Ponmagal Vandhal

Nevertheless, what still works in its favour is the fact that it strikes a strong emotional chord with its back-story. Jyotika’s films, unlike most women-centric Tamil films, aren’t run-of-the-mill and always serve a purpose. Ponmagal Vandhal, too, has a purpose and it’s a laudable attempt by first-time filmmaker JJ Fredrick, who gives us a legal drama that asks quite a few uncomfortable questions about the safety of young girls. One of the downsides of most films starring Jyotika is that they’re mostly preachy, but it isn’t the case with Ponmagal Vandhal, and that’s a big relief. The court-room scenes get slightly dramatic, but the message never gets preachy. Jyotika, playing a lawyer for the first time in her career, shines in what’s definitely a bold role.

The film, in addressing these targetted issues, also offers generic nuggets of advice: “Thuninju nillu!”, “Edhirthu poraadu!” It also doesn’t help that scene transitions feel straight out of a noon-time TV soap. And much like them, this film isn’t exactly subtle in trying to emotionally manipulate. When Venba shares her story in the court, from seemingly out of nowhere, you are shown quick shots of characters breaking down in exaggerated fashion. Even actor Pandiarajan, who looks quite confused about what he’s doing in this film, begins sobbing—or maybe that’s why. Even more manipulative is the child rape scene. The girl’s frock is soaked in blood. She’s screaming in agony, howling in pain. Her mother is heartbroken and is panting for breath.

Before you blink, it jumps from one story to another without much credit. It is cringe-worthy to think that the director chose to attempt a serious subject and turn it into an emotional drama. It is not worth the build up. Worse, it is unfair to all those people who you thought would benefit from this subject. It is unfair that good actors like Jyotika and Parthiban are wasted in what could have been a spectacular courtroom drama, backed by facts and evidence rather than tears and words. Maybe you can use Parthiban's advice and spend some time visiting a court and watching how lawyers function. Because even for a fictitious plot, we've seen better. So dear director, next time, please do your homework. Make just one film. But give it your best.

Venba is the voice of those victims, and that is the only strength of Ponmagal Vandhal: Jyotika carries the film with her performance, but you wish she varied the mix of pain-sorrow-determination: after a point it becomes one-note. The supporting cast does its job, but the film is let down by muddled writing, flat aspect, and choosing to drown everything in loud sentiment. It works only in patches, as it goes about touching upon embedded misogyny and patriarchy (a character patronisingly calls Venba ‘ma’: good to call it out, even if it is done clunkily), regional bias (‘Psycho Jyoti’ is a ‘North Indian’) and so on.