Pandi(Raghava Lawrence) is the no-good son of a teacher Sundarapandi(Nasser). Sundarapandi showers love and affection on Pandi's older brother Rajapandi(Sriman) and even Pandi's three sisters treat him with disdain. The only family member on Pandi's side is his mother(Saranya). Bhuvana(Sneha), the daughter of a policeman(Ilavarasu) in a neighboring town, falls for Pandi. Sundarapandi borrows money after his oldest daughter's marriage is fixed and when the money disappears, his suspicion naturally falls on Pandi and he drives him out of the house. Bhuvana too, after a couple of misunderstandings, breaks up with Pandi.

Since we have a hero without the need to stick to an established image to cater to his fans, the movie could have added some unpredictability about his character. After all, he is a already a disobedient son and rowdy and it would've been interesting to see how far he strays on the wrong side. But Raghava Lawrence is a regular hero and disappointing his father is pretty much his only vice. Even his jailtime is explained away as a result of his love for his mother. So the movie takes no risks with his character arc.

With the movie opening with Lawrence helping out his family from afar in Dubai, there is no suspense about the movie's storyline either. Though he starts off as a rowdy, we know that that behavior is not going to last and the only question is when - and not if - he would change. So there is barely any interest in the goings-on and the unconvincing romance, the unimaginative fights and unnecessary item numbers and duets don't do anything to better the situation. Expectedly, Lawrence's change finally happens through a predictable plot point.

The movie manages to convey the troubles faced by all those families who send loved ones to faraway lands to earn their living, once Lawrence goes to Dubai. While the family spends the money half-heartedly since they miss Lawrence, he does all kinds of menial jobs to ensure that he is able to send the money his family so desperately needs and puts on a facade so that they don't worry about him. The proceedings are cinematic(when Lawrence tells his sister that there'll be day when she will want to fall at his feet but he will not be around, we know exactly when that scenario will occur) but the grief the family undergoes due to the separation does manage to seep through.

With Saranya shielding Lawrence from verbal abuse from the rest of the family and being the only one on his side even when he is out of the house, the infamous 'mother sentiment' is a pretty strong presence in Pandi. It is treated with no subtlety or originality but is atleast tolerable for the most part. But towards the end, the sentiment is raised up quite a few notches and turns crass.

Lawrence hams terribly in the scenes where he thinks he is acting cute or innocent(like when he is romancing Sneha or bonding with Saranya) and is irritating. Surprisingly, he seems wooden in those scenes where he misses his family. Poor Sneha. The talented, natural actresses is reduced to dancing kuthu in an inebriated state and throwing up on 'Ganja' Karuppu to get some laughs. This movie is also her first since she proclaimed that she was bored of 'homely' roles and was going to take the glamorous route. So we see her dancing fast in modern attire in one song and cozying upto Lawrence seductively in another. To her credit, she doesn't look uncomfortable doing either. Nasser and Saranya sleepwalk through the roles they've done a million times before. Namitha gets two songs and a couple of lines of dialog, which makes her the second heroine rather than an item girl, I guess. Srikanth Deva remixes Dharmadurai 's Maasi Maasam... and that turns out to be the only song even remotely listenable.