A few days back, we had two issues that created a storm involving Jyotika. One was her speech in an award function that was miscommunicated and created chaos when it shouldn’t be. Then we had the announcement of Ponmagal Vandhal releasing on OTT platform directly.
This didn’t go well with producers as well. However, she went on to win(the audience in) both the issues.
In the centre of both the storm, stood a soft-spoken woman who everyone respects and has a reputation in the industry. She was literally against the male chauvinistic society that was trying to bring her down. She certainly was backed by a few good men.
Now, Ponmagal Vandhal is also similar when it comes to a soft but well-spoken woman fighting the male chauvinistic society. She here is backed by Bhagyaraj, who plays her father.
We get into the plot right away, and the first half is brisk, super engaging. We see a case about a woman named Jyoti who according to the police is a psycho killer who not only kidnapped kids but also killed them brutally. Police manage to end the case after an encounter.
15 years later, We see Jyotika who forces to reopen the case. Jyotika plays a role she never did before, an advocate. She is fierce and handles the role with ease. The best part is that she dubbed for herself and that worked well, complimented her acting.
Bhagyaraj as ‘petition’ Pethuraj is funny in the beginning along with his wife played by ever-charming Vinodhini Vaidyanathan. In the middle of the first half, we get to see his famous “Ek Gaav Mein Ek Kissan Raghu thatha” dialogue too. The scenes are funny, and thankfully, they don’t make us shift our focus from the main plot.
This film is packed with several performers who we can blindly trust when it comes to perfection. As always, Parthiepan as another lawyer brings his wittiness to the dialogues and he keeps toe to toe with Jyotika. The fight between both the lawyers is enjoyable, thanks to Parthiepan once again. While Jyotika is as hot as fire, he is as cool as ice. They all blend well.
Prathap Pothan plays the honest judge, and he has only two or three scenes outside the courtroom where he scores along with Pandiyaraj.
The antagonist of the film, Thiyagarajan plays more of a supporting role as the film’s focus is fully on Parthiepan. Of course, he does his work beautifully right as usual.
VJ Ashik who plays Parthiepan’s assist, in a limited role, did his job well too. Don’t be surprised to see him in a lot more films in upcoming years.
The film’s first half ends with a big twist, and the second half follows more of an emotional route. We see Jyotika delivering a monologue about rape and abuse. While the dialogue is powerful and connects emotionally, it would have created more impact if it was placed at the end of the argument like it was in the Nerkonda Paarvai. However, it still works. Jyotika’s reactions are definitely a winner here. She certainly wins us over.
Also, the dialogues in the second half reminded me of reading the tweets of Chinmayi Sripada. If you are a follower of Chinmayi’s social media, you would understand what I’m trying to add here.
The film doesn’t waste any second and the running time is just a bit more than two hours. It works like magic. The cinematography by Ramji adds weight to the scenes which are already elevated by Govind Vasantha. His violin expertise is effective, especially, during emotional scenes. It falls in the right place, and the emotion is rightly conveyed.
Director JJ Fredrick’s courage in choosing a sensitive subject and the dialogues used definitely deserves applause. Most of them are relatable and hard-hitting.
This film well and truly belongs to Jyotika. For someone who is working on a content-oriented script right since her comeback, this film certainly has raised her standards once again. She has put heart and soul in the film and it makes you wonder how much she has evolved right from her first film.
Like it or hate it, She so going to do films that are brutally hard-hitting yet ‘must be told’ films with a strong message, something we cannot and should not ignore. She sure carries that responsibility well.
Kudos to the team for pulling off such a sensitive topic. A must watch.
