Thrissur Pooram

Story: Pullu Giri is trying to live a peaceful life forgetting his ruffian past in his hometown, Thrissur. However, he gets dragged into the affairs of the local goons and gangs after an incident, post which a ‘give and take’ drama with new baddies ensues.

Review: Named after Kerala’s most extravagant temple fest, the film Thrissur Pooram tries to be a spectacle comprising of enough action, backed by BGM that often reminds one of its percussion ensemble. It even features an elephant in the intro scene of the hero, with the elephant trumpeting as he delivers the punchline. More lines, like ‘I will play ilanjithara melam on your chest if you dare to repeat this’ follows now and then.

As for the plot, the movie is the story of Pullu Giri (Jayasurya), who gets yanked into the dark world of crime after a mishap involving a local baddie takes his mom’s life. A grown-up Giri is a devoted husband and father to a little girl and runs a business, but the crime scene of his home turf is in no mood to let him rest.

This is a film made to cater to Jayasurya fans, attempting to create a mass appeal for the actor. He looks the part of a good guy gone bad, is menacing enough when required and plays to the gallery when the movie lets him. Same goes for Sabumon, who plays the antagonist. The familiar backstory also might earn sympathies of the viewer.

As for the rest of the film that is two hours and 36 minutes long, it’s the familiar wine in a fancy new bottle, without many surprises and novel elements. This also makes the narration predictable and hence the parts post the interval appear a bit too stretched.

A few of the fight scenes by Jayasurya are quite pulsating and the actor shows that when it comes to juggling characters of many genres, it comes easily to him. Swathi Reddy, who is making a comeback to Mollywood after long, also has done justice to her role as the lovely Tamil girl who falls for the goon.