robo Shankar, Munishkanth, Tiger Garden Thangadurai, gel well together and offer us the much necessary comical relief. Actor Siddarth Vipin add to the fun on his part. Actor G. Marimuthu makes his presence felt in a poorly written role. Actress Poornima Ravi is adequate. Veteran actor M. S. Bhaskar is spectacular as always. Actor Aadukalam Naren is effective. Veteran actresses Rekha and Viji Chandrasekhar have delivered what was asked of them. The rest of the cast has delivered a decent performance.
On the technical front, musician Yuvan Shankar Raja has not still reached his best version. His songs are average and do not inspire us. His background score is functional. Cinematographer Rajasekar has covered the drama not so in the best way. Editor Sam RDX’s scissor work does nothing to cover the shortcomings of his colleague.
On the whole, Plan Panni Pannanum would have been much better had it had a story to steer forward the movie.