Pandrikku Nandri Solli movie review: A middling outing with a handful of compelling scenes

2.5/5

Story: Fate brings together a cop, a gangster and an aspiring filmmaker, who hail from different places. After the initial misunderstandings and confusions between them, they form as a team and go in search of a unique pig statue and a huge sum of money. But little did they know that they would have to face unheard hurdles and riddles to possess the statue and money. Will they be able to pull it off?     

Review: Pandrikku Nandri Solli is a popular dialogue uttered by Vadivelu in the film Imsai Arasan 23 M Pulikesi. When the makers announced it as a film's title with its trailer revolving around an unusual pig statue, it piqued the curiousity of film buffs. The movie begins with an impressive animation sequence which narrates the story behind a magical pig statue which was made somewhere in China in the 12th century. Yange Lee, a doctor who is believed to have magical powers, visited the Chola kingdom and handed over the statue to Sendhan, who saved his life.

Yang asked Sendhan to hand over the statue to a noble man before his death. However, despite waiting for several years, the latter couldn't find anyone who was worthy enough to own the statue. Several centuries later, the statue was recovered from Tamil Nadu-Kerala border by a few archaeologists.

However, it got transferred to different places in the span of a few years after many realized its unbelievable powers. Vidhimurugan, a cop and Sagavaram, a gangster are after the statue now. Meanwhile, Deva, an aspiring filmmaker, narrates a story to a producer. Though impressed with the story, the producer asks Deva to sell the story to him in return for a decent amount. Interestingly, the person who has been assigned by the producer to hand over the money to him is Sagavaram. 

Deva, who goes to collect money from Sagavaram, gets the shock of his life when he finds the latter and Vidhi Murugan locking horns with each other. Little did Deva know that he has been carrying a clue with him which both Vidhimurugan and Sagavaram have been searching for.

Unable to trust both of them, Deva tries to flee from the place, but in vain. With no option left, he, too, joins them and start hunting for the pig statue.

The wafer-thin plot has a few interesting moments and funny sequences at situations where we least expect them. The non-linear narration keeps us hooked at certain instances, while it tests patience and becomes repetitive at a few occasions. The performances of lead actors - Nishanth, Vijay Sathya, Balaji Rathinam, Chella, Viyan and Baskar - are okayish, but the racy screenplay manages to make up for it to an extent. 

Though intriguing set of events can supersede underwritten characters in a crime comedy, we are neither able to connect to the protagonist's desire for filmmaking nor are we convinced about his greed for money. Some of the twists and turns work, though 

The technical aspects, too, aren't great. Suren Vikhash's background score works in a few sequences and Vignesh Selvaraj's cinematography impresses only in a handful of scenes. The 100-minute run time is one of the advantages of the film which works in parts because of the suspense-filled screenplay. The movie also reminds us of a slew of Tamil films which dealt with similar themes in the past.  

Verdict: The movie, which has a handful of neatly written and suspense-filled sequences, is an average fare. 

Pandrikku Nandri Solli is streaming on SonyLIV.