Many are under the perception that films that are message driven are superior and the "masala" ones are inferior and hence they tend to forgive the flaws of the former and downplay even the merits of the latter. However the truth is it takes the same amount of hard work in scripting a light entertainer as the so called meaningful gem.

Director P. Vasu has the habit of regularly making a comeback. He started of on the other side making acclaimed Panneer Pushpangal" in 1981 collaborating with Santhana Bharathi and after a few other lesser known films migrated to Kannada cinema. In the late 80s he came back to Tamil cinema but this time with a vengeance as a commercial director and gave super hits En Thangachi Padichava`, Vathiyar Veetu Pillai`, Nadigan`, Chinna Thambi`, Panakkaaran` and Mannan` and then faced a lull. He again made a grand comeback with the blockbuster Chandramukhi` in 2005 and after one more period in cold storage he made yet another comeback with Shivalinga`.

Shivalinga` does not claim to be anything more than what it is and that is it is definitely a light hearted entertainer in which you have to suspend your disbelief. This is in fact a cleverly written film in which the suspense, horror and comedy jell well together to sustain interest till the very end. Raghava Lawrence is not as loud as in MSKS` but on familiar grounds, playing his Muni` character. Ritika Singh is in this movie for a reason as her physical flexibility as a sports person is required for her character. Shakthi Vasu is not a part of this film just because he is the director`s son but fits so well into the character Rahim. Coming to Vadivelu the score of fans waiting for his comeback were disappointed by Eli` and Kaththi Sandai`. In Shivalinga`, however P. Vasu has given him a role which gives him ample scope to just be himself and the audiences are cheering for him every time he appears. The rest of the cast headed by Urvashi has done a neat job, safe for children, the camera work is good, the editing is smooth, the art direction, colorful and you are mildly thrilled, curious till the end and laughing while you do so. What more can you ask for an outing with a family.