Power Paandi

''Pa Paandi'' (also known as ''Power Paandi'') is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language comedy drama film written, directed and produced by Dhanush, in his directorial debut. It stars Rajkiran in the titular role, alongside Revathi, Prasanna, Chaya Singh, while Dhanush, Madonna Sebastian, Gautham Vasudev Menon and Dhivyadharshini made cameo appearances. It follows a retired stuntman who travels to Hyderabad to seek out freedom, and also to reunite with his old village lover.

The film was officially announced in September 2016 under the title ''Power Paandi''. Principal photography commenced the same month in Chennai, which was followed by another schedules held at Hyderabad and Madurai, and wrapped by February 2017. That April, the title was shortened to ''Pa Paandi'' because of the makers seeking tax exemption. The music was composed by Sean Roldan, cinematography was handled by R. Velraj and editing by Prasanna GK.

''Pa Paandi'' was released on 14 April 2017, coinciding with the Tamil New Year's Day. It received positive reviews from critics and became a commercial success. The film was remade in Kannada as '' Ambi Ning Vayassaytho'' (2018).

Plot

Power Paandi, a former stuntman in Tamil cinema, is now leading a retired life with his son Raghavan and family. Paandi is very close to his grandchildren Dhruv and Shaksha. He can not sit idle at home and gets involved in other issues outside his house, which brings trouble to Raghavan. He also tries to keep him occupied by going for some part-time jobs like a gym instructor, sidekick, and cinema stuntman, but nothing fulfills him. This brings friction between Paandi and Raghavan.

Paandi, seeking his freedom, goes out of his house with his old Royal Enfield Bullet and old-age savings. On his way, he sees a bunch of old people riding their bikes like him, and narrates his first love experience with them. He shares about how he, at his young age, met Poonthendral for the first time, how they fell in love, and how they were separated. He tells them that he is on a journey to find Poonthendral again. An old man in that group helps Paandi locate Poonthendral. Paandi messages Poonthendral, who has now settled in Hyderabad, as he was in her place and was eager to meet her again.

Finally, Poonthendral agrees to meet him in a restaurant, and both of them meet, remembering all the by-gone days. They post their meetups on social media and express happiness for each other's lives. Paandi proposes to Poonthendral that they live the rest of their lives together. Poonthendral, who was initially reluctant at his decision, later convinces herself about his companionship and asks him to come to her house the next day for lunch and to meet her family (her daughter and granddaughter).

Back in Chennai, Raghavan realises his mistake and starts searching for his father everywhere. Dhruv locates Paandi using social media and finally comes to Poonthendral's house in Hyderabad to take Paandi back with them. When Paandi comes to Poonthendral's house for lunch, he gets reunited with Raghavan's family. Poonthendral and Paandi realise that their lives have to go this way and decide to be in touch with each other for the rest of their lives. With many emotional bursts, Paandi leaves Poonthendral's house with Raghavan, waving his hands in the air without seeing her, to which she responds.

Cast

Production

On 7 September 2016, Dhanush announced his directorial debut titled ''Power Paandi'', with a first look poster being released to the media, and also producing the film under his production house, Wunderbar Films. The film has Rajkiran playing the title role as "Power Paandi" and Prasanna playing a prominent role, as Rajkiran's son, while Sean Roldan, Velraj and Prasanna G. K. became a part of the film's technical crew as its music composer, cinematographer and editor respectively. Actresses Revathi and Chaya Singh agreed to work on the film. Dhanush too played a cameo role in this film as the younger version of the protagonist, while Madonna Sebastian plays Dhanush's love interest. Gautham Vasudev Menon, Robo Shankar, Dhivyadharshini too play cameo appearances, along with Stunt Silva and Baba Bhaskar who also choreographed the action scenes and dance sequences. The film began production on the day of its public announcement, and wrapped in late February 2017. In April 2017, the title was shortened to ''Pa Paandi'' to seek tax exemption.

Soundtrack

The music and score of the film were composed by Sean Roldan. In an official press meet for the film, Dhanush call Sean Roldan as the soul of ''Power Paandi'', further adding that "It was so surprising to see that both our thoughts and creative expressions were same, which helped us bring out some good music with this film." Most of the songs were melodious and nostalgic themes. Dhanush wrote and sang a number "Soorakaththu" for the film. The song "Venpani Malare" written by Dhanush, features both male and female versions sung by Sean Roldan and Shweta Mohan, and an additional version sung by Dhanush was released later. The tracklist was released on 25 February 2017, and the audio launch was held on 9 March 2017. An additional version of "Venpani Malare" which was sung by Dhanush was released separately on 6 April 2017.

Siddharth K of ''Sify'' rated the album 3 out of 5, with a verdict "Sean Roldan's big ticket to the top league." Surendhar MK of ''Hindustan Times'' rated the album 4 out of 5. ''Top 10 Cinema'' reviewed it as "One of the beautiful albums in recent times..."

Critical reception

''Pa Paandi'' received critical acclaim.

Baradwaj Rangan wrote for '' Film Companion'', "Here's why Pa Paandi works. Rajkiran. He exudes such grandfatherly warmth, it's impossible not to care for him. And as the second half unfolds, the story picks up too". M Suganth of ''The Times of India'' wrote, "In his directorial debut, Dhanush gives us a heartwarming film that, despite its conventional storytelling, packs in a huge emotional wallop". Sowmya Rajendran wrote for ''The News Minute'', "At times, you do feel certain scenes could have been shot with a little more subtlety, but ''Pa Paandi'' has enough going for it to make you ignore these gripes and enjoy this unusual little film". Srivatsan of ''India Today'' wrote, "Barring its flaws, ''Pa Paandi'' is full of positivity. This better not be Dhanush's best work, as a director".

References

External links

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{{Dhanush

2010s Indian films
2010s Tamil-language films
2017 comedy-drama films
2017 directorial debut films
2017 films
Films about old age
Films about stunt performers
Films directed by Dhanush
Films scored by Sean Roldan
Films shot in Hyderabad, India
Indian comedy-drama films
Tamil films remade in other languages
Tamil-language comedy-drama films
Tamil-language Indian films