Review: Jyothika's Ponmagal Vandhal Is Melodrama All The Way
Ponmagal Vandhal Movie Review: Jyothika's latest Kollywood movie Ponmagal Vandhal is the first movie to release on OTT platform after theatres downed their shutters over the coronavirus pandemic. The producers of the movie had to face the ire of film distributors and theatres owners for deciding to take their movie directly to the OTT platform. So was the fight worth the efforts? Is the movie worth watching? Read on to find out.
Ponmagal Vandhal is about a newbie lawyer who attempts to reopen an old case of a serial killer, a deceased psycho who abducted and killed young girls.
Ponmagal Vandhal Review: All said and this movie has a message. Alright. But what makes this movie watchable is the lead actor. It's as if she carries the burden of the entire movie on her shoulder. Venba (Jyo) is a rookie lawyer who manages to reopen a 15 year old psycho killer murder case. But why this sudden interest?
When you say courtroom drama, one expects fireworks during the trial and some twists and turns. However, unfortunately for Ponmagal Vandhal it's sentimental dialogues and emotional blackmail all the way to make the arguments convincing. So it's melodrama all the way. A good filmmaker doesn't reveal all his cards at once. A murder mystery involving sexual abuse at that should have some point to drive home a message. But Ponmagal Vanthal fails on this count as the film revels the actual plot at the beginning itself. This simply means the climax is all to predictable. No nail biting finish to the movie whatsoever as we know what's coming. The supporting cast such as Parthepan and K Bhagyaraj have nothing much to offer.
Director JJ Fredrick will have a lot of lessons to learn from Ponmagal Vandhal. In hindsight the producers did the wise thing by opting for digital release. At least we hope they got back their money invested on the money. Had the movie released in theatres, it would have bombed at the box office for sure.
Verdict: Even Jyotika can't save this movie
