Purampokku Engira Podhuvudamai

Many a director would have chosen to make Purampokku Engira Podhuvudamai as a prison break movie that along its way touches upon debatable issues like communism, capitalism and death penalty. But SP Jhananathan has other ideas as he turns Purampokku into a call for discussion on these topics without making the film overtly preachy. That the director has managed to achieve this without making comprises for the sake of censors is quite a feat.

His protagonist is Balusamy (Arya), a young man with communist ideology, who, at the start of the film receives the death penalty for what the government considers anti-social activities. But for Balu, his crimes were a service to the society and a protest against rampant privatization and the country becoming a dumping ground for wastes from developed nations. Meanwhile, the prison officer, Macaulay (subtlety is not the film's strength), is someone who believes in the State and deems it his duty to uphold what the law and the constitution say.

And to carry of Balu's death sentence, Macaulay reaches out to Yamalingam (didn't we tell you not to expect subtlety), the State's only hangman. But Yamalingam is a haunted man. He comes from a family of hangmen and his hanging of an innocent man when he was a teenager, continues to torment him. Naturally, he doesn't want to do the task. Meanwhile, Balu's comrades, led by Kuyili (Karthika), plan to kill Yamalingam so that the hanging will be postponed. However, when they realize his intentions, they make him act as an accomplice in helping Balu escape from prison. What happens in this conflict between the State, the revolutionary and the commoner?

Jhananthan takes his own sweet time to get to the crux of the story, spending too much time on songs and establishing the grandness of the prison set, but once the plot gets moving, Purampokku is completely engaging. That the director manages to make it a solid political commentary and also an effective thriller at once is an accomplish...