Little did I expect from director Vijay Milton who debuted almost 8 years back with ‘Azhagaai Irukiraai Bayamaai Irukkirathu’ and this is only his second movie as a director. Naturally I was given warning signals by my family members for taking my fiance along with me to this movie as they found the name to be a little reprehensible. Even I kept my fingers crossed as I was not too sure of the content; all I knew was that this movie might not even make it to the theaters in Bangalore and so my best chance of watching it is when I’m in Chennai or on a pirated DVD that makes it difficult to identify the actors in the movie - so I preferred the former.
On the surface it is a story about a bunch of juveniles who lead a carefree life and earn their living as coolies in the famous ‘Koyambedu’ market. When they are pushed to the corner of the wall by their detractors, they repel like the ‘Goli Soda’ that forces itself from the bottle under pressure by knocking off the cork.
A much relieving aspect was that the director did not delve into the melodramatics of these guys who toil in the market nor did he make any qualms in showcasing the purgatory sequences that they suffer at the hands of their tormentors. But the screenplay has been such a well written one that we instantly connect with the director’s storytelling acumen. Ably assisted with scenes that unfold like vignettes, the early sequences of establishing the juveniles’ lives and other characters has been a revelation. Each of them had a unique character and that was fruitfully brought forth on screen. The character introduction of “ATM” was top class and the character arch that was associated with her was a master stroke. Also Imman Annachi as ‘Manthiravathi’ was a cool one which was more like a coolant for the smokin hot engine and Sujatha as ‘Aachi’ sealed the pack with a gift bow. ‘Naidu’ played by Madhusudhan was a well camouflaged and very well executed role.
Certain scenes that was made-to-believe like the ones where the juveniles who are scattered across the country getting united in the span of a song and avenging their detractors and making them pay for their deeds were far fetched though it can be passed off in the name of cinematic liberty.
Music by Arunagiri and Seelin (BGM) was used in order to move the story forward and merely served as a tool and so there were no numbers that can be hummed.
Editing by Anthony kept the movie to an ample length and that was its strength. Cinematography by the director himself was appealing and made the film’s flavor look even more natural.
This movie is definitely a milestone in Kollywood as there were very few instances where directors have attempted a different genre with such a cast. Usually there would be a pure love or action story, but this has love, action, comedy and sentiment in right proportions and the dash of lemon in the soda has worked!
Verdict: Good
Rating: 3 / 5
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