Ganesan (Prabhu Deva) has the job of collecting travelers for the lone bus
run by Padmavathi Bus Service. His high-energy people-gathering tactics
are considered the reason for the crowds on the bus and he earns
commission for the same from the owner (Nasser) of the bus service.
Ganesan is pursued by Saroja (Roja) who dreams of wedding him though
receiving no response from him. Kousalya (Kousalya), the daughter of
Ganesan's boss, slowly falls for him after seeing his good heartedness.
But she is shocked when she sees him being accused by a mentally ill woman
Thulasi (Suvalakshmi), as being responsible for destroying her life and
killing her brother.
The crux of the movie is placing Prabhu Deva at the center of a
triangle with three women at the endpoints and making us wonder who he is
going to be united with. The rest of the movie is just the means towards
this end. The director has been successful in the way he has handled this.
He has introduced the elements necessary to make the decision tough to
guess. For example, Kousalya's change of mind and Suvalakshmi rejecting
the offer of the man who destroyed her life. The overused trick of showing
something and then revealing that it is someone's imagination is
effectively used in heightening the suspense. And the solution itself is a
definite surprise.
The director has struggled to keep the story afloat initially and
resorts to comedy to enliven the proceedings. Thankfully, the comedy
works. Vivek makes it a hat-trick after Aasaiyil Or Kadidham and
Tirunelveli by providing hearty laughs. He is a bus conductor and teams up
with driver Anumohan for some nice fun. Though vulgarity creeps into many
of the dialogs, they are undeniably funny. There are both scenes which are
over in a flash (the "Gentleman", "Kunjumon" piece) and longer sequences
(like the scene where Pandu gets athorn stuck in his throat), which find
their comedy mark. The going would have been tough if not for the comedy
since the story itself moves at a snail's pace during these portions. Roja
pursuing Prabhu Deva and Kousalya's gradual (and completely cinematic)
falling for him contain elements seen before. There is some semblance of a
story only with Suvalakshmi's introduction just before the intermission.
There are a couple of scenes where the director manages to score some
points. The best of these is when Suvalakshmi is taken to be treated. The
way Prabhu Deva provides the money for this is funny and the technique the
director uses to show that Suvalakshmi is cured is quick and clever. The
song sequence at Nasser's house, with Nasser imagining his professional
rival 'Kaka' Radhakrishnan as his servant, also makes us smile.
For Prabhu Deva, anything he acted in would be an improvement over
Time. He is desperately looking for a hit and throws himself into the
role, heart and soul. Its a stereotyped but good performance though his
shouting out of the destinations of the bus, which is interesting the
first couple of times, soon gets tiring. Inexplicably, he once again keeps
away from dancing and a few complex steps during the beginning of the
Karu KaruKaruppaayee... song are our only solace. Roja dances with
abandon and also touches our heart when she feigns happiness about Prabhu
Deva's marriage proposal. Kousalya, popping up once again after a
prolonged absence, is adequate. Suvalakshmi and Ranjit are underused.
AfterTirupati Ezhumalai Venkatesa... in
Ninaivirukkum Varai andSiva Siva... in
Suyamvaram,a song invoking the gods seems to be included as a good
luck charm in Prabhu Deva movies. Here there's Yappaa Yappaa Aiyappaa...but
only the first few lines have a catchy tune. Director Rajka poor makes an
appearance in Suvalakshmi's segment and does well.