The title sure sounds imposing and grand. It almost sounds on par with Bharathchandran IPS. But alas, how misleading things could be.
Well, if Lokanathan IAS had measured up to at least 50 per cent of the grandeur of the title, the film could have been bearable. But what we get is a puerile pastiche of old potboilers from neighboring States.If you have seen some of the Rajini and Arjun starrers in Tamil, don't go anywhere near this flick.
The story, if you can call it so, is about a lowly auto driver, who fights against odds, to become an IAS officer and takes on the machinations of a venal politician. It is not corny, it is much worse. And adding to the overall tacky feeling is the fact that auto he drives is called Payum Puli.
The lowbrow story is let down further by over the top acting. Leading the list is Kalabhavan Mani. The burly hero puts up an exaggeratedly macho-kind of image, and it fits him like a tuxedo would a bullock. By the end of it, you kind of feel sick.Seeing him deliver the punch-line dialogues, you wonder what happened to the realism that Malayalam cinema prides itself on.
Gayathri Jayaram, Nishant Sagar, Harisri Asokan just add up to the numbers. The action sequences are okay. But it is again overly done for you to relish the flavor.
Jayachandran's music is okay but doesn't lift your spirits.
And Anil's direction actually makes you feel dispirited. The director seems to have completely lost the plot in his mind, and hence on the screen, too.
A deja vu and a disappointment.
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