Selvaraghavan has surely tattooed his name in the history of tamil cinema with this trendsetting cult classic. Hands down, Pudhupettai is one of the best gangster films I have ever seen. And when I say that I don't just mean tamil cinema. I mean international cinema. I mean that it competes with classics like Goodfellas, The Departed, Godfather, Once upon a time in America. And the reason is the extreme rawness of the filmmaking. Pudhupettai is a film that you may not like very much the first time you watch it. The acting is stripped down to the bare, grisly most humanly rendered form. The cinematography, the songs, the action scenes all feel a bit too raw, a bit too offbeat. You then watch Pudhupettai a second time, and for some inexplicable experience it is better. A third time, everything seems amazing. The film retains its freshness because of the unique, rugged way in which it is shot. Take Goodfellas for example. It is certainly a brilliant, gritty film. Yet there is still something aesthetic about the way in which the shots are composed. Not in Pudhupettai. The action isnt realistic in a cinematic way. They are realistic in a realistic, but ultra-crass and rugged way.This is mostly due to the fact that that the movie is entirely from the perspective of Kokki Kumar, the protagonist who becomes increasingly paranoid and falls further into insanity and moral deprivation as the film progresses. And so some of the "strange" shots make sense. Take the climax for instance where dhanush goes on an insane vengeful rampage, yet the whole sequence happens in a white fog, which is contrasted with the dark red of the blood. The bullet shots create holes in the fog. Yet the fog isn't there just for sake of effect. It symbolises Kokki Kumar's isolation and descent into madness. One thing to notice in the sequence is the lack of dialogue. It is more growls, grunts and snarls, implying that Kokki Kumar is at the height of his bestiality; He puts a bloodstained knife at the throat of a child; he runs ruthlessly towards Moorthy even though his wives form a ring around him; Yet, you see a human touch. He waits as Moorthy accepts his fate and eats for the last time. When Moorthy finally kills himself. Kokki Kumar watches for a second and then confusingly cries and hugs Moorthy. The film starts with Kokki Kumar seeing the bloody corpse of his mother, her eyes staring at him. He sees a very similar image in Moorthy's dead body that he saw in the corpse of his mother.
The colour gradient of this film is also brilliant. You see a lot of greens and reds. Green symbolising a strange, silent world Kokki Kumar is not used to, a humanity he has not seen. You see this in the scene where he faces a scarecrow in the middle of a field. There is no sound apart from that of night creatures and insects. Kokki Kumar is flabbergasted. He starts getting delusions of enemies everywhere. The scarecrow is a perfect metaphor of his fear and the way in which it looms over him. The red on the other hand symbolises all the violence and brutality around him.
The characterisations in this film are brilliant. Everybody is a survivalistic animal. This is surely one of Dhanush's most raw and human performances. Sneha who has pulled of a brilliant and subdued performance as a prostitute demonstrates this well. She takes money from Dhanush when he offers it. When He leaves her in lust for another woman, she emotionally manipulates him into marrying her as well. Soni agarwal as the victim who is forced into marriage with Dhanush is also great. You see her anger. Her bitterness. Her vengeance. Others who are great are Bala singh, Azhagam Perumal as a ruthless, manipulative politician, and the character who plays Mani. The film also features Vijay Sethupathis debut as a henchman which is soundly played.
Another great thing about this film is the dialogues. The dialogues are extremely powerful and extremely meaninfgul. Take the scene where Kokki Kumar in prison gives a monlogue on how it feels like after one has killed someone for the first time. Or the one where Kokki Kumar talks to his baby before leaving it. Or even the transformation scene where he is mercilessly thrashed and says "adinga da, vaanga da adinga da, vazhikala da, ulla eriyuthu da". (hit me, come on hit me, It's not paining, I'm burning inside). he is in no pain physically yet emotionally he is burning for all the blows society has dealt him with.
One of the key factors that elevated Pudhupettai from a great film to an amazing film is Yuvan Shankar Raja's soundtrack. Speechless.Progressie, experimental and unheard of, the album is completely unique and is raw in the same way the film is.
Overall, Pudhupettai is a very underrated masterpiece that is one of the best films of tamil cinema. Selvaraghavan has given us another gem.
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