K.Balachander is probably the oldest among the still active, older brigade of directors in Tamil
cinema. They have all presented some enduring classics in their career but only one(K.Bagyaraj) among
this brigade has been able to change his style to suit the sensibilities of the current generation
of viewers. KB, unfortunately, has failed to be included in that short list with Poi. It is
a youthful love story but his handling of it leaves a lot to be desired.
Kamban(Uday Kiran), the son of an honest politician Valluvanar(Avinash), rebels against his father
by joining the Opposition party. Realizing his mistake and the furor it has caused soon enough, he wants
to get away from it all and goes to Colombo, with only his mother aware of his destination. There he
falls in love with Shilpa(Vimala) but she is resolute about not reciprocating Kamban's love since it
would distract her from the reason she came to Colombo - to study for the IAS exams. Her troubles are
compounded when Roshan(Robert), her classmate from her school in Mumbai 12 years ago, arrives in Colombo
professing love for her.
Unlike masala movies that have many avenues like action, romance and comedy to entertain us,
love stories have only romance. So it is important that the romance driving the story be strong enough
to resonate with us. We need to be involved with the romance and it should make us root for the couple
to get together in the end. That never happens in Poi. The romance between Uday and Vimala
has almost no foundation(he loves her because the personification of his father told him to fall in
love with somebody while, as far as I could tell, she falls for him just because he is relentless in
wooing her) and so doesn't involve us. Barring one good scene where, ironically, they discuss breaking
up, the seriousness of their love is never apparent.
Like A Aa and Nenjil , Poi
too uses real people(KB himself and Prakashraj) to personify something abstract. In this case,
KB represents the image that Uday Kiran has of his father while Prakashraj personifies 'fate'.
While this personification is more of a gimmick since it has no impact on the story, it does offer
something different visually. But as the movie proceeds, the conversations between KB and
Prakashraj turn more into previews of what's going to happen next in the romance between Uday
and Vimala and so dilute the suspense about the subsequent proceedings.
Poi has too many extraneous characters who have little or no bearing on the story. They are
introduced awkwardly(like Uday's Bengali roommate) and even when they have a good link to the main
characters(like Geetu Mohandas), they do not affect the proceedings in any way. The only character
who stands out is the semi-mentally retarded flower-seller on the beach - a very typical KB
film character. One of the lines in his outburst at the end is raw and scathing but very
understandable considering his past.
In the climax, KB makes the same mistake that he has made in some movies in the past. He drags it
on for a long time, making us anticipate a certain kind of ending. And when he doesn't deliver on
it, irritation sets in instead of surprise. A couple of screenplay developments that pave the way
for the climax are nice but because of the long build-up, the climax doesn't have the kind of impact
that KB was probably hoping for.
Uday Kiran, a Telugu hero, is adequate. He looks uncomfortable initially when is playful and roguish
but is sincere after softening up. Vimala, another KB find, is tall, slim and goodlooking but in a
modern way. So her future in Tamil cinema may not be too bright. Robert overacts right till the end.
He dances well but his dialog delivery is irritating. He may have been going for comedy but it doesn't
work. KB looks natural in front of the camera and his gruff voice helps his no-nonsense character.
Prakashraj gets to indulge in a little bit of villainy as he needles KB. Vidyasagar delivers some
nice melodies.
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