There is the Illayathalapathy Vijay drumming of fingers, his stance, his dialogues and bits and pieces of his hits mashed up in ‘Pokkiri Simon’. The lead hero Sunny Wayne as Simon lives it up as the quintessential Vijay fan, looking to imitate the star, glorifying fandom and gyrating to Vijay moves. The thriller mode towards the end of the movie is its saving grace and somewhat salvages a tacky direction by Jijo Anthony. Dulquer’s voice over in the beginning does to a lot to up the expectations.

The movie is set in Thiruvananthapuram. Simon is this huge Illayathalapathy Vijay fan. His father played by Ashokan is a police constable. Simon has his gang of friends played by Gregory, Sarath Appani and others. Ilayathalapathy Vijay (or rather his cut off) has a mass intro when Arjunan (Shammi Thilakan)’s aides threaten the poor people of a colony with eviction. There is this long overhead shot of a huge Vijay cut out atop two autos coming in to save the situation (with accompanying music). It’s all thanks to a broken Vijay cut out leg and fight starts in earnest driving away the villains. And it was Sarath Appani’s moment as he smashed the glass of the car. That scene alone brought in some cheers. It was brilliant timing and clean act by the actor.

It gets murkier after a doctor’s murder when Simon’s father is assigned to keep safe the victim’s ipod. As expected the villains (again Shammi Thilakan’s aides) come knocking and Simon beats them into a pulp. And again as expected there is the villain’s phone left behind and a call coming which Simon attends. There is the verbal threatening and what does Simon say, “I am waiting”! And there we have the interval. With Appani Ravi’s daughter going awol, the movie takes a different trajectory with some social issues thrown in. Without spelling out the rest of the story, it is suffice to say that the movie could have done with more punchy situations and dialogues to match that Vijay verve.

Sunny Wayne has done well as Pokkiri Simon. The heroism is palpable and within the limits of an unengaging script he captures our attention. Well Prayaga Martin, right from her intro (she does the Asin jogging from ‘Pokkiri’) sticks out like a sore thumb. Her act is fine as a Vijay fan whistling to Vijay movies. But the director has not brought her out in a flattering way. That “Mamphazham Venam” song is a disaster. Dileesh Pothen as the CI was a pleasant surprise. He proves that he can handle any kind of role with ease. He owns the kakhi beautifully. Shammi Thilakan and Marshal Tito too have done well in their villainous avatars. Gregory and Appani Ravi(Sarath Kumar) also play their parts well. Appani Ravi’s emotions as he realises his daughter is missing was a classy act. Gregory’s antics in the college evoke much humour and he has handled the scene brilliantly. The little actors in the movie, though fleeting, are a huge plus with their Vijay dialogue imitation and 'aliya' counters while watching 'Pulimurukan' at home. 

The camera is commendable and the colours it frames are beautiful. Editing is passable. Songs are underwhelming. Direction by Jijo Anthony leaves a lot to be desired. Would real life Vijay fans take to the reel life of Vijay fans? There are constant reminding of Simon saying that fans are not idiots, to keep them satiated. Does it do justice to Vijay’s mass image? Only as a corollary to how this movie makes us feel.

‘Pokkiri Simon’ is a colourful outing with Illayathalapathy Vijay and our own Sunny Wayne flavouring the screen.