Appathava Aattaya Pottutanga movie review: Despite having a decent plot, the film ends up as an unengaging attempt

1.5/5

Story: An elderly woman who is left at an old age home by her son, elopes with her lover, leaving her son shattered. Four elderly men come to the rescue of the old lovers. What will happen to the selfish son who is concerned about his family reputation? 

Review: The trailer of Stephen Rangaraj's Appathava Aattaya Pottutanga pretty much sums up the plot of the film. An elderly couple, Ramasamy (Chandrahasan) and Meenakshi (Sheela), who falls in love at an old age home, set out to get married and start a new life together. 

While the former is a loner, the latter has her son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter who live nearby. Quite concerned about her son's response to her elopement, Meenakshi and Ramasamy seek help from the latter's friends. The four college friends of Ramasamy come together to help the couple lead a happy life together.    

Meanwhile, Meenakshi's son and his henchmen are after the elderly couple after knowing about his mother's decision. The couple and the four friends decide to escape to neighbouring state, but fate had some other plans. Their plan doesn't take off and the six of them end up in a police station where they are questioned by a cop. Will the couple be able to unite? Will Meenakshi forgive her son?    

The plot sounds interesting on paper, but the screenplay falters because of which it is difficult to sit through the film which has a run time of less than two hours. Despite having seasoned actors like Delhi Ganesh, Kathadi Ramamurthy and Shanmugasundaram, the lack of a script which offers scope for them to perform makes most of the sequences unengaging. There are sincere efforts from these actors, but when their characters are underwritten, apart from proceedings going slow after a point, we develop a sense of disinterest in the latter half. 

Without knowing how to proceed the story after a point, the director brings all the characters together at a police station where a long sequence unfolds which tests our patience. The scene culminates in an unusual manner, which partly works for the viewers. The tail end twist is effective with a predictable message about parenting, but the question is how many viewers would be able to sit through till the end. The chemistry between Chandrahasan and Sheela isn't great, but there is a reason for it which is revealed in the climax. The movie is promoted as Chandrahasan's last film, but he has only little to do in a lazily written role. ​

Verdict: Had the makers focused on a better screenplay, the decent plot would have worked, given the number of experienced artists in the film..

Appathava Aattaya Pottutanga is streaming on SonyLIV.