The Telugu film, Pourudu is all about the murky world of dons, violence and ideological conflict between a father and a son. And in this world lives Ajay (Sumanth), an IAS aspirant, the son of Pandu (Suman), the main henchman of don Zaheerbhai (Nasser). Pandu has blind faith in Bhai while the son does not. Ajay believes in the system and not in the don's rule. So father and son don't see eye to eye. This forms the crux of the story.
While Sumanth is shown to be readying himself to appear for the Civil Services interview (though he is never shown doing any preparations) he is drawn into the dark world of his father. But in between all this he has the time to romance Samyukta (Kajal Agarwal). Meanwhile, the clash between father and son deepens so much that father and son stay apart.
The storyline is very familiar and predictable. Hasn't one seen enough films with the same run-of-the-mill plots? Raaj Aadhitya, the director, has only ensured that the movie is slick with all the same commercial elements like fairly well orchestrated fight sequences, some dances in different locales and the usual dose of unnecessary humour.
The film stretches too much and after a point, becomes tedious. There is a superficial reference to a chit-fund scam. The police-don nexus too is shown till a young police officer comes to shake it off. Ultimately even the hero does not really become a 'messiah' -- he just remains a citizen who seeks personal revenge though he talks of cleansing the system.
Sumanth's performance is perhaps the best part of the film. As the angry, simmering hero, he does a good job with his eyes reflecting the varied emotions -- anger, pain and pathos -- well. He also manages to shake a leg quite well. But since the script is so time-worn, even his acting cannot do much to salvage the film. Kajal Agarwal has the usual glam role while Suman does his job well. Nasser is his usual self.
Even though the film has an interesting premise (the tagline reads, 'when the system fails a power will rise, when that power fails, a man will rise'), it fails to live up to the expectations.
Rediff Rating: