Horror-comedy is becoming the most
reliable genre for Tamil filmmakers and producers. This week there are
at least two Tamil films under the same genre has hit the screens. One
among them is 'Hello Naan Pei Pesuren'. The film has been directed by
debutant Basker. The film has been produced by Sundar.C whose super hit
'Aranmanai' gave a facelift to the horror-comedy genre in Kollywood.
Let's see what the film has in it.
Amuthan (Vaibhav) is a conman who
falls for Kavitha (Aishwarya Rajesh). Her brother (VTV Ganesh) runs a
'Saavu Kuthu troupe', gives the green signal to their love as Amuthan
easily passes the tests. While everything seems to be fine, problem
starts for Amuthan from a mobile phone he steals from a road accident
spot. Sridevi (Oviya) who dies in the accident comes as a ghost through
that phone and keeps haunting Amuthan, Kavitha and her brother.
What is the intention of the ghost and how Amuthan &co escape is revealed in the rest of the film.
Writer-Director Baskar hasn't cared
much about the story. It can be told in a one line. The incident that
happen are those we have seen in many other horror comedy flicks and no
scene goes in a way other than the one we would have predicted. The
director’s only aim seems to make the most out of the horror-comedy mix.
He has fairly succeeded in this attempt.
The film starts off with an
introduction to the lead character. Later some scenes are allocated to
show how he gets introduced heroine and gets her love. Actually it would
have made no difference if the movie started from the point where
Amuthan and Kavitha have started loving each other. The scenes and
dialogues included in the name of comedy in these sequences hardly evoke
laughter. Then he has to learn the art of Savu Kuthu (the dance form
performed in death ceremonies) to please his would be brother- in- law.
These episodes really have something interesting to offer if not
entirely great. The first horror experience comes towards the interval.
The second half is far better where
the proceedings manage to raise guffaws in regular intervals. A few
horror sequences deserve a mention despite they fail to frighten as the
elements of horror are those that are tried and tested in many films.
Vaibhav, VTV Ganesh and the actor
who comes as his sidekick get stuck under the clutches of the ghost. The
combination of the three actors has contributed enormously to achieve
the intentions of the director in the second half.
There are too many scenes and songs
that come as mere fillers to take the running time to two hours.
Basker’s work as a creator cannot be written off though. The way the
flashback of the ghost has been revealed highlights his creativity. He
has sprinkled a few really striking ideas like this, here and there
throughout the proceedings. The idea of including the ‘Savu Kuthu’ dance
scenes is also something that needs to be appreciated.
Vaibhav fits the bill as a go-lucky
conman and has proved his dancing skills in the ‘Savu Kuthu’ scenes.
Same can be said for Aishwarya Rajesh who has given a near performance
otherwise also. Her performance as a ghost in the pre-climax sequence
deserves praise. VTV Ganesh’s one-liners and dialogue delivery add a lot
of humor for the film. His expertise in Chennai’s local slang is a
special attraction. Oviya has smartly utilized the scope to perform in a
role that is a little bigger than an extended cameo. Madhumitha who was
largely seen in comic characters so far, gets an opportunity to emote
and she has done this job neatly. A powerful actor like Karunakaran has
been wasted in a miniscule role.
All the songs of Siddharth Vipin are
peppy though most of them come as fillers. It will be hard to control
the urge to dance for the ‘Chillaki Dumma’ song. 'Majja Malcha' crooned
by Vijay Sethupathi is another sweet peppy number. Re-recording is
adequate. Cinematographer Bala Murugan’s selection of lights and angles
makes a good impact in the horror scenes.