Horror-comedy is becoming the most reliable genre for Tamil filmmakers and producers. This week there are at least two Tamil films under the same genre has hit the screens. One among them is 'Hello Naan Pei Pesuren'. The film has been directed by debutant Basker. The film has been produced by Sundar.C whose super hit 'Aranmanai' gave a facelift to the horror-comedy genre in Kollywood. Let's see what the film has in it.
Amuthan (Vaibhav) is a conman who falls for Kavitha (Aishwarya Rajesh). Her brother (VTV Ganesh) runs a 'Saavu Kuthu troupe', gives the green signal to their love as Amuthan easily passes the tests. While everything seems to be fine, problem starts for Amuthan from a mobile phone he steals from a road accident spot. Sridevi (Oviya) who dies in the accident comes as a ghost through that phone and keeps haunting Amuthan, Kavitha and her brother.
What is the intention of the ghost and how Amuthan &co escape is revealed in the rest of the film.
Writer-Director Baskar hasn't cared much about the story. It can be told in a one line. The incident that happen are those we have seen in many other horror comedy flicks and no scene goes in a way other than the one we would have predicted. The director’s only aim seems to make the most out of the horror-comedy mix. He has fairly succeeded in this attempt.
The film starts off with an introduction to the lead character. Later some scenes are allocated to show how he gets introduced heroine and gets her love. Actually it would have made no difference if the movie started from the point where Amuthan and Kavitha have started loving each other. The scenes and dialogues included in the name of comedy in these sequences hardly evoke laughter. Then he has to learn the art of Savu Kuthu (the dance form performed in death ceremonies) to please his would be brother- in- law. These episodes really have something interesting to offer if not entirely great. The first horror experience comes towards the interval.
The second half is far better where the proceedings manage to raise guffaws in regular intervals. A few horror sequences deserve a mention despite they fail to frighten as the elements of horror are those that are tried and tested in many films.
Vaibhav, VTV Ganesh and the actor who comes as his sidekick get stuck under the clutches of the ghost. The combination of the three actors has contributed enormously to achieve the intentions of the director in the second half.
There are too many scenes and songs that come as mere fillers to take the running time to two hours. Basker’s work as a creator cannot be written off though. The way the flashback of the ghost has been revealed highlights his creativity. He has sprinkled a few really striking ideas like this, here and there throughout the proceedings. The idea of including the ‘Savu Kuthu’ dance scenes is also something that needs to be appreciated.
Vaibhav fits the bill as a go-lucky conman and has proved his dancing skills in the ‘Savu Kuthu’ scenes. Same can be said for Aishwarya Rajesh who has given a near performance otherwise also. Her performance as a ghost in the pre-climax sequence deserves praise. VTV Ganesh’s one-liners and dialogue delivery add a lot of humor for the film. His expertise in Chennai’s local slang is a special attraction. Oviya has smartly utilized the scope to perform in a role that is a little bigger than an extended cameo. Madhumitha who was largely seen in comic characters so far, gets an opportunity to emote and she has done this job neatly. A powerful actor like Karunakaran has been wasted in a miniscule role.
All the songs of Siddharth Vipin are peppy though most of them come as fillers. It will be hard to control the urge to dance for the ‘Chillaki Dumma’ song. 'Majja Malcha' crooned by Vijay Sethupathi is another sweet peppy number. Re-recording is adequate. Cinematographer Bala Murugan’s selection of lights and angles makes a good impact in the horror scenes.
Verdict: 'Hello Naan Pei Pesuren' is just another average addition to the long list of horror-comedy Tamil films, which cannot be dismissed as bad.
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